+++ 14:21 US soldiers to be stationed in Denmark +++

US soldiers can be stationed on Danish soil in future. A corresponding agreement between the two countries and NATO partners was announced by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen. The agreement is initially valid for ten years. The USA has already concluded similar agreements with Finland and Sweden this month. According to Frederiksen, the agreement will come into force in about a year after a parliamentary procedure.

+++ 13:58 Billion-euro deal for Moscow - Peskov announces circumvention of diamond sanction +++Followingthe imposition of an EU ban on the import of diamonds from Russia, the Russian government announces its circumvention. The import ban passed on Monday was "predictable", says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The diamond sector had already prepared for this: "I think there are ways to circumvent these sanctions. There are, and they will be implemented to protect our interests." The twelfth EU sanctions package due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was finally adopted on Monday, provides for a ban on the import of natural and synthetic diamonds and jewelry from Russia from January 2024. From September next year, diamonds originating from Russia and cut in other countries will also no longer be allowed to be imported. According to estimates, Russia earns around 3.7 to 4.6 billion euros a year from the diamond trade.

+++ 13:29 Storms in the Black Sea: Sea mines become a deadly danger for civilians +++Theprolonged storms in the Black Sea have increased the risk of sea mines being driven into places that pose a danger to the civilian population, says Nataliia Humeniuk, spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Southern Operational Command, on state television, as reported by Ukrinform. Hundreds of mines have been laid in the Black Sea since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022. Sea mines have been washed up on the Ukrainian coast during storms, which, according to Humeniuk, has happened several times in the Mykolaiv and Odessa regions in recent days. Civilians have been killed and injured by mines that have landed near the Ukrainian Black Sea beaches.

+++ 13:07 Russian Consulate General in Leipzig to close at the end of the year +++TheRussian Consulate General in Leipzig will close by the end of the year. This is reported by the Leipziger Volkszeitung. Anyone who contacts the Russian diplomatic mission with a request only receives an automatic response: the Consulate General has been closed since November 1. They are referred to Bonn and Berlin. After the German Foreign Ministry asked the Moscow representation to do so in May, the signs are now actually pointing to its closure. The closure is linked to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the expulsion of hundreds of German embassy staff in Moscow. At the end of May, the German Foreign Ministry announced the closure of four consulates general. In addition to Leipzig, there are currently still consulates in Frankfurt am Main, Bonn, Hamburg and Munich, while the Russian embassy is in Berlin. The Sächsische Zeitung reports that the press office of the Leipzig Consulate General has issued a statement on request, which blames the German government for the closures: "The Russian consular missions are being closed 'solely as a result of the unprecedented unfriendly step taken by the German side'".

+++ 12:43 UN report: Torture and dead civilians in Russian prisons in Ukraine +++++TheUN Human Rights Office has documented at least 100 deaths of civilians in Russian custody in the territories occupied by Russia in Ukraine, including on the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed in violation of international law. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, reported in Geneva that there were signs that at least 39 of them had been tortured before their deaths. The figures cited by Türk relate to the entire period since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. "Torture and other cruel treatment are widespread in detention facilities in the territories occupied by Russia," said Türk. "Many of the cases of torture we have documented involve sexual violence." Russia does not allow the UN Human Rights Office teams into prison camps in the occupied territories, which is why documentation is difficult. Arbitrary arrests are the order of the day there. The teams are unable to see Ukrainian prisoners of war. The families also hear nothing from their relatives.

+++ 12:19 Chief of the Ukrainian ground forces: We are clearly outgunned near Kupyansk +++++Ukrainedeclares that its military is outgunned in the eastern region of Kharkiv, where Russian forces have been trying to capture the regional center of Kupyansk for months. Russian troops had captured large parts of the eastern Kharkiv region at the beginning of the invasion, but were pushed back by Kiev forces in a lightning offensive about a year ago. "The situation is complicated. We have to fight in conditions where the enemy is superior to us both in terms of weapons and personnel," says Oleksandr Syrsky, the head of the Ukrainian ground forces. Syrsky says, however, that the Ukrainian forces are adapting to the situation on the front and ultimately holding the line.

