+++ 03:26 Lithuanian Commander-in-Chief: No country contributes as much to NATO's eastern flank as Germany +++

The Commander-in-Chief of the Lithuanian army, General Valdemaras Rupšys, praises the planned stationing of a permanent Bundeswehr brigade in his country. "Germany is demonstrating extraordinary decisiveness and leadership here," he told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. "No other NATO country is doing so much on NATO's eastern flank. For Lithuania, the stationing of a permanent brigade means security, deterrence and trust in our country." Germany wants to station around 4,000 soldiers permanently in Lithuania as a combat-ready and independently capable unit. The defense ministers of both countries plan to sign the exact roadmap in Vilnius on Monday.

+++ 01:57 Zelensky praises air defense successes +++Afterseveral days and nights of heavy Russian air attacks on Ukraine, President Zelensky praises the work of the air defense. In one week, 104 of 112 attacking Shahed drones have been intercepted, says Zelensky in his evening video. "And the destruction of every single one means that lives and infrastructure have been saved." Ballistic missiles from Russia were also knocked out of the sky. "The Patriots, NASAMS, Cheetahs and other systems provided by our partners work perfectly," he says, referring to foreign air defense systems. It is important to further improve the air defense over Ukraine. Dozens of people have been injured by the attacks this week, according to civilian authorities.

+++ 00:15 Kuleba praises Scholz's leadership at EU summit +++UkrainianForeign Minister Dmytro Kuleba praises Chancellor Scholz's commitment to Ukraine at the recent EU summit: "What Chancellor Olaf Scholz did at the summit to remove the threat of a Hungarian veto will go down in history as an act of German leadership in the interests of Europe," Kuleba told Bild am Sonntag. He hopes "that this will also mean a broader and irreversible turnaround in Germany's attitude towards leading efforts to resolve the most complicated issues", Kuleba continued. In the deadlocked dispute over the start of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine, Scholz had suggested to Hungary's Prime Minister Orban that he leave the meeting for the decision to allow the other heads of state and government to reach the necessary consensus.

+++ 23:22 Ukrainian truck driver dies at blocked Polish border +++AnotherUkrainian driver apparently died atthe border between Ukraine and Poland, which was blocked by Polish truck drivers. The Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne reports that the man fell ill at the Krakivets-Korczowa border crossing and died while being transported to a clinic. Two other Ukrainian drivers had already died in the blockade in November. Polish drivers have been blocking several border crossings since the beginning of November. They say Ukrainian drivers are undercutting Polish prices and are calling on the EU to reintroduce a system that would require Ukrainian companies to have a permit to operate in the EU and allow European truck drivers to drive to Ukraine. Slovakian drivers had staged similar protests at border crossings this week, but ended their action on Friday.

+++ 22:19 Austria abandons blockade of Russia sanctions +++Austriaabandons its blockade of the twelfth EU sanctions package against Russia. Ukraine had previously removed the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International from a blacklist, according to the website of the government in Kiev and an EU diplomat. Austria had pushed for the bank to be removed from the Ukrainian list of "international sponsors of the war". The list aims to put pressure on companies that do business in Russia and support the war effort, for example by paying taxes. The list has no legal status, but is symbolically important.

+++ 21:51 Authority: Communities in Sumy attacked with bombs, shells and artillery +++++Thenorth-eastern region of Sumy registers 138 explosions in one day. The Russian armed forces have attacked several communities with artillery, mines and mortar shells, writes the region's administration. Drones have also dropped bombs. In the community of Yunakivska, a civilian was injured by mortar fire.

Oleksandr Nazarenko, a senior sergeant in the Ukrainian border guard, stands in a military position in the Sumy region.

+++ 21:20 Nikopol: City under constant shelling +++According to local authorities, thecity of Nikopol is under constant shelling. The Russian armed forces have attacked Nikopol and two surrounding communities several times from morning to evening - with artillery and drones. The Ukrainian armed forces shot down five of seven kamikaze drones. However, three men were injured by the explosion of mines, according to reports from Nikopol. Several residential and commercial buildings were damaged. The port city on the Dnipro River is located in south-eastern Ukraine.

+++ 20:48 Military warns of missile and drone attacks +++ In theevening, another air alarm sounds in parts of Ukraine, following a series of drone attacks the night before. "Danger of missiles", warned the air force on social networks for several regions in the center and east of the country. Combat drones were in the sky over the south - from Kherson towards Mykolaiv. The military is also warning of drones in the north-eastern region of Kharkiv.

