10:33 a.m .: Poland’s border guard counts more entries into Ukraine than exits
Shortly before the turn of the year, according to the Polish border guard, the number of entries into Ukraine was higher than that of exits. On Thursday, around 31,000 people from Poland entered the country devastated by the Russian war of aggression, the authority said on Twitter. In the same period, 27,200 departures were counted. “Before the turn of the year and the Orthodox holidays, many return to Ukraine,” said a spokeswoman for the border guards of the German Press Agency. Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7th.
10.07 a.m .: Britain reports a change in leadership in the Russian troop formation
According to British information, a Russian troop formation in a contested area in eastern Ukraine is likely to be given new leadership. Lieutenant-General Yevgeny Nikiforov is likely to be in the process of assuming command of Russia’s Western Forces Group, the British MoD wrote in its regular intelligence update. He would be at least the fourth commander at the head of the association since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
9:19 a.m .: The Federal Ministry of Agriculture organizes almost 500 food deliveries to Ukraine
By the end of the year, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture had brokered almost 500 food aid deliveries to Ukraine via its “German Food Bridge” aid project. The total volume of donations amounts to a total of 13,815 pallets, as reported by the Funke Media Group newspapers. Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) called on companies to make further donations and aid supplies for Ukraine. “It’s hard to imagine the incredible suffering people in Ukraine are suffering,” Özdemir told the Funke newspapers.
9:02 a.m .: Ukraine fends off night wave of drone attacks
According to the authorities, the Ukrainian air defense repelled renewed drone attacks in and around Kyiv and in the east of the country on Friday night. “Russia has again aimed at our infrastructure objects,” said the military governor of the Kiev region, Oleksiy Kuleba, in his Telegram channel. According to him, the air defense shot down the drones. There was no damage. The Russian armed forces have launched attacks with 16 so-called Iranian-made kamikaze drones from the north and south-east, the Ukrainian military said.
Air raid alarms were also raised in the capital Kyiv early on Friday. Shortly after 2 a.m. the sirens wailed and the city administration called on the residents via the short message service Telegram to go to the shelters. Explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard in the surrounding region. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko later stated that the capital had been attacked with seven drones.
6:54 a.m .: Bundeswehr apparently still in a desolate condition
The Defense Commissioner of the German Bundestag, Eva Högl (SPD), told the Bundeswehr a few days before taking over the leadership of the NATO Rapid Reaction Force Significant equipment deficiencies attested. For full operational readiness, there is a lack of “personal equipment such as helmets, backpacks, protective vests and small and large equipment – from radios, ammunition to tanks,” Högl told the “Rheinische Post” and the Bonn “General-anzeiger”. “The Bundeswehr has too little of almost everything.”
6:45 a.m .: Selenskyj praises the work of the Ukrainian air defense
In his evening video address, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi pointed to the successes of his country’s air defenses. The current power outages are “nothing compared to what could have happened if it weren’t for our heroic anti-aircraft and air defense forces,” Zelenskyy said. Air commandos in central, southern, eastern and western Ukraine repelled 54 Russian missiles and 11 drones during one of the largest Russian airstrikes since the war began in February.
6:32 a.m .: Habeck thanks German companies for donations in kind to Ukraine
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck thanked companies for donations in kind to Ukraine. “In view of the brutal attacks on civilian infrastructure, we have asked companies to donate technical goods such as transformers to Ukraine,” said the Greens politician to the German Press Agency in Berlin. “And they did that on a large scale.” According to Habeck, around 2,300 technical goods were delivered to the Ukraine with the help of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), including almost 30 transformers. “In the last few weeks, German companies have offered more than 60 transformers for donation, including several large ones.”
6:27 a.m .: London announces further financial aid for Kyiv
Britain will continue to provide £2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2023, according to its Defense Ministry. According to British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, this corresponds to the amount that his country had already made available to Ukraine this year.
6:01 a.m .: NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg calls for more arms deliveries to Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on Germany and the other alliance states to continue supplying arms to Ukraine. “It may sound paradoxical, but military support for Ukraine is the fastest way to peace,” the Norwegian told the German Press Agency at the turn of the year. The background is that Russian President Vladimir Putin must be convinced that he will not achieve his goal of taking control of Ukraine. Then there could be a peaceful negotiated solution that would ensure Ukraine’s survival as an independent democratic state.
5:39 a.m.: Biden secures funding for support to Ukraine
US President Joe Biden has signed his government’s new budget law, which, among other things, provides for billions in aid for Ukraine. With his signature, Biden put into effect the $1.7 trillion budget approved by both chambers of Congress on Thursday evening (local time). About half of the budget – almost 858 billion US dollars – is spent on defense. Around 45 billion US dollars have been earmarked for supporting Ukraine.
5:23 a.m .: Security expert warns of weakening Russia
The head of the security policy research group at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Claudia Major, has warned of the consequences of a Russia weakened by the war. “Any weakening of Russia and the possible breakup of this multi-ethnic state has an enormously destabilizing effect on Europe and beyond,” Major told the editorial network Germany. At first glance, a weak Russia is good news, but at second glance there are many destabilizing side effects. “We also have to ask ourselves how we will deal with the possible chaos if Russia is no longer a leading power, for example in Central Asia,” said Major.
5:03 a.m.: Great Britain supplies Ukraine with metal detectors and defusing devices
Britain has donated more than 1,000 metal detectors and 100 bomb disposal kits to Ukraine. “Russia’s use of landmines and attack on civilian infrastructure underscores the shocking ferocity of Putin’s invasion,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement. Manufactured by German company Vallon, the metal detectors and kits are helping Ukraine “clear land and buildings safely while reclaiming their rightful territory,” according to the Defense Ministry.
4:58 a.m .: Selenskyj speaks of nationwide power cuts after Russian rocket attacks
According to Kiev, the massive Russian rocket attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have led to power outages in large parts of the country. “Tonight there will be power outages in most regions of Ukraine,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video address on Thursday evening. The situation is “particularly difficult” in the Kyiv region and in the capital itself, in the western region of Lviv and in the Odessa and Cherson regions in the south of the country. According to Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, three people were killed in Thursday’s rocket attacks. Six other people, including a child, were injured.
2:11 a.m .: 15,000 people are missing in Ukraine
According to the Ukrainian presidential adviser Alona Verbytska, thousands of soldiers and civilians have been missing since the war began in Ukraine. “Russia has currently confirmed 3,392 Ukrainian prisoners of war, but 15,000 people are currently missing in Ukraine, including many civilians,” she told the editorial network Germany. The fate of these people is completely uncertain, stressed Verbytska, who works as an ombudswoman for the rights of Ukrainian soldiers.