+++ 11:52 Ex-Wagner officer to testify about war crimes in the Netherlands +++Aformer officer of the Russian mercenary force Wagner has arrived in the Netherlands to testify before the International Criminal Court (ICC) about Russian war crimes in Ukraine, Dutch media report. In an interview on the news program EenVandaag, 60-year-old Igor Salikov claims that he rose to the rank of colonel during his 25 years of service in the Russian armed forces before joining Wagner. Salikov says he took part in the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He witnessed Moscow's role in fomenting a separatist conflict in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, "atrocities against civilians" and child abductions. The Kremlin has always denied its responsibility for the alleged crimes.

+++ 11:21 Drone near the capital - Moscow closes airports +++Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports have restricted air traffic. According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, a drone was shot down near the capital in the morning. There is said to have been no damage or casualties.

+++ 10:51 Soldiers' families: Putin should end the war or go to the front himself +++Agroup of families of mobilized Russian soldiers is calling on President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. For weeks, the members of Put' Domoi (Way Home), a group made up mainly of wives and mothers of mobilized soldiers, have been calling for the return of their loved ones after prolonged service at the front, reports "The Moscow Times". "We Russians have no hope under your leadership... Sit down at the negotiating table," the group declared in a message addressed to the Russian head of state. "Let us live in peace! Or go to the front yourself and die there," it continues. Around 300,000 reservists have been called up to increase Moscow's troop numbers in Ukraine as part of the "partial mobilization" announced by Putin in September 2022. Put Domoi's message, shared via Telegram, was accompanied by a video featuring a mobilized Russian soldier calling himself Alexander and expressing dismay that Putin ignored the group's call for a one-year service limit for mobilized troops.

+++ 10:18 Munz: Russia is running out of workers +++According to ntv Russia correspondent Rainer Munz, the fact thatBulgaria will no longer import Russian oil in the future is of little economic significance. More interesting in this context is a threat from Hungary towards Bulgaria.

+++ 09:37 London plans cooperation with Kiev in the Black Sea +++Great Britainis planning to sign a memorandum of understanding to support Kiev in its fight against Russia in the Black Sea, reports the Telegraph, citing unnamed British military sources. British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said in October that Ukraine's attacks against the Black Sea Fleet had led to a "functional defeat" of the Russian navy in the Black Sea. The MoU includes provisions to improve naval capabilities by providing ships, equipment, sea-based Brimstone missiles and training for Ukrainian naval forces. Intelligence sharing is one of the key elements of the MoU, officials said. It also includes plans for protecting post-war Ukraine, including preventive measures and a pledge to reimpose sanctions and increase arms supplies if Russia decides to attack again.

+++ 09:05 "Kinschal" flies again: Russia uses hypersonic missile again after months +++Accordingto British estimates, theRussian air force recently used a Kinschal hypersonic missile against Ukraine for the first time since August. The target of the missile was presumably a military airfield, according to the British Ministry of Defense. The missile was intended for high-value and well-defended targets. London is now saying that the hypersonic missile's missions to date have been mixed. "Many launches have probably missed their intended targets, and Ukraine has also succeeded in intercepting attacks by this supposedly 'invincible' system," the ministry added.

+++ 08:46 Putin: Russian women should go into male professions - soldier gap to be closed +++Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling on traditionally male professions to hire more women in order to reduce the huge labor shortage, which is being exacerbated by the conscription of thousands of soldiers for the invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been suffering from a shrinking labor force for years due to persistently low birth rates, which has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. The mobilization of hundreds of thousands of men has pushed them out of the labor market and caused many of the best-educated sections of the population to flee. "Girls represent a huge reserve for Russia. They need to realize their full potential in areas where they are not yet working," says Putin. Putin praises women who study to join the air force, for example.

+++ 08:16 Unger: Selenskyj's image is "changing" +++In addition toVitali Klitschko, Ukrainian army chief Valery Salushnyj is now also openly criticizing Volodymyr Selenskyj's leadership style, as ntv reporter Carolin Unger reports. In addition to freezing temperatures, darkness is currently a major problem for the Ukrainian armed forces.

+++ 07:37 Analysis confirms deaths of nearly 40,000 Russians in Ukraine +++Mediazona, an independent Russian media company, in cooperation with BBC Russia, confirms through open source research the names of 39,424 Russian soldiers who have been killed since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since Mediazona's last update on December 1, the names of 1163 Russian soldiers have been added to the list of casualties. The journalists point out that the actual number is probably much higher, as the information they have verified so far comes from public sources, including obituaries, contributions from relatives, news in regional media and reports from local authorities. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, over 2900 officers, 337 of them with the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher, have been killed in action in Ukraine. Lieutenant General Oleg Zokov, the deputy commander of the Southern Military District, is the highest-ranking Russian military officer to have died during the war. Most of those killed came from the Krasnodar, Sverdlovsk, Bashkir, Chelyabinsk and Moscow regions, as well as the Republic of Buryatia.

