Britain delivers three helicopters to Ukraine. Four suspected Russian torture chambers have been discovered in Cherson. The residents are to be evacuated because of the power outages. All current voices and developments on the Ukraine war can be found in the ticker.
More on the course of the war in Ukraine.
8:28 a.m .: Britain is supporting Ukraine with helicopters for the first time. As the BBC reported on Wednesday, Kyiv is to receive a total of three Sea King aircraft. The first helicopter has already arrived in Ukraine. British specialists have trained their Ukrainian comrades in Great Britain in recent weeks. Both the British Air Force and Navy had used Sea Kings but retired them in 2018. The helicopters can be used for anti-submarine and search and rescue missions.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace also announced 10,000 rounds of artillery ammunition for Ukraine ahead of a meeting with allies in Oslo. During a visit to Kyiv, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the delivery of 125 anti-aircraft guns and anti-drone technology. At the beginning of November, the British Ministry of Defense had already promised Ukraine the delivery of 1,000 anti-aircraft missiles. In addition, there is winter equipment for the Ukrainian army such as sleeping bags, sleeping mats or warm clothing.
The United States has also provided Ukraine with helicopters this year. These were 16 Mi-17 helicopters of Russian design.
Wednesday, November 23, 12:11 a.m.: The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, expects a dramatic winter for the Ukrainian capital, which has around three million inhabitants, because of the power outages. “This is the worst winter since the Second World War,” he told the “Bild” newspaper. You have to be prepared for the “worst scenario” of widespread power failures at low temperatures: “Then parts of the city would have to be evacuated,” he said. “But we don’t want to let it get that far!”
The ex-boxing world champion accused Russian head of state Vladimir Putin of wanting to drive Ukrainians to flee Kyiv by attacking civilian infrastructure. “Putin wants to terrorize people, let them freeze without light.” This is how pressure should be exerted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “But that’s not going to happen. My impression is that people are only getting angrier, more determined. We will not die or flee like Putin wants,” Klitschko said.
He asked Germany to urgently send generators, protective clothing and humanitarian goods in addition to weapons for defense.
11:41 p.m.: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has appealed to the European Union not to get “tired” of the war in Ukraine. “I call on my EU colleagues to put aside “all doubts” and “fatigue” and “complete the ninth package of sanctions” that are “long overdue” “as soon as possible,” he said on Tuesday an online press conference. “If we Ukrainians are not tired, the rest of Europe has neither a moral nor a political right to be tired.”
Kuleba called for the state-run nuclear operator Rosatom to be punished for its role in seizing Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Sanctions that make it possible to “slow down” the Russian arms industry are also important. “Russia’s ability to produce new missiles must be destroyed to prevent them from having additional resources to kill Ukrainians, destroy Ukrainian cities and the energy system,” he argued.
Kuleba also appealed to the West to increase its arms supplies, especially air defense systems, to Kyiv. Moscow has been deliberately destroying the neighboring country’s energy infrastructure for weeks.
The US government, meanwhile, said it would provide $4.5 billion in support to Ukraine through the World Bank to promote economic stability and support key government services. “These funds will be disbursed over the coming weeks,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
The US funds come “at a critical time as the country faces severe energy disruptions and colder weather,” said World Bank President David Malpass. The World Bank has so far mobilized nearly $17.8 billion in emergency aid to support the Ukrainian people, according to Malpass, of which more than $11.4 billion has been disbursed.
11:39 p.m .: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the establishment of more than 4,000 warming rooms for the population of the attacked country, who are plagued by cold and darkness. “All basic services are provided there,” he said in his evening video address on Tuesday. “This includes electricity, mobile communication and the Internet, heat, water, first aid. Completely free and 24/7.”
Selenskyj called the facilities in administration buildings or schools “points of stability”. The official name on a government website also translates to “points of steadfastness.” “I am sure that if we help each other, we will get through this winter together,” he said.
“Should there be another massive Russian attack and the power supply cannot be restored within a few hours, the work of the ‘points of stability’ will be activated,” said Zelenskyy. Local authorities should provide information “on where to find support in the event of a prolonged power outage”. Companies are also asked to provide rooms or help.
As a result of the Russian attacks on the electricity grid, Ukraine has had to contend with power cuts, but also with problems with heating, water and gas supplies.
9:30 p.m .: Andrei Piontkowski has been observing the Kremlin boss Putin for years – and often warns of the danger posed by Putin’s regime. Piontkowski was head of the Moscow think tank “Strategic Studies Center” and explained in an interview with a Ukrainian TV station that Putin wanted to appear “like a madman”, but he wasn’t.
“Putin is not a martyr and not a maniac,” said the Kremlin expert. He just wanted to convey the image that he was unpredictable, whose red lines should be respected. However, Piontkowski knew that this was just for show.
“Putin perceives the military reality and takes it into account,” says the Kremlin expert. The direct language of the USA regarding Putin’s nuclear threats worked. The same is shown by his humiliating departure from the city of Cherson.
Piontkowski’s controversial thesis: the Russian regime is no longer concerned with the destruction of Ukraine, but with “saving its own skin”.
2:09 p.m .: A journalist from the Associated Press (AP) news agency was fired a week ago for false news in connection with the rocket hit in Poland. This is reported, among other things, by the newspaper “The Washington Post”. Immediately after the missile hit, the AP reported, citing a senior US intelligence official, that “Russian missiles entered NATO member Poland, killing two people.” On Wednesday, the AP corrected its statement.
