Selenskyi’s visit to the US began with a standing ovation in the US Congress. The US is supplying a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine. Two people have died in a Ukrainian artillery attack on Donetsk, Russia says. You can find all the news about the Ukraine war in the Newsticker.
Friday, December 23, 2022, 6:31 a.m.: Saxony’s head of government has triggered an objection with his demand to “freeze” the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Even months later, he sees no alternative to the ceasefire.
According to Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), Germany must become more active in finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict. “For decades, that was one of the strengths of the Federal Republic. Germany enjoys a lot of trust in the world because it has faced up to its own history,” he told the German Press Agency in Dresden. German chancellors and foreign ministers remained willing to talk in the most difficult conflicts and helped mediate peace. “Guns are no more important than talks. By dealing with history, Germany has become a credible negotiating partner,” emphasized Kretschmer. The mediation mission is also an issue of the European Union, of the Europeans. “The war is here, the US is thousands of miles away. It is therefore first and foremost the task of the Europeans to find a solution to the conflict. The destruction inflicted in Ukraine is enormous, innocent people are being harmed. The dying has to stop.” Kretschmer had repeatedly spoken out in favor of a diplomatic solution in the spring and coined the phrase that the war had to be “frozen”. He had been openly criticized and hostile for this, including by the former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk. However, Kretschmer remained true to his line and pointed out that there was no alternative to an armistice and that the war had to come to an end. He now sees himself confirmed by statements by French President Emmanuel Macron and others. “We can’t just talk about arms deliveries to Ukraine,” said Kretschmer. Calling for negotiations is basically a matter of course. In the past few months, however, this has unfortunately been a blank space. Back in the spring, his argument was based on the assessment that the development would lead to extreme shortages with price increases and the collapse of supply chains. “Unfortunately, that’s how it happened. We cannot turn back history, but we must now ensure that this war ends as quickly as possible.” Kretschmer had repeatedly described Russia’s war against Ukraine as a crime and considered sanctions to be appropriate. At the same time, he advocated not allowing relations with the large European neighbor in the east to be completely severed and that raw materials should later also be sourced from Russia again. Kretschmer argues that Russia will still exist after the end of the war and that is a fact.
7:58 p.m .: Russian troops continued their attacks on the frontline town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on Thursday. The attackers had advanced to the outskirts of the city several times, the general staff in Kyiv said. However, the attackers were repeatedly repelled in heavy fighting.
This means that two goals have been achieved at Bachmut, it said. On the one hand, the attackers could not penetrate the defenses, on the other hand, they suffered heavy casualties, said Serhiy Cherevatyy, spokesman for the Ukrainian Army Group East. “And those are incredible casualties for a 21st-century army.”
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj made a surprise visit to the frontline town this week and declared it the “Bakhmut Fortress”.
1:55 p.m .: Russia wants to destroy US Patriot air defense systems after they have been delivered to Ukraine. “Demilitarization is one of the goals of the military special operation,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday, according to the Russian news agency Interfax when asked about Moscow’s reaction to the promised US arms deliveries to Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally thanked US President Joe Biden for the commitment during a visit to Washington on Wednesday. Peskov criticized that the US would practically be waging war against Russia.
The United States and other states are constantly supplying Ukraine with new types of weapons with greater technical capabilities. That does not contribute to a quick settlement of the situation – on the contrary,” said Peskov. Russia will not be dissuaded from its war goals, said Peskov. Zelenskyy’s visit to the USA shows that neither Washington nor Kyiv are ready, and Moscow too The US is more concerned with “continuing its line and de facto fighting indirectly with Russia down to the last Ukrainian”.
1:46 p.m .: Ukraine has reported 100,000 Russian soldiers killed or seriously injured since the war began in 2022. This is reported by “n-tv.de”. In the statement, the Ukrainian general staff spoke of 100,400 “eliminated” soldiers. Independent media interpret this phrase to mean that they were either killed or injured so badly that they had to withdraw from military service. The information cannot be independently verified.
The Kremlin, on the other hand, is reluctant to provide official information. Most recently, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu named the number of 5,937 soldiers killed in September. Independent Russian media, on the other hand, have already identified more than 10,000 Russian casualties by name.
How many Ukrainian soldiers died is not mentioned in Ukraine’s daily military reports. However, the President’s office in Kyiv recently spoke of more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed.
In a tweet a few weeks ago, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of an estimated 20,000 civilians killed and more than 100,000 Ukrainian military personnel killed. In Kyiv, people reacted with astonishment and indignation. The post has now been deleted.
10:32 a.m .: Moscow’s ambassador in Washington accuses the United States of continuing a “proxy war” against Russia over the delivery of the Patriot anti-aircraft system to Ukraine. The US is about achieving a victory over Russia, said Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov in Washington on Thursday. The visit of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj in Washington was staged in “Hollywood style”. This shows that Washington’s assurances that it is not seeking confrontation with Russia are “just empty words”. Zelenskyj met US President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
Zelenskyj’s visit to the USA shows that neither Washington nor Kyiv are ready for peace. Instead, the “lie” is being spread that Russia is not interested in a peaceful solution.
9.45 a.m .: The former head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, claims to have been slightly injured by Ukrainian artillery fire while celebrating in Donetsk. “I’m injured, a three by four millimeter shrapnel penetrated above the right shoulder blade,” Rogozin wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday. So he needs an operation. According to media reports, the politician known for his imperialist stance was celebrating his birthday when the shells fell in a bar in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk.
In addition to the shoulder injury, Rogozin also got splinters in his face and buttocks. Video footage of a partially destroyed restaurant was circulated on social networks in Russia.
Rogozin, whose political beginnings lie in the extreme right-wing party “Rodina” (“Homeland”) and who was photographed by the media giving the Hitler salute during the nationalist “Russian March”, later made a career under Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin – first as ambassador to NATO in Brussels, then as deputy head of government and finally as head of the space agency Roskosmos.
2:27 a.m .: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has asked for more heavy weapons from the United States before the US Congress in Washington. “Ukraine has never asked American soldiers to fight in our place on our land. I assure you that Ukrainian soldiers are perfectly capable of operating American tanks and planes themselves,” said Zelenskyy in a historic speech on Wednesday (local time) before the two chambers of parliament, referring to Russia’s invasion of his country. The artillery delivered so far is not sufficient.
“Your money is not charity, it is an investment in global security and democracy, which we will handle in the most responsible way,” the 44-year-old continued. Zelenskyj had already given a video address to the US Congress in March. At that time he had called for the establishment of a no-fly zone to protect Ukraine.
2:22 a.m .: The US Congress in Washington welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with standing applause on Wednesday. The head of state then assured the deputies and senators of the two chambers of parliament that his country would “never surrender” in the face of the Russian war of aggression.
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