12:43 Hundreds of Russians surrender in December: Ukrainian hotline works

More than 220 Russian soldiers are said to have surrendered to Ukraine via the "I want to live" hotline since December, reports the Financial Times , citing Vitaly Matviyenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian military intelligence service's (HUR) prisoner of war department. The 24-hour hotline set up by the HUR in September 2022 helps Russian soldiers to hand themselves or their units over to the Ukrainian military. Ukraine promises the Russian military personnel that they will be held in accordance with the Geneva Conventions after being handed over. A further 1000 extradition requests are pending, Matviyenko adds. The hotline and its associated Telegram chatbot have received more than 26,000 calls since its launch, and its website has been visited more than 48 million times. It was blocked shortly after its launch in Russia, but remains accessible via a VPN.

12:21 Successful cyberattack: Russian hacker has probably been operating in Ukrainian system for a long time
Russian hackers who took down Ukraine's largest telecommunications provider Kyivstar are believed to have infiltrated the company's internal system months before the attack, gaining access to a large amount of users' personal data, says Illia Vitiuk, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service's (SBU) cyber security agency, in an interview with Reuters. Ukraine fell victim to a massive cyberattack on December 12 that targeted Kyivstar and one of the country's main banks, Monobank. People across the country reported internet and network outages as well as problems with air raid warnings. A Russian hacker group called Solntsepek claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published on Telegram. Vitiuk says he is "pretty sure" that the attack was carried out by Sandworm, a unit of Russian military intelligence (GRU), which the SBU links to Solntsepek.

11:49 Thousands of kilometers behind the border: Ukraine torches Russian fighter jet
A Russian Su-34 fighter jet is said to have been set on fire at the Shagol airbase in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Intelligence sources told Ukrainska Pravda that the Ukrainian military intelligence service (HUR) was responsible. The extent of the damage to the aircraft, which cost at least 50 million US dollars, is unclear. So far, the HUR has not officially commented on the fire. Chelyabinsk is located almost 2000 kilometers east of the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian sabotage attacks on Russian infrastructure have been reported even further afield, such as the derailment of a freight train on December 1 in the Far Eastern Republic of Buryatia, almost 5000 kilometers from Ukraine.

11:27 Better air defense for Ukraine to come: NATO to meet next week
Following massive Russian attacks on Ukraine at the turn of the year, the NATO states and Kiev want to discuss Ukrainian air defense once again. The military alliance has announced a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council for next week. The agenda of the special meeting of diplomats is likely to include demands from Ukraine for a faster delivery of ammunition supplies. The meeting is being convened "at the request of Ukraine following the recent Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians, cities and towns", explains NATO spokesman Dylan White. The military alliance has already "delivered a large number of air defense systems to Ukraine" and is "determined to further strengthen Ukraine's defenses". The leadership in Kiev had repeatedly called on NATO countries to speed up the delivery of air defense weapons, combat drones and long-range weapons.

11:08 Where Russia and Ukraine are working together
Relations between Russia and Ukraine have been largely at a standstill since the 2021 invasion. A diplomatic solution to end the conflict seems a long way off. And yet there are individual agreements between the two countries. ntv reporter Gordian Fritz gives an overview.

10:44 Russians deny atomic energy agency access to reactor blocks in Zaporizhia
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been denied access to the reactor halls of three of the six units at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. "Five of the six reactors at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant are still shut down cold, while unit 4 is shut down hot to generate steam and heat, including for the nearby town of Enerhodar, where most of the plant's employees live. The IAEA team can still carry out inspections on the site, but not in all parts. In addition, it has been denied access to the reactor halls of units 1, 2 and 6 for the last two weeks," explains IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. This is the first time that IAEA experts have not been granted access to a reactor hall of a reactor unit that is undergoing cold shutdown," says Grossi. This is where the reactor core and the spent fuel elements are located. The team will continue to ask for this access." In addition, the experts are still waiting for the access to the reactor roofs planned for December 19, which did not take place due to safety concerns.

10:20 Obrador plan causes dispute between Ukraine and Mexico
Following statements by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador about a global five-year ceasefire, which would also include the war in Ukraine, there are initial disagreements between Kiev and Mexico City. Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office, criticizes such a "peace initiative" and explains that such a plan would only benefit the Kremlin. However, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Jermak, calms the situation with the help of a telephone call with Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena and thanks the country for its support, even if it does not support sanctions against Russia. It is positive that the Mexican embassy in Kiev has resumed its work, for example. "These steps open a new page in bilateral relations between the two countries," said Jermak.

