Liveblog: + Major order for 40 more “Marder” tanks +

The federal government wants to deliver 40 more “Marder” infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine – the contract has now been awarded for this. According to Russia, defense systems intercepted two Ukrainian drones in Belgorod. The developments in the live blog.

Berlin and Kiev want to seal their new city partnership on Thursday. The Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, will receive Kiev’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko at the Brandenburg Gate and in the Red Town Hall. This was announced by the Senate Chancellery. Berlin’s CDU and SPD had already agreed in principle to be twinned with Kiev during their coalition negotiations. The parliamentary groups of both coalition partners then brought the issue forward in the House of Representatives. Tel Aviv is also set to become a new twin city.

Klitschko wrote to Wegner in May and asked the Governing Mayor about the possibility of a partnership. According to the SPD, it is a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine.

According to the British assessment, Russia is lacking thousands of skilled workers due to the war of aggression against Ukraine – this is becoming an increasing problem, the British Ministry of Defense announced on the short message service X (formerly Twitter). Mobilization and conscription would have exacerbated labor shortages outside the defense sector. The labor shortage in industry reached a record in July. Last year around 100,000 IT workers also left Russia. That’s about ten percent of the forces in the industry, the British wrote in their daily update. In contrast to recruitment efforts in other sectors, Russia has now taken measures to retain workers. “In the run-up to the presidential election scheduled for March 2024, Russian authorities will likely try to avoid further unpopular mobilizations,” the British wrote.

The British Ministry of Defense has been publishing daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Moscow accuses London of disinformation.

Ukraine has recaptured several oil rigs near the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, according to its military intelligence. These are the so-called Boiko drilling rigs, which have been occupied by Russia since 2015. Since the war began in February 2022, Russia has used the platforms for military purposes. Ukraine is currently defending itself against Russian troops with a counteroffensive that has been running for around three months. Recently she reported several military successes.

Germany wants to provide Ukraine with another 40 “Marder” armored personnel carriers in the coming months. The arms company Rheinmetall is to repair used “Marder” tanks from the Bundeswehr’s former stocks on behalf of the federal government, as the company announced. The order volume therefore amounts to a “higher double-digit million amount”.

The repair work has already begun at the Rheinmetall locations in Unterlüß and Kassel, and up to ten armored personnel carriers could be delivered per month, the company said. Delivery should start this year. This doubles the number of “Marder” tanks delivered by Germany to Ukraine to a total of 80.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has apparently set off for his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, Russia. The encounter could take place as early as Tuesday, the South Korean television station YTN reported, citing government circles. Initially, there was no confirmation from either North Korea or Russia.

US media recently reported, citing officials in the US, that Kim wanted to travel to Russia to negotiate arms deliveries with Putin. Moscow is concerned with securing supplies of weapons and ammunition for the war of aggression against Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited an electricity substation during her visit to Ukraine. On the site of the plant, about 50 kilometers outside of Kiev city center, the Green Party politician described the Ukrainian government’s efforts to secure the country’s energy supply before the approaching winter.

According to Ukrainian information, the plant was hit several times by Russian missiles and kamikaze drones delivered from Iran. There was a serious attack with several drones around New Year’s Eve. Parts of the facilities on the site were destroyed and have since been rebuilt. High nets have now been erected around the factory to intercept the low-flying drones.

Ukraine reports new successes in its offensive against Russian invading troops. The Ukrainian armed forces have recaptured additional areas on both the eastern and southern fronts, said Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar. In the east, almost two square kilometers were recaptured last week around the city of Bakhmut, which was taken by Russian troops in May. Among other things, part of the village of Opytne south of the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region was taken. Since the counteroffensive began three months ago, the Ukrainian military has liberated 49 square kilometers near Bakhmut.

In the south, where the Ukrainian army wants to advance towards the Sea of ​​Azov to drive a wedge into the Russian armed forces, 1.5 square kilometers were recaptured last week. Here the Ukrainian troops south of the village of Robotyne and west of the village of Verbowe in the Zaporizhzhia region achieved success.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has backed down on his security guarantee for Russian President Vladimir Putin if he visits Brazil. “I don’t know if Brazil’s judiciary will imprison him. It is the judiciary that decides, it is not the government,” Lula told reporters in New Delhi.

Lula said on Sunday on the sidelines of the G20 summit that Putin was not at risk of arrest despite an international arrest warrant issued for him in Brazil. “If I am the president of Brazil and if he comes to Brazil, he will not be arrested under any circumstances,” he had assured. The next G20 meeting will take place in November 2024 in the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro.

Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is visiting Ukraine for the fourth time since the Russian war of aggression began in February 2022. The Green politician arrived in the morning for a visit to the capital Kiev, which was initially kept secret for security reasons. Because the airspace over Ukraine is still closed, Baerbock took a special train from Poland to the capital Kiev that night, as is usual for high-ranking politicians’ visits.

Upon her arrival, Baerbock promised Ukraine continued support on its way to the European Union, but also insisted on further reform efforts, for example in the fight against corruption. Ukraine also defends “the freedom of all of us. Just as Ukraine stands before us, it can also rely on us” – for example, that Germany will give Ukraine decisive support on its way to the European Union.

According to official information, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party has clearly won the elections in the four regions of eastern Ukraine annexed by Russia, as expected. In the four war-torn Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, Kremlin-backed candidates won large majorities with more than 70 percent of the vote, according to official Russian figures.

There were no independent election observers during the vote. The situation in the regions is characterized by massive human rights violations. According to reports, citizens were forced to vote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has spoken of progress on the front. “There has been progress in the last seven days,” he said in his daily video address late Sunday evening. There is movement both in the south of Ukraine in the Zaporizhia region and around the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut. In other sectors of the front, positions were successfully defended against Russian attacks, he added.

The head of state also addressed the violent Russian missile and drone attacks in recent days. He thanked firefighters, rescue workers, police officers and volunteers who helped free those buried from the rubble in the cities of Kostiantynivka, Kryvyi Rih, Sumy and the Odessa region.

Zelensky also confirmed the Russian shelling of international aid workers from the rescue organization Road to Relief on Sunday near Bakhmut near the front. A Canadian and a Spanish woman were killed and a German and a Swede were injured and taken to hospital.

Russia’s air defense systems have intercepted two Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. There were no injuries, the debris from the drones fell on a road in the Yakovlevsky district, the governor of the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said via Telegram.

The two humanitarian workers from Germany and Sweden who were injured in an attack in eastern Ukraine at the weekend are in a “stable” condition, according to the aid organization Road to Relief. The organization said the two men were injured by shrapnel and suffered burns. They were admitted to the hospital.

Two other aid workers from Spain and Canada who were traveling in the same vehicle were killed in the attack. According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the Russian army is responsible for the attack, which occurred near Chasiv Yar on Saturday morning, according to Road to Relief.

According to US Chief of Staff Milley, Ukraine probably still has 30 to 45 days to launch its counteroffensive. According to its own statements, the Ukrainian army has made slight gains in terrain.