Zelenskyy confident despite massive rocket attacks - President condemns "crazy actions by Russia"

Created: 2022-12-17 04:47

By: Sven Hauberg, Bettina Menzel, Stefanie Fischhaber, Fabian Müller

Russia is currently launching massive rocket attacks on Ukraine.

President Selenskyj is nevertheless confident.

All information in the news ticker on war diplomacy.

• Rockets

  bombard

  Ukrainian infrastructure

  : NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg condemns Russian attack.

• After

  Russian rocket attacks

  on Ukraine: EU foreign policy chief Borell accuses Russia of "barbaric war crimes".

• Infrastructure

  weakened: Ukraine needs thousands of power generators to get through the winter.

• This

  news ticker on diplomatic developments

  in the Ukraine war is constantly updated.

Update from December 16, 10:10 p.m .:

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the recent Russian rocket attacks against the Ukrainian energy network have not changed anything about the Ukrainians’ willingness to defend themselves.

"Whatever the rocket worshipers in Moscow hope for, it will not change the balance of power in this war," Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Friday evening.

Russia still has enough missiles for further massive attacks.

"But we have enough determination and confidence to throw our own punches after those punches."

Zelenskyy emphasized the effective work of the Ukrainian air defense, which shot down most of the incoming cruise missiles and rockets in the morning.

"But unfortunately there were also goals," he said.

"Terrorists need such a mass of rocket attacks that at least some of their 'products' reach their intended targets." brought, said Zelenskyj.

Ukrainian infrastructure weakened: Thousands of power generators needed for the winter

Update from December 16, 9:15 p.m.:

In view of the ongoing Russian attacks on the energy grid, the Ukrainian infrastructure is weakened.

To get through the winter, Ukraine still needs around 17,000 industrial or larger power generators.

Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal mentioned this number at a government meeting on Friday, as reported by the Unian state agency.

"So far, small and medium-sized companies have already imported around 500,000 smaller generators," he said.

"But to get through the winter, we still need around 17,000 larger or industrial generator systems." He is hoping for the support of foreign partners. 

Rocket attacks: EU foreign policy chief accuses Russia of "barbaric war crimes".

Update from December 16, 7:03 p.m.:

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has described Russia’s new massive rocket attacks on Ukraine as barbaric war crimes.

"These cruel, inhuman attacks aim to increase human suffering," said the Spaniard on Friday.

The population, but also hospitals, emergency services and other essential services should lose their supply of electricity, heat and water.

"These bombings constitute war crimes and are barbaric," Borrell said.

The EU chief diplomat assured Ukraine of support.

"The EU and its partners are stepping up efforts to provide the emergency assistance needed by the Ukrainian people to restore and maintain electricity and heat supplies," he said.

The European Union stands in solidarity with the Ukrainians, who have shown "admirable strength, courage and resilience" in the face of the Russian war.

Rockets fire at Ukrainian infrastructure: NATO condemns Russian attack

Update from December 16, 4:20 p.m

.: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has sharply condemned Russia’s new massive rocket attacks on Ukraine.

The fact that Vladimir Putin is trying to deprive people of water, electricity and heating is a deliberate attack on civilians, he told the German Press Agency.

The Kremlin boss is trying to use winter as a weapon and break the Ukrainian people.

At the same time, Stoltenberg was optimistic that Putin's plans would fail.

"He will not succeed in bending the Ukrainian people," he said.

"History shows us that such brutal attacks on civilians do not weaken the will to resist - at most it is the other way around."

According to Stoltenberg, Putin also made the big mistake of underestimating the determination of the NATO countries to provide assistance.

The level of support is unprecedented and it has been made clear that support will be provided for as long as is needed, he said.

more on the subject

Despite EU billions in aid: this winter will change the Ukraine war so much

Update from December 16, 3:55 p.m

.: Bulgaria has launched a military aid package for Kiev for the first time since the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began.

A majority of 166 MPs from pro-Western parties voted in favor of ratifying a corresponding agreement with Ukraine in the final reading on Friday.

48 representatives of the pro-Russian socialists and the pro-Russian nationalists from Vasrashdane (Rebirth) voted against.

Medvedev presents NATO countries as legitimate targets - and threatens to attack them

Update from December 16, 2:10 p.m .:

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has threatened attacks on NATO countries.