+++ 20:34 Moscow: Sanctions package will harm the EU itself +++Moscowcriticizes the EU's latest sanctions package against Russia. According to the state news agency Tass, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that it would cause more damage to the European Union itself. She did not go into further detail. The package provides for the introduction of an import ban on diamonds and a tightening of the price cap on Russian oil exports to third countries. Trade restrictions are also planned for other goods as well as punitive measures against individuals and organizations that support the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

+++ 20:00 London considers cyber attack on Kyivstar unprecedented +++According to British intelligence services, thehacker attack on the Ukrainian mobile phone provider Kyivstar was probably the most serious attack on Ukrainian networks since the start of the war. The effects lasted at least 48 hours, according to the British Ministry of Defense. The cyberattack on Tuesday morning completely disrupted the mobile and internet services of the provider, which claims to have around 24 million customers. The cyberattack also reportedly disrupted air alerts and caused disruption to banks and ATMs. The Solnzepjok group, which Ukraine believes to be linked to the Russian military intelligence service GRU, claimed responsibility for the attack. The hackers justified the attack by claiming that Kyivstar was supporting the Ukrainian army.

+++ 19:34 Avdiivka remains focus of fighting +++Accordingto its leadership, theUkrainian army continues to fend off dozens of Russian attacks along the front in the east and south of the country this Saturday. Most of the Russian assaults were again in the town of Avdiivka and the surrounding area in the Donbass, where 27 attacks were repelled. A total of 71 battles are reported across the country. Russian troops have been trying to cut off the Ukrainian defenders in Avdiivka for weeks. They are suffering heavy losses in the process, but are advancing solely due to their superior numbers of soldiers and technology. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in the USA, for example, speaks of Russian territorial gains. According to this, the Russian troops have also been on the offensive in the northern front section of Kupjansk for days and are making territorial gains.

+++ 19:07 Zaporizhia reports shelling of numerous locations +++ Numerouslocations in the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia are under fire. According to the regional military administration, 19 towns and villages were attacked by Russian forces yesterday. They also used attack drones. No casualties are reported.

Pictures from the city of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhya region, taken on Wednesday.

According to the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform, they show houses, ...

... which were badly damaged by Russian shelling.

+++ 18:18 Three abducted children returned, according to Kiev +++Tens of thousands ofUkrainian children are said to have been abducted to Russia or to areas controlled by Russia. Three more of them have been returned to their families, announced the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak. Through the mediation of Qatar, it was also possible to bring back two children from the Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine, while the other child was in Russia. Ukraine speaks of at least 20,000 abducted children, of whom more than 500 have been retrieved. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the Kremlin leader and his children's representative in March. Russia denies abduction.

+++ 17:44 Russia: Two dead from HIMARS missile strike +++TheRussian authorities report two deaths in Ukrainian bombardments of the Russian-occupied territory in the Kherson region. Several missiles were fired at the village of Nova Majashka, the majority of which were intercepted, according to Vladimir Saldo, a representative of the authorities appointed by Moscow. However, he claims that one US HIMARS missile "hit during the distribution of aid supplies". Two civilians were killed and two others were injured. The information cannot be independently verified. The Ukrainian military had previously reported Russian drone attacks during the night, which targeted the Kherson region and Kiev, among others. According to the report, 30 out of 31 combat drones were shot down.

+++ 17:15 Hungary threatens Bulgaria with veto over taxes on Russian gas +++Hungaryannounces a veto against Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen zone if the country does not abolish the transit tax on Russian gas. This was announced by the Foreign Ministry in Budapest. While Western European countries have made great efforts to do without imports of Russian gas, Hungary receives 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia, mainly via Bulgaria and Serbia. The members of the so-called Schengen Agreement waive border controls among themselves. Read more about this here.

+++ 16:43 Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria want to clear sea mines +++Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria want to jointly clear sea mines in the Black Sea. Turkish Defense Minister Guler announced that they would sign a treaty to this effect in January. "Due to the war between Ukraine and Russia, mines have been laid in both Ukrainian and Russian ports. These sometimes come loose and reach our straits due to the current," explains Guler.

+++ 16:16 Thiele: Russian "EloKa" makes Western weapons imprecise +++According to retired colonel Ralph Thiele, theUkrainian defenders are not only lacking supplies from the West, but weapons that have already been delivered are also offering less and less protection. Added to this is the difficult situation in icy terrain. In Thiele's eyes, the threat of Russian breakthroughs at the front is more likely.

