live blog
Russian news agencies have reported suspected withdrawals in southern Ukraine – and then retracted them again. Foreign Minister Baerbock promises a “massive expansion” of support for Ukraine. All developments in the live blog.
Training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets begins in Romania. Romania’s Defense Minister Angel Tilvar and his Dutch counterpart Kajsa Ollongren opened the EFTC training center at the Borcea air force base near Fetesti, 150 kilometers east of Bucharest. The Netherlands is providing 12 to 18 fighter jets for the program, in which Romanian pilots are also taking part. The F-16 manufacturer Lockheed is sending trainers and maintenance personnel.
It is unclear when Ukraine will be able to use the fighter jets in the war zone. It is estimated that pilot training will take at least six months.
Romania itself currently owns 17 used F-16 fighter jets that the country purchased from Portugal. These should be modernized. Romania also purchased 32 used F-16 jets from Norway, of which Defense Minister Tilvar estimates that the first eight will be delivered this year.
Two Russian state news agencies briefly reported on an alleged withdrawal of their own army in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine – but withdrew the report shortly afterwards. “The leadership of the ‘Dnepr’ group has decided to regroup the armed forces to more favorable positions in the east of the (river) Dnipro,” the Tass news agency said. A second, Ria Novosti, shared a similar text. A few minutes later, both announced that the reports had been “cancelled.”
A little later, the RBK portal also quoted the Russian Ministry of Defense as saying that it was a case of “sending false news” and a “provocation”. What exactly was behind the incident was initially unclear. The military itself did not distribute any such information. Journalists from the Meduza portal pointed out that Russian state media often received ministry announcements before they were officially published.
The Russian military has used “regroupings” to describe its own defeats and retreats in the past – for example in the fall of 2022 in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has announced a significant expansion of support for Ukraine. “As strong as the current crisis diplomacy is with regard to the Near and Middle East, it is also important that we face the geopolitical challenges here locally,” said the Green politician at a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. “Our support will be massively expanded, especially for the next year.”
Baerbock did not provide any details about the plans for the coming year. With a view to the next few weeks and months, she referred to the so-called winter protection umbrella, which, among other things, provides for the delivery of another “Patriot” anti-aircraft system and power generators. This is intended to prevent Russian attacks from causing Ukrainians to freeze in the winter.
According to information from ARD capital studios German military aid to Ukraine is expected to increase to eight billion euros next year.
Russian troops are increasingly attacking frontline cities in eastern Ukraine. Almost five million people have fled within Ukraine because of the Russian attacks.