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According to Russian information, Ukrainian drones were shot down over Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the dispute over US aid to Ukraine, President Biden has hit the top congressmen. All developments in the live blog.
The US special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine, Penny Pritzker, has shown optimism in the dispute over billions in aid for the country attacked by Russia. “The United States must fulfill its commitments to Ukraine, and I believe it will,” Pritzker said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The political process in the US is complicated in an election year “and sometimes ugly and chaotic.”
President Joe Biden had already requested more than $61 billion from the US Congress for further support at the end of October. However, the Republicans tied the release of the funds to a tightening of asylum policy in the USA.
The Ukrainian military attempted to attack an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, according to the Russian-installed administration in Zaporizhia. A drone was launched for this purpose, said Vladimir Rogov, a representative of the occupation administration. Russian authorities have previously said the drone was intercepted over the St. Petersburg area. It was the first time since the beginning of the war that drones were intercepted over the region. The information cannot currently be independently verified.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian military fired 33 drones and two missiles into Ukraine overnight. 22 drones were intercepted and destroyed. Several other drones did not reach their destination. “The main attack areas were the south and north,” the Air Force said on the Telegram message service.
In the southern city of Kherson, residential areas were attacked. The military said several buildings were damaged and a woman was injured. A farm in Beryslaw, which is in the Kherson Oblast, was also attacked by drones. The target of the attacks was also the Mykolaiv Oblast, where debris from falling drones damaged a storage building of an agricultural company. There were no injuries there.
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.
Hatched: territories occupied by Russia
President Volodymyr Zelensky appeals to Ukraine and its people to take the initiative to influence the course of the 22-month war against Russia and secure the support of the world. “Ukraine needs an ambitious and proactive perspective, so that the initiative lies with us and not with the enemy, so that the end of the war depends on Ukrainian actions,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “The world supports those who have a perspective. And that is the fundamental task – to maintain the initiative so that we have the opportunity to become stronger.” In the war that has been going on for almost two years, the front lines have remained virtually unchanged for several months.
After US President Joe Biden met with leaders of both parties in Congress, the question of future US aid to Ukraine remains open, but the White House is optimistic. Biden is encouraged by the progress in the negotiations and is striving for a cross-party agreement, it said in a statement in the evening (local time).
The Republicans have linked the release of further funds for Ukraine to a tightening of asylum policy in the USA. The Democrat Biden had scheduled the meeting on Wednesday to bring movement to the debate. The Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, spoke afterwards of a “productive meeting”. At the same time, he emphasized that US border policy was his party’s top priority. “We understand that there are concerns about Ukraine’s security and sovereignty,” Johnson said. “But the American people have the same concerns about our own domestic sovereignty and our security.”
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, anti-aircraft units intercepted a Ukrainian drone over the Moscow region and a second over the St. Petersburg region. The incidents occurred around 1:30 a.m. (local time), the ministry said via the short message service Telegram. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin had previously announced via Telegram that anti-aircraft units had shot down a drone heading for Moscow. Debris fell to the ground, but there was no damage or injuries. The information cannot be independently verified.
According to Foreign Minister Sikorski, Poland wants to ramp up ammunition production for Ukraine. The Bundestag’s military commissioner, the SPD politician Högl, is promoting further arms deliveries. All developments can be read in the live blog.