+++ 15:36 Touching established Russian assets? Report on US initiative +++Accordingto a report, the G7 states are increasingly discussing the possibility of supporting Ukraine with Russian state assets. The "Financial Times" writes that the USA has argued in G7 committees in recent weeks that there is a way to seize the assets "in accordance with international law". According to the report, the US proposes to discuss the issue with the G7 heads of state and government in February. According to the report, the G7 countries have so far largely rejected this step - partly in order to avoid scaring off investors. Furthermore, according to the EU, the money still belongs to Russia and must be returned as soon as the sanctions against Russia are lifted. Instead, the EU has so far been discussing the proposal to siphon off profits from the assets. It is estimated that around 300 billion euros in Russian central bank reserves have been blocked in the EU and G7 countries.

+++ 14:40 Russian border region again reports drone attacks +++TheRussian Kursk Oblast again reports Ukrainian drone attacks. Governor Roman Starovoit reported early this morning that eight houses had been damaged in the village of Krupets, which lies just a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border. In other places in the region, there was damage to a power line and a compressor station, he wrote. Starovoit had already reported a drone attack over Kursk the day before - according to him, four drones were shot down.

+++ 13:55 Putin prepares to run for president again +++Aroundthree months before the planned presidential election, preparations are underway in Russia for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to run for president again. A so-called voters' initiative, which includes selected politicians as well as sportsmen and artists loyal to the Kremlin, unanimously nominated Putin on Saturday as a candidate for the vote in March 2024, according to state media reports. The next step is to collect signatures from citizens to officially finalize the nomination - but even that is considered a mere formality in Russia in view of the accusations of manipulation and the near elimination of the opposition.

+++ 13:30 Unger: "Russia seems to be going all out" +++This is thesixth time this month that Russian airstrikes have hit the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Several explosions were heard there during the night, reports ntv reporter Carolin Unger. Meanwhile, the troops on the front line are also struggling with the cold. Instead of snow, ice is falling from the sky.

+++ 12:47 Russia: Mobilizing reserves for the capture of Kupiansk +++Russiais reinforcing its troops in the Kharkiv region in order to force the capture of Kupiansk. The army is moving reserves of assault battalions into the area to replace the heavy losses suffered recently. This is what a Russian army spokesman said on the radio. According to the Russian forces, they are trying to capture the village of Synkiwka in the Kharkiv oblast in the hope of paving the way for a blockade of nearby Kupiansk. The village is an important logistical hub and was recaptured by the Ukrainians in the fall of 2022. Since the summer, Moscow has concentrated a large force on the Kupiansk-Lyman axis in north-eastern Ukraine. Heavy fighting has been taking place there ever since.

+++ 12:24 Despite request: Kiev receives no old cars from London +++TheMayor of London refuses to deliver cars recently handed in by citizens for scrapping to Kiev. The mayor there, Vitali Klitschko, had asked for the pick-ups and four-wheel drive vehicles, which London residents could hand in for a payment of 2,000 pounds if they did not comply with the capital's environmental regulations. The cars should actually be scrapped, but they could still be of good service in Kiev. Klitschko had therefore written to his London counterpart Sadiq Khan that the vehicles had "enormous potential" and could be used for emergency rescue and transportation. However, a rejection came from London, which also caused criticism in the UK.

+++ 11:55 Jäger: Russia shocked by EU move on Ukraine +++TheEU is paving the way for accession talks with Ukraine. Russia sees this as the invaded country's way into NATO - and rightly so, as political scientist Thomas Jäger sees it. The Kremlin is accordingly shocked. Meanwhile, Hungary's Prime Minister Orban is already announcing the next blackmail.

+++ 11:18 CNN: Without US and NATO aid, Ukraine could lose by summer 2024 +++Alarmedby the blocked funding for Ukraine in the US Congress, Western intelligence agencies are now calculating how long Ukraine could withstand the Russian invasion without US and NATO aid. According to a CNN report, a senior US military official estimates it could be "months", with the worst-case scenario being "a significant setback or even defeat" by the summer of 2024. The broadcaster quotes another official as saying there is no guarantee of success with US help, but without it, Ukraine's defeat is certain.