Armed forces and objects in countries that are officially at war with Russia or are allies of the enemy are legitimate targets for an attack, Medvedev, who is deputy head of the Russian Security Council, wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday.

The 57-year-old also included NATO: “The leaders of the NATO states unanimously claim that their countries and the entire alliance are not fighting Russia.

But everyone understands very well that it is very different.” According to Medvedev, in addition to the enemy's political leadership and armed forces and their technology, objects of military and civilian infrastructure such as bridges and energy supplies are also legitimate targets of attacks.

Medvedev accused NATO of having long since declared a "hybrid war" on Russia.

A confidante of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin interpreted the extensive arms deliveries to Ukraine, against which Moscow has been waging its war of aggression since February, as an attack on Russia.

Ukraine News: Russia wants to react to EU sanctions

Update from December 16, 11:25 a.m .:

Moscow has announced a reaction to the sanctions decided by the EU.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia would study the list of sanctions before considering an answer.

According to information from diplomatic circles, almost 200 other institutions and responsible persons are now on the sanctions list as a result of the EU unification and are subject to asset and entry bans in Europe.

In addition, trade restrictions are planned for goods that can be used for civil and military purposes, with a special focus on the high-tech sector.

Exports of drone parts to Russia and Iran are also to be banned.

Putin travels to Belarus: Russian President expected in Minsk on Monday

Update from December 16, 8:01 a.m .:

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected on Monday for a state visit to Belarus.

This is reported by the AFP news agency with reference to the President's press service in Minsk.

The Kremlin chief's visit comes at a time when Belarus is conducting a nationwide inspection of its troops' combat readiness.

Russia had also sent more than 60 military vehicles to its neighboring country in the past few days.

Observers then feared the possibility of a Russian-Belarusian invasion of northern Ukraine.

However, the British Ministry of Defense currently rates the chance of success for such an offensive as low.

Before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Moscow held military exercises in Belarus. At the beginning of the offensive, Russian soldiers also entered the neighboring country from Belarusian territory.

However, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly assured that he does not intend to send troops to Ukraine.

When Russia and Belarus announced the creation of a joint military unit in mid-October, Minsk stressed that it should serve purely "defensive" purposes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi in September.

© Gavriil Grigorov/imago-images

EU member states agree on further package of sanctions

Update from December 15, 10:14 p.m .:

The EU member states have decided on another package of sanctions against Russia because of its war of aggression against Ukraine.

The ambassadors of the 27 countries agreed on Thursday evening in Brussels on the ninth package of sanctions since February, as the Czech Council Presidency announced on Twitter.

Almost 200 other institutions and those responsible must now expect to be subject to property and entry bans in Europe.

The summit of EU heads of state and government met in Brussels on Thursday.

According to diplomats, Council President Charles Michel insisted during the meeting that the EU ambassadors would agree on the sanctions package.

This now has to be formally confirmed, which according to diplomats should take place in the written procedure by Friday noon.

'Unpredictable Consequences': Russia's US Ambassador warns Biden over Patriot delivery to Ukraine

Update from December 15, 8:32 p.m .:

If the United States, as announced, make the Patriot missile defense system available to Ukraine, according to the Russian ambassador to the United States, this could lead to “unpredictable consequences”.

Global security would then be threatened, the embassy wrote in a statement on Wednesday.

If the Patriot system is indeed delivered, "we will witness another provocative move by the administration

" the embassy continued.

Continued arms shipments to Ukraine would only reinforce the "Zelenskyi regime's sense of impunity and propel it to new crimes against the civilian population."

US support for Ukraine would do enormous damage to the Russian-US relationship.

More than twice as many: USA wants to train more Ukrainian soldiers in Germany

Update from December 15, 7:51 p.m .:

The Pentagon wants to train more Ukrainian soldiers in US bases on German soil in the future.

The number is to be more than doubled in the future, the project was already approved by President Joe Biden this week, reports the

.

From the beginning of 2023, a Ukrainian battalion - around 600 to 800 soldiers - is to be trained every month.

This will significantly increase the number of Ukrainians the United States is training outside the country.

At the same time, the training is to be redesigned, details of which are not known.

According to the Defense Department, the United States has trained 3,100 Ukrainian soldiers, mostly in small groups, on special weapons such as HIMARS rocket launchers since the war broke out in February.