09:59 Ukraine wants further prisoner exchange with Russia "in the coming weeks"
The Ukrainian Human Rights Ombudsman expresses hope that a further prisoner exchange with Russia could take place in the coming weeks. "I hope that the exchange process will show continuity this year. I hope that we will be able to welcome our heroes back home in the coming weeks," says Dmytro Lubinets on the TV Marathon program. Lubinets' announcement comes after yesterday's prisoner exchange, the largest since the start of the Russian invasion, in which 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home. The United Arab Emirates took part in brokering the exchange. The last previous prisoner exchange took place in August 2023. According to Ukrainian officials, Moscow had refused to continue the practice, allegedly to turn Ukrainian families of POWs against their own authorities.

09:32 Is there movement in the Taurus debate? FDP defense expert believes so
The FDP parliamentary group's defense expert Marcus Faber believes that there will be movement in the issue of the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. In an early start on RTL and ntv, he says: "I think there will be movement. You see, I was with you a year ago and that was 14 days before the Leopard 2 was released, after eleven months of debate. We have now been talking about the Taurus cruise missile for eight months. I don't think most people even knew what it was eight months ago. That's why I'm quite confident that the Chancellery, like the majority of the Bundestag, will come to the realization that it makes sense to do what the British and French have already done and deliver the Taurus."

09:09 Moscow's attrition strategy must not be allowed to work: General calls for more ammunition for air defense
Ukrainian General Serhiy Nayev warns of an acute shortage of ammunition for his country's air defense. The ammunition for Ukraine's mobile air defense systems is currently sufficient "to withstand the next heavy attacks", said Nayev on Wednesday during a visit to troops near Kiev. In the medium and long term, however, Ukraine "naturally needs the help of Western countries to replenish its missile stocks". This is "primarily about more ammunition". "Of course we would like to have more missiles for the Patriots and the systems themselves," says the commander responsible for the mobile air defense units in the capital Kiev and in the north of Ukraine, referring to US Patriot defense systems. This is because the Russian army wants to "really exhaust the air defense system". From Kiev's perspective, the massive wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine at the turn of the year highlights the urgency for increased Western deliveries of air defense systems, combat drones and medium-range missiles.

08:36 Russian missiles in Poland's airspace: Warsaw does not rule out provocation
Warsaw and its Western partners are not ruling out the possibility that the Russian missile that briefly flew through Polish airspace on December 29 was a provocation by Moscow. This is what Polish security official Jacek Siewiera says in an interview with TVN24. During a major attack on Ukraine at the end of the year, Russia fired 158 drones and missiles, 114 of which were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses. Polish officials claim that one of the Russian missiles crossed the border into Poland before turning back. Siewiera, the head of Poland's National Security Office, now says that Polish authorities "have enough information to confirm that this missile was shot down by Russian systems". "It is difficult to assume that the crossing 40 kilometers from the border was accidental," comments Siewiera, hinting at Moscow's intention. When asked whether the incident could have been a deliberate provocation, Siewiera says: "I can't rule it out. The allies are not ruling it out either." The Polish official links the incident to the new Polish government.

08:08 Number of victims rises to 32 after major Russian attack on Kiev
The number of Ukrainians killed in Russian mass attacks on Kiev on December 29 rises to 32 after two more bodies were found in the rubble, says Serhii Popko, the head of Kiev's military administration. Yesterday, Wednesday, the number was raised to 30 after another wounded person died in hospital. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, this was the deadliest attack on civilians in Kiev since the start of the full-scale invasion.

07:33 US administration sees no corruption in Kiev over weapons supplied
The Biden administration says US weapons provided to Ukraine "are being used appropriately on the battlefield," White House national security spokesman John Kirby tells reporters Wednesday. "We have seen no evidence that the Ukrainian military has been corrupted or misused across the board," Kirby said. The U.S. has provided $44.2 billion in military aid since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022, and more than $47 billion since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014. In September, the US sent staff to Kiev to assess the use of American military aid, according to the report by the US Department of Defense Inspector General's Office.

