Ukraine live blog: Kiev pushes for further sanctions after Navalny’s death

After Navalny’s death, Ukraine is urging the EU and Japan to impose new economic sanctions against Russia. Ecuador does not want to supply Soviet-era weapons to Ukraine after all. The events in the live blog.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is counting on a new aid package from the United States for his country’s defense against Russia. Shmyhal told a conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine in Tokyo that Kiev had modern equipment, trained soldiers and fought according to NATO standards. There is also the support of European countries and the United States. But the country needs more missiles for air defense against Russia at the front. “Unfortunately, they (Russian armed forces) now have the upper hand in the air, and unfortunately this leads to some consequences on the front, but I should say that our partners do not refuse the supply of military equipment to Ukraine,” the prime minister said .

If Ukraine starts using F-16 fighter jets this year, things will become easier for Ukrainian troops. But if the shortage of long-range artillery and rocket equipment continues for a longer period of time, it will pose the greatest danger to Ukraine on the battlefield.

According to an agency report, the FSB secret service in Russia arrested a woman with US-Russian citizenship who is said to have collected donations for the Ukrainian army. The woman from Los Angeles is suspected of treason, reports the state news agency Tass. The 33-year-old collected money for a Ukrainian organization whose donations ultimately benefit the Ukrainian army. The arrest took place in Yekaterinburg on the edge of the Ural Mountains.

France’s Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne has announced that he will summon the Russian ambassador to Paris. The newspaper “Le Monde” quotes Sejourne as saying this is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. According to the report, the reason is the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. On Monday, the federal government also summoned the Russian ambassador in Berlin in this context.

The Ukrainian army says it repelled a new Russian drone attack on several regions overnight. All 23 Iranian-made drones with which Russia attacked were destroyed by air defense, the Ukrainian military said via the short message service Telegram. The regions of Kharkiv, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv were attacked.

Two years after the start of the Russian war in Ukraine, there are so many unexploded bombs and mines in some areas that, according to aid workers, people’s range of movement is severely restricted. “Some areas around Kharkiv and Dnipro in the east and Mykolaiv and Kherson in the south of Ukraine are cut off from the rest of the country by bombing and contamination with mines and unexploded ordnance,” explained the head of the political department of Handicap International (HI) Germany, Eva Maria Fisherman.

“Many people sometimes don’t even dare to leave their precarious accommodation. Countless fields cannot be cultivated.” The aid organization is educating the population about the explosive remnants of war, it said. In schools and communities, they showed how people could protect themselves from danger.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received a car as a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin as a sign of their good relations, according to state media reports. Moscow handed over the Russian-made vehicle for Kim’s “personal use.” The car was received on Sunday by a secretary of the Workers’ Party Central Committee and Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, North Korean media reported. Kim Yo Jong conveyed Kim’s thanks to Putin and described the gift as a “clear demonstration of the special personal relationships between the two leaders.”

During Kim’s visit to Russia last September, Putin showed Kim a Russian luxury limousine from the Aurus brand, which also serves as the president’s state car. Since the visit, both countries have significantly increased their cooperation. A UN expert report recently said that North Korea imported significantly more goods in 2023 and expanded its trade with its new partner Russia. The US government announced in October that North Korea had sent military equipment and ammunition to Russia for the war in Ukraine.

Ecuador does not want to supply Soviet-era weapons to Ukraine after all. “Ecuador will not send military material to a country that is in an international armed conflict,” Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld said in parliament. A few days earlier, Russia had lifted an import ban on Ecuadorian bananas that had been imposed following the announcement of the arms shipments.

Ukraine is urging the European Union (EU) and Japan to impose new economic sanctions against Russia following the death of Alexei Navalny. Measures against individuals should also be considered, said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at a press conference in Tokyo. He called on the EU to also take a closer look at increasing imports of Russian grain and agricultural products.

Ukrainian President Zelensky has admitted that his army is in an “extremely difficult” situation. The traffic light groups want to call on the federal government to expand arms exports. Monday’s live blog for reading.