The new training program is scheduled to take place at a US Army base in Grafenwoehr, where the Pentagon conducts its own weapons exercises.

China ambassador emphasizes: Friendship with Russia has "no borders" - but there is a red line

Update from December 15, 6:05 p.m .:

The United States has imposed new sanctions on the very rich Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin and a number of Russian companies.

This will further deepen Russia's "isolation from global markets," the US Treasury Department said on Thursday.

"This will further limit the ability of the Putin regime to fund its horrific war against Ukraine."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the new sanctions are a "clear message" that the US is using the tools at its disposal to urge Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

Potanin is the second richest man in Russia, according to Forbes magazine, with a fortune of more than $26 billion (24 billion euros) and was once the country's deputy prime minister.

He has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Potanin is a co-owner of the Russian mining group Norilsk Nickel and, since this year, the owner of the bank Rosebank, which was also placed on the US sanctions list on Thursday.

China ambassador emphasizes: Friendship with Russia has "no borders" - but there is a red line

December 15 update, 4:28 p.m

.: China's ambassador to Paris, Lu Shaye, has emphasized his country's "borderless partnership" with Russia.

Lu said at a press event last week, the transcript of which has only now been released on the embassy's website, "We have normal relations between states.

We are all sovereign states and have the right to shape our cooperation in all areas.”

However, Lu, who is known for being a hardliner, also said that this friendship has a limit: the supply of arms.

However, the Kremlin has not yet asked China for arms supplies, Lu said.

The People's Republic is "neutral" and hopes that the "crisis" will be resolved through negotiations.

Lu accused the US of "pouring fuel on the fire" by supplying arms to Ukraine.

China has not yet condemned Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and maintains close ties with the Kremlin.

Although Beijing has always emphasized the importance of negotiations to end the war, the government led by state and party leader Xi Jinping has not taken any such steps so far.

Xi has instead been in close contact with Russia's President Putin, but has not spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once since the war broke out.

Gift from Ukraine explodes at Poland's police - public prosecutor investigates

Update from December 15, 3:44 p.m

.: A gift that the head of the authority received during a working visit to Ukraine exploded in the headquarters of the Polish police.

Police chief Jaroslaw Szymczyk suffered minor injuries in the explosion and was taken to a hospital, the Polish Interior Ministry said.

A civilian employee was also slightly injured but did not require medical treatment.

The explosion happened on Thursday morning in a room next to Szymczyk's office.

It was triggered by "one of the gifts that the police commander received during his working visit to Ukraine on December 11-12 this year".

There he met the leadership of the Ukrainian police and civil protection.

Szymczyks received the present, which exploded, from a head of a Ukrainian agency.

Poland has asked the Ukrainian side for explanations about the incident.

The prosecutor is investigating.

At the beginning of December, a series of letter bombs in Spain made headlines that were possibly related to the Ukraine conflict.

Lavrov spokeswoman on Pope Francis: Vatican has apologized for Russia statements

Update from December 15, 11:55 a.m .:

According to Russian information, Moscow has received an official apology from the Vatican for the statements made by Pope Francis last month.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Russia is treating the matter as closed and hopes for a constructive dialogue with the Vatican in the future.

Pope Francis said in an interview with the US magazine

in November : “In general, perhaps the most cruel are those who are from Russia but do not belong to the Russian tradition, like the Chechens, the Buryats and so on.” The accusation The "Holy Father" was directed against two population groups, the majority of which do not belong to the Christian faith.

Zakharova then described the Pope's statements as "perversion".

The President of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, had spoken of "a disgrace".

Pope Francis during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI Hall.

the sign of the cross.

© Andrew Medichini/AP/dpa

NATO and the EU are probably preparing a joint declaration on the Ukraine war for the first time - including Russia's demand

Update from December 15, 10:59 a.m .:

Almost nine months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, NATO and the EU are probably preparing a joint statement for the first time.

Its content: Russia should end the war immediately.

A draft of the statement is partially available to

magazine .

The draft is to be published either at the beginning of next week or in the first days of the new year.

The statement is intended to call on Russia to immediately end its "brutal" war against Ukraine and to leave its territory.

In the statement, NATO and the EU should also declare their "unwavering and continued support" for the independence of the government.