+++ 10:47 Underground fighting in Mariupol: Russian officer's car explodes +++ AUkrainian resistance group operating underground in Mariupol has blown up a car carrying a Russian officer from a Caucasian unit. This was reported by an advisor to the mayor of Mariupol on Telegram. According to the report, the Russian officer is in hospital. "The explosion occurred in parallel with a series of Ukrainian military strikes on Mariupol, which enabled the underground group to carry out its attack hidden from the police and intelligence services," the advisor said.

+++ 09:55 Ukraine reports downing of 30 Russian drones +++TheUkrainian military says it has intercepted 30 of 31 drones that Russian forces fired at Ukraine on Saturday night. They were shot down over eleven regions in the center, north and south of the country, the air force explained on Telegram. They were Iranian Shahed drones.

+++ 09:27 Ukrainians fight on slippery ground around Avdiivka +++There are growing signs of an imminent new Russian offensive on the city of Avdiivka. The Ukrainians say that the attacks have intensified and are now expecting Moscow's infantry. The defenders are not only fighting against enemy soldiers, but also against the harsh winter.

+++ 08:42 Kherson under heavy fire +++Sinceyesterday, Russian troops have attacked the Kherson region 83 times, firing 483 shells. Four people were injured, the head of the military administration of the Kherson region said on the Internet, as reported by the Ukrinform portal. According to the report, Russia used mortars, artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles, tanks, aircraft and multiple rocket launcher systems (MLRS). Among other things, a healthcare building and an administrative building were damaged. Kherson was liberated from Russian occupation by Ukrainian troops, but since then the people have been living under constant Russian attack.

+++ 07:59 Ukraine: Russia lost 930 fighters yesterday +++++Russia has lost 930fighters in the last 24 hours. This is the latest estimate of the Ukrainian General Staff. The total number of soldiers lost since the outbreak of the war in February 2022 is 344,820. 14 tanks were knocked out yesterday, as well as 13 armored vehicles, 12 drones and an artillery system.

+++ 07:43 BBC: Russia spreads fake news millions of times via Tiktok +++Russiaalso uses Tiktok effectively for its information war. According to BBC research, thousands of fake accounts on the video portal, which is also very popular with young Germans, are spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine. Fake videos aimed at undermining support for the West are viewed millions of times. In several European countries, films about high-ranking Ukrainian officials spread false claims that they had bought luxury cars and villas abroad. According to the BBC, it has uncovered almost 800 fake Tiktok accounts since July. For example, it was claimed that the daughter of Ukraine's former defense minister had bought a villa in Madrid. The following day, a similar claim was circulated, but the villa was suddenly located on the French Riviera.

+++ 06:56 Glimmer of hope for US reporter Gershkovich +++Journalist Evan Gershkovich,who is imprisoned in Russia, was visited by the American ambassador on Friday. Gershkovich, who writes for the Wall Street Journal, has been in custody for months. He is accused of espionage, which the 32-year-old denies. At the end of March, he was arrested by the Russian security service during a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, where a large part of the Russian arms industry is based. In his press appearance on Thursday, President Putin announced that Russia wanted to achieve an "acceptable" prisoner exchange for both states.

Gershkovich in the glass cage at a hearing in October

+++ 06:27 Drone attack on Kiev repelled +++Thenight-time attack on Kiev was successfully thwarted without causing any casualties or major damage. According to the head of the capital's municipal military administration, "all energy targets were destroyed by air defenses" and it was the sixth airstrike since the beginning of December. Residents were warned to stay in the air raid shelters. Earlier attacks in December used missiles fired from bombers combined with drones. "Tonight, after three days of ballistic threats, the enemy again attempted a drone barrage on the capital," said Mayor Vitali Klitschko. "The drones attacked in groups, waves and from different directions."

+++ 04:56 Lithuania supplies millions of cartridges to Ukraine +++Lithuaniais providing Ukraine with further military aid for the fight against Russia. The army has handed over several million cartridges and thousands of shells for portable short-range anti-tank systems to Kiev, according to the Ministry of Defense in Vilnius. Around a thousand folding beds have also been delivered. "We are listening to Ukraine's urgent requests and are continuing our support in line with the needs expressed. We are actively encouraging our allies to do the same," said Defense Minister Anusauskas.

+++ 03:34 Ukraine puts head of the Russian Orthodox Church on wanted list +++TheUkrainian Interior Ministry puts the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, on its wanted list. The country's secret services accuse Kirill of supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government wants to curb the influence of priests from the Russian Orthodox Church, who it claims have close ties to Russia and are infiltrating Ukrainian society. Kirill's entry on the wanted list is purely symbolic, as the patriarch is in Russia and does not face arrest there.