The rocket hit Przewodow near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday, killing two people. According to NATO and Poland, the impact was likely caused by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile fired to repel Russian missile attacks. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
11:41 a.m .: In Russia, dissatisfaction with the course of the war in Ukraine is growing. Experts have been discussing for a long time whether Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin could be overthrown because of this. According to longtime Moscow correspondent Owen Matthews, the Russian president would hardly survive a “military disaster on the battlefield” – for example, if Russia had to give back the territories it had conquered since 2014.
But Matthews warns that the alternative to Putin could be even “spookier” than the current ruler. “What we don’t want, which is even more dangerous than the current situation and even more dangerous than Putin, is a revolutionary situation in Russia if Putin falls,” he told Sky News. The alternative to Putin are nationalists “who are actually much more aggressive than Putin himself”. Matthews, who has worked and lived in Moscow for more than 25 years, cannot understand why the Kremlin chief started a war.
Putin has already come a long way with his “saber-rattling diplomacy”. He had presumably assumed that the fall of the Kiev government would be a walk in the park – not realizing that a protracted war would develop from it.
5:10 a.m .: Residents of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson are to be evacuated to regions with better infrastructure and electricity supply for the winter. In particular, women, children, the elderly and other vulnerable people are being urged to evacuate voluntarily, Ukrainian officials said.
The Black Sea port city was recently liberated by Russian troops but is without electricity, and authorities say the city’s infrastructure is too broken for citizens to survive the winter.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukraine will offer citizens of Kherson free evacuation to the cities, which also includes free accommodation, food and medical care.
4:50 a.m .: According to Anton Hofreiter, member of the Greens in the Bundestag, Ukraine is preparing for another Russian attempt to conquer the capital Kyiv after the winter. “The message from the Ukrainians was: We have information that Russia has not given up any of its war aims,” the chairman of the European Committee in the Bundestag told the editorial network Germany (RND) after talks in Kyiv. This also applies to the conquest of the capital. “The Ukrainians are preparing for another attack on Kyiv in the spring.” There are fears that Russian troops will be massively reinforced.
“Ukraine’s main concern is that Russia could send 280,000 freshly trained soldiers to the front in the spring,” Hofreiter said. “The Ukrainian military say they have the upper hand at the moment. However, they openly admit that they are concerned that Russia could regain the upper hand in the spring. If Russia goes on the offensive again, there are fears that the war could be very prolonged.” Against this background, the Green politician emphasized: “Ukraine needs ammunition for anti-aircraft defense and armored vehicles by spring at the latest.”
4.30 a.m .: Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) is committed to a protection zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. “I share the acute concern and warning of the International Atomic Energy Agency about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant,” Lemke told the editorial network Germany (RND/Tuesday). Military attacks on a nuclear power plant are absolutely unacceptable, emphasized the Federal Minister responsible for nuclear safety.
“I support IAEA Director General Grossi’s call for a protection zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant,” said Lemke. “In addition, it is essential for nuclear safety that the Ukrainian nuclear power plants are under Ukrainian control.”
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia is currently under fire again. Russia and Ukraine blame each other.
Tuesday, November 22, 4 a.m.: Ukraine’s power grid, which was damaged by Russian attacks, is still unstable, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The country had to contend not only with planned shutdowns but also with unplanned power outages on Monday, he said in his evening video address. Consumption exceeds electricity production.
“Tonight the situation in Kyiv and its environs, as well as in Vinnytsia, Sumy, Ternopil, Cherkassy, Odessa and some other cities and regions is particularly difficult,” Zelenskyi said. He called on regional and municipal administrations to continue to encourage citizens to save electricity.
“The systemic damage caused to our energy sector by the attacks of the Russian terrorists is so great that all our citizens and companies should be very economical and spread consumption over the hours of the day,” he said.
8:38 p.m .: Despite the intense shelling at the weekend, the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia is largely intact according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). There are no immediate concerns about nuclear safety, said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Monday evening after a team of experts visited the site. The four IAEA experts took a close look at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. The status of the six reactor units is stable and the integrity of the spent fuel, fresh fuel and low, intermediate and high level radioactive waste in their respective storage facilities has been confirmed.
Nevertheless, the IAEA experts had found widespread damage on the site. “This is of great concern as it highlights the sheer intensity of the attack on one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants,” Grossi said.
8:30 p.m .: French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his concerns about the situation in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in a telephone call with his Ukrainian colleague Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Efforts must continue to be made to set up a security zone around the facility in which attacks and fights are avoided. Both agreed on this, it said on Monday in a statement from the Élysée Palace. In view of the conference on support for Ukraine in Paris in December, Macron and Zelenskyj discussed how to get Ukraine through the winter well. Priority is therefore given to access to energy and various ways of saving energy.
4:21 p.m .: After the southern Ukrainian city of Cherson was recaptured, Ukrainian investigators say they discovered four torture sites used by the Russian occupiers. They had identified a total of four buildings in which the “Russian occupiers had illegally detained and brutally tortured people,” said the Attorney General’s Office in Kyiv on Monday.
During their eight-month occupation of Kherson, Russian forces set up “pseudo-law enforcement agencies” in previous detention centers and police stations. There, “parts of rubber truncheons, a wooden bat, a device for generating electric shocks as well as a light bulb and bullets were seized”. The Russian authorities also left behind documents on the administration of these prison camps.
Investigations into other torture sites and unlawful detentions are ongoing, it said. The aim is also to “identify all victims”.
Since the liberation of Kherson by Ukrainian forces on November 11, Kyiv has repeatedly denounced Russian “war crimes” and “atrocities” in the region. A Kherson resident told AFP last week that he had been detained for weeks during which he was beaten and electrocuted by Russian and pro-Russian forces. Moscow has so far not responded to the allegations.
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