live blog
Ukraine reports several Russian attacks, some of which were repelled – one person was killed. US Secretary of State Blinken has emphasized the benefits of military aid for the US economy. All developments in the live blog.
According to Ukrainian information, Russian warplanes fired 19 long-range missiles at targets in Ukraine this morning. One civilian was killed and four others were injured in central Ukraine, government officials said. The attack was the first major missile salvo Russia has fired in weeks. The Ukrainian capital Kiev was also the destination. In recent weeks, Russia has primarily used drones in its nighttime attacks.
“Unfortunately, one person is dead,” said the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Serhiy Lyssak, via the short message service Telegram. The air defense fired 14 missiles over the region outside Kiev and the central Dnipropetrovsk region, air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat said on television.
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.
Around a week before the possible decision on whether his country should begin EU accession negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj once again appeared hopeful. It is a Ukrainian priority to make final decisions in parliament so that Ukraine meets all the required conditions, Zelensky said in his evening video speech on Thursday. “We believe that the EU will also fulfill all its promises to Ukraine,” he added.
Ukraine received candidate status in 2022. A large majority of EU states now actually want to decide at a summit on December 14th and 15th, among other things, about the official start of accession negotiations for the country attacked by Russia. But it is still questionable whether this will happen. Because Hungary has threatened to veto it. According to observers, Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to increase the pressure to obtain frozen EU funding for his country.
According to Ukrainian sources, at least one person was injured in Russian rocket attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The regional military administration said on the Telegram online service that night that the city had been hit by six rockets. Several residential buildings were damaged. An injured person was therefore treated on site. According to the military administration, the city was allegedly attacked with Russian S-300 missiles. Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov spoke of at least five rocket hits.
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.
In view of the great political resistance to further aid to Ukraine, the US government is now also aggressively using economic arguments to promote further support for Kiev. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after meeting his British counterpart David Cameron in Washington: “If you look at the investments we have made in the defense of Ukraine (…), 90 percent of the security support we have provided actually issued here in the United States – by our manufacturers.” Blinken emphasized: “This has created more American jobs and more growth in our own economy.”
According to the Ukrainian military spokesman, Russian forces are increasing air missions and deploying more attack troops to take the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. “For the second day in a row, the occupation forces have actively used kamikaze drones and aircraft. The number of battles has increased significantly,” military spokesman Oleksandr Stupun said on state television.
Ukraine has signed an agreement with two US companies to jointly produce artillery shells. In view of border blockades by Polish freight forwarders, Ukraine wants to use more freight trains. Thursday’s live blog for reading.