+++ 02:14 Russian local politician imprisoned for criticizing the war has disappeared +++Aformer Moscow local politician, who was sentenced to seven years in prison last year for criticizing the Russian offensive in Ukraine, has been missing for days by his supporters. Alexei Gorinov is no longer in the penal colony in Pokrov, around 200 kilometers east of Moscow, where he was previously imprisoned, his support group announced on Telegram. Gorinov's lawyers have been trying in vain all week to obtain information about his whereabouts and state of health, explains the group, which is concerned about the 62-year-old's state of health. "We assume and hope that Alexei Gorinov has been transferred to a hospital," the statement reads.

+++++ 00:52 Drone attacks on Kiev and the surrounding area +++Explosionsshake the Ukrainian capital Kiev. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, air defenses are being deployed against Russian drones. The Russian forces had targeted areas near the city center. There had also been explosions in the historic Podil district. An air alert had been triggered. The authorities are also warning of possible missile attacks on Kiev and the surrounding area. Russia has stepped up its air strikes on Ukraine in recent days, using drones, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles and cruise missiles.

+++ 00:29 Macron: Orban must not hold the EU hostage +++According to French President Macron, the next few months will be crucial for both Hungary and the EU. Hungarian Prime Minister Orban must therefore not be allowed to hold the international community hostage, Macron said at the end of the EU summit with regard to the planned multi-million euro aid for Ukraine. Due to a veto by Hungary, the other heads of state and government were unable to approve a revision of the EU budget, including a 50 billion euro financial aid package for Ukraine, as planned this Friday. The negotiations will therefore have to be continued next year.

+++ 22:48 Putin warns against "interference" in presidential election +++Russian head of state Putin warns foreign countries against any "interference" in next year's presidential election. Any interference in Russia's internal affairs will be "severely suppressed", Putin said at a televised meeting with the heads of the parties represented in parliament. Putin announced his candidacy for another term as president last week. The election will take place next March, around two years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

+++ 21:58 First "Leopard 2" tanks in Lithuania have been repaired +++Thefirst "Leopard 2" tanks have been repaired in Lithuania following their deployment in Ukraine. The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense writes on X that the tanks are ready to return to the front.

+++ 21:27 Russia: 26 drones shot down over Crimea +++Russiaaccuses Ukraine of a major drone attack on Crimea. This has been stopped, writes the Russian Ministry of Defense on Telegram. Within two hours, 26 Ukrainian drones were shot down in the evening. On Telegram, the Ukrainian armed forces confirm explosions in Sevastopol, the Simferopol area and Dzhankoy, among other places.

+++ 21:08 Explosions reported in Crimea, Sevastopol announces downing of drone +++++Reports of explosions are coming fromRussia-occupied Crimea. According to the Telegram channels Krym.Realii and Krymskii Veter, local residents are reporting explosions in various places on the peninsula - for example in Dzhankoy and in the Simferopol area. The governor of the port city of Sevastopol, Mikhail Rasvoshayev, who was appointed by Moscow, only confirmed on Telegram that a drone had been shot down. The air defenses in Sevastopol were active. There was no damage to the infrastructure, he continued. This information cannot be independently verified. In many cases, it turns out afterwards that the Ukrainian shelling did cause damage that is not officially reported.

+++ 20:48 Russia reports drone launches over its own territory +++Ukrainiandrones are said to have flown over the Russian region of Kursk, which borders north-eastern Ukraine. According to Governor Roman Starovoit, the air defense is active in the evening. Four drones have been shot down, according to both Starovit and the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow.

+++ 20:20 Dozens of Ukrainian children allegedly tortured +++ Kievaccuses the Russian armed forces of killing at least 512 Ukrainian children and injuring 1158 others since the start of the war. This was stated by Dmytro Lubinez, the government's human rights commissioner, according to the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform. At a meeting of the Committee for the Protection of Ukrainian Children in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, he reported war crimes against children, he said. The number of victims is increasing daily. At least 13 girls and boys have also been victims of sexual violence and at least 75 children have been tortured by the Russian military, says Lubinez, citing figures from the General Prosecutor's Office.

You can read about all previous developments here .

+++ 03:26 Lithuanian Commander-in-Chief: No country contributes as much to NATO's eastern flank as Germany +++