"Further provocation": Russian embassy warns US government against Patriot deliveries

Update December 15, 7:30 a.m.:

The Russian embassy in the United States has warned the Biden government about the delivery of the Patriot anti-aircraft system to Ukraine.

The delivery would be a "further provocation" that could lead to unforeseeable consequences, the diplomatic mission said in a statement.

"Continued arms deliveries will only strengthen the Zelenskyy regime and drive it to new crimes against civilians in the Donbass, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions," the Russian news agency TASS quoted the statement as saying.

In February, Moscow also justified the start of the war with reference to alleged crimes against the pro-Russian civilian population in eastern Ukraine.

There was no independent confirmation of the Russian allegations.

Several US media had already reported on Tuesday about a possible delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine.

“Washington's strategy not only does enormous damage to Russian-US relations, but also creates additional risks to global security.

It is the United States that is responsible for the prolongation and escalation of the Ukraine conflict," the Russian embassy continued in its statement.

Ukraine-News: Rheinmetall expands ammunition production in Germany

Update from December 15, 7:10 a.m .:

The German armaments company Rheinmetall has announced that it will expand its ammunition production in Germany.

With this, the group wants to ensure the independent supply of the Bundeswehr.

The decision is also in response to Switzerland's veto on the delivery of cheetah ammunition to Kyiv.

Zelenskyj sees "significant progress" in air defense:

Update from December 14, 9:45 p.m .:

After new Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj relies on more modern and effective anti-aircraft systems from the West.

"This week we made significant progress on the issue of anti-aircraft defense," said Zelenskyy in his video message distributed in Kyiv on Wednesday evening.

He did not give details.

According to media reports, the US government is considering supplying the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy reported that 13 Russian drones had been shot down in the morning.

"That means 13 spared infrastructure objects, that's saved lives," he said.

Ukraine is constantly expanding its air defenses.

"And we are doing everything to get more modern and more effective systems for Ukraine." Without giving details, Zelenskyy said that agreements to strengthen the country's defense capabilities are being worked on

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

© Pool Philip Reynaers/BELGA/dpa

Defense Minister Lambrecht does not plan to transfer the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine

Update from December 14, 6:29 p.m .:

After reports of the Patriot air defense system being passed on by the USA to Ukraine, Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) has not promised any such step from the German side.

Germany supports the NATO partner Slovakia and soon also Poland with the Patriot system, said Lambrecht on Wednesday in Berlin.

When it comes to air defense for Ukraine, the German side is dealing with Gepard tanks and the Iris-T system.

“That is our support service,” said Lambrecht.

In doing so, she answered a question as to whether the possible US delivery of Patriot systems would change the German position on the issue.

So far, the federal government had argued that the modern Patriot systems would not be supplied to Ukraine by any other NATO partner.

reported on Tuesday (local time)

, citing government circles, that the USA now wants to make the Patriot system available to Kiev after all.

The White House has yet to give the final green light, it said.

This could happen as early as this week.

Chancellor Scholz offers Moscow economic cooperation if Russia ends war

First report from December 14:

Berlin - After almost ten months of war, Olaf Scholz (SPD) sees the strategy of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a failure, as the German Chancellor said in a government statement in the Bundestag on Wednesday.

At the same time, he promised Ukraine further support as long as it was necessary.

In a speech on the anniversary of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations on Monday, the Chancellor had previously condemned Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but offered Moscow to resume economic cooperation if the war ended.

The Russian Foreign Ministry responded on Wednesday.

Moscow resolutely rejects Chancellor Scholz's offer

In a statement on its website, the Russian Foreign Ministry referred to the German Chancellor's speech to the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, in which Scholz promised Moscow a resumption of bilateral cooperation to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

"But a Russia that ends the war and citizens in Russia who strive for a different future for themselves also need the opportunity to start economic cooperation again in a different time," said Scholz on Monday said.

"We will not ask for anything, and politicians in Germany should make that clear once and for all," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in response to Scholz's speech on Wednesday.

At the same time, the ministry in Moscow blamed Scholz for the break in economic and energy cooperation between the two countries.

"Nor did the head of government of the Federal Republic of Germany explain why Berlin so bashfully and cowardly refrained from investigating the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which cut off the German economy from cheap Russian natural gas," it said.

Scholz's omissions testified to the limitations of German politics, the statement said.

.