06:58 Russian governor: 600 people evacuated in Belgorod
Yesterday, Wednesday, Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out further missile and drone attacks on the southern Belgorod region. The governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, later explained that 600 residents had to be evacuated due to unexploded ammunition. A total of 323 houses within a radius of 500 meters were evacuated while sappers assessed the danger, he says. Several villages had come under fire and a power line had been cut, Gladkov added. There have been repeated attacks on the southern Russian region since the weekend. According to Russian reports, 25 people have been killed.

06:19 Ukrainians are tired of the war: "Telemarathon" by Selenskyj and Co is annoying
Once called a "weapon" by President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, many Ukrainians say after nearly two years of war they are fed up with the government-backed telemarathon broadcast around the clock, the New York Times reported on January 3. Oksana Romaniuk, head of the Kiev Institute for Mass Information, called it state propaganda and said, "Everyone is fed up with this image that says: we are winning, everyone likes us and gives us money." Since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukrainians have only seen one television news program, which revolves around political leaders seeking support abroad and troops shelling Russian positions. There are also catchy slogans and mood-lifting themes. Most Ukrainians saw the telemarathon as vital at the beginning of the war. "It was life-saving content," says Khrystyna Havryliuk, a well-known local journalist. But in the third year of the war, the number of Ukrainians who trust the Telemarathon has dropped significantly - from 69 percent in May 2022 to just 43 percent in December 2023, according to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

01:39 Ukraine reports new attacks on Kharkiv
Russian airstrikes are reported again from Kharkiv in the late evening. According to the military administration, there is damage to civilian infrastructure in the city center. No casualties have been reported so far.

23:06 Ukrainian energy supplier fears no serious outages
The Ukrainian state energy supplier Ukrenerho does not expect the power grid to collapse, even if Russia uses the coming cold weather for new attacks. "The enemy will not reach it," says Ukrenerho boss Volodymyr Kudrytsky. Hits would cause problems. "But I am sure that it will only be temporary interruptions to the power supply due to damage to some systems," says Kudryzkyj. Nevertheless, he advises Ukrainians to use electricity sparingly.

22:01 France sees only Ukrainian self-defense in Belgorod attack
The French Foreign Ministry comments on the attack on the Russian city of Belgorod, for which Moscow blames Ukraine and in which 24 people were killed and over 100 others injured. Kiev has not claimed responsibility for the attack. "There is an attacking state, Russia, which is carrying out a strategy of terror by deliberately attacking important civilian infrastructure in violation of international humanitarian law, and an attacked state, Ukraine, which is acting in self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter," says a representative of the French Foreign Ministry. "Russia can put an end to this conflict and the human tragedies associated with it, for which it bears full responsibility. To do so, it must withdraw all its troops from the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine."

21:17 Emergency power supply at Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant improved
The emergency power system at the occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia has been improved to prevent a nuclear accident. At the urging of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Russian operators of the nuclear power plant near the front line have set up a system that automatically connects the nuclear power plant to a backup power line in the event of a main line failure. This was announced by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in Vienna. The power plant, which is currently not generating any electricity, needs external power to ensure that the reactors are cooled on a permanent basis. The nuclear power plant has already suffered several temporary power outages in the course of the Russian war of aggression.

20:38 USA rejects report on changed Ukraine strategy
The USA rejects a media report that it is seeking to change Ukraine's strategy in the war against Russia. In response to a question from journalists, a State Department spokesperson stated that this was "not true". On December 27, Politico reported that the USA and European representatives were secretly changing their focus. According to the report, the Ukrainian goal of a complete victory over Russia should no longer be pursued. Instead, an improvement in the situation before negotiations to end the war is being advocated. An unnamed representative of the US government and a European diplomat were cited as sources.

20:04 Experts are not allowed to enter the reactor halls of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been prevented from inspecting the reactor halls of three units at the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhya, according to the organization. Experts have not been allowed to enter the reactor halls of units one, two and six over the past two weeks, explains IAEA Director Rafael Grossi. "This is the first time that IAEA experts have not been given access to a reactor hall of a unit that was in cold shutdown." In addition, access to some parts of the power plant's turbine halls is still restricted, Grossi explains. The IAEA is also waiting for the access to the reactor roofs planned for December 19, which "did not take place due to safety concerns". Grossi added that his team would continue to request access to the reactor halls where the reactor core and spent fuel are located.

You can read about all previous developments here.