+++ 11:55 Jäger: Russia shocked by EU move on Ukraine +++

The EU is paving the way for accession talks with Ukraine. Russia sees this as the invaded country's path to NATO membership - and rightly so, as political scientist Thomas Jäger points out. 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 able to be 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 others.

+++ 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 .