+++ 07:02 Ukraine lacks artillery ammunition - own drones to close the gap +++Brigadier GeneralOleksandr Tarnavskyi explains that both the Ukrainian and Russian armed forces have problems with artillery ammunition. This is reported by the "Institute for the Study of War" in its latest analysis. However, Western officials reportedly assume that the Russian armed forces are currently firing five to seven times more artillery fire than the Ukrainian armed forces. Russia is said to have procured 122 mm artillery shells from North Korea, among others. Ukraine, on the other hand, relies on Western partners to supply the ammunition, but repeatedly faces obstacles in doing so. According to Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defense, General Ivan Havriljuk, Ukraine is therefore concentrating on the domestic production of drones. This is intended to compensate to some extent for the lack of artillery ammunition. However, the production of 155 mm ammunition, which is standard in the West, is also to be promoted with the help of Western companies.

+++ 06:24 Gloomy forecast: Trump would cut Ukraine aid and reduce relationship with China +++DonaldTrump is expected to appoint loyalists to key positions in the Pentagon, State Department and CIA in a possible second term, several current and former staffers and diplomats tell Reuters. This outcome, which gives Trump greater room to maneuver than during his first term, would empower him to make significant changes to the US's stance on the war in Ukraine and trade relations with China. If Trump comes to power, he is likely to immediately cut defense aid to Europe and further reduce economic ties with China, the advisors suggest. Eight European diplomats interviewed by Reuters said there were doubts about whether Trump would honor Washington's commitment to defend NATO allies and acute fears that he would cut off aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia. Earlier this year, Trump said he would not commit to providing aid to Ukraine and said he simply wanted to end the war "in 24 hours".

+++ 05:45 China moves closer to Moscow in the energy sector +++Chinawants to strengthen cooperation with Russia in the energy sector. "Facing the volatility of the global energy market and external risks and challenges, Russia and China always adhere to the principles of mutual trust and mutual benefit, continuously develop cooperation in the energy sector and make a positive contribution to ensuring global energy security," the Russian state news agency RIA quoted the Chinese ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, as saying. China expects cooperation to be expanded along the entire production chain in the energy sector.

+++ 04:38 Russia lists crime novelist Akunin as a "terrorist" +++Followinghis criticism of the war against Ukraine, the well-known author Boris Akunin is listed as a "terrorist" and "extremist" in Russia. The Russian financial supervisory authority Rosfinmonitoring now lists Akunin, who has been living abroad for years, in a corresponding list. Russia's investigative authority has also confirmed that proceedings have been opened in absentia against the Kremlin critic not only for allegedly justifying terrorism, but also for "false news" about the Russian army. Akunin, who was born in 1956 in Georgia, then part of the Soviet Union, and whose real name is Grigori Chkhartishvili, is best known for his crime novels.

+++ 03:05 Roger Waters is courted by Kremlin TV +++Duringan appearance on Russian state television, controversial Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters is visibly flattered by the presenter's question as to whether he will move to Russia. War supporter Olga Skabeyeva quotes the Ukrainian ambassador in Vienna, who, as a Putin supporter, had recommended such a move to Waters. "We would welcome you with open arms," says Skabeyeva. Waters replied: He is taking the invitation seriously and will inform her of his decision.

+++ 01:10 Selenskyj considers new EU sanctions effective +++Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj welcomes the new EU sanctions against Russia. These would really hit Russia's economic basis for the war, he says in his evening video address. The twelfth package of sanctions affects the Russian diamond trade, among other things.

+++ 23:58 "Enormous reserve": Putin promotes women's rights +++Russian President Vladimir Putin calls on employers in predominantly male sectors to hire more women. "Girls represent an enormous reserve for Russia," says Putin at a meeting with the winners of a professional competition. "They need to realize their full potential in the areas where they are not yet working." Russia has been suffering for years from a shrinking working population due to persistently low birth rates. This has been exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.

+++ 22:50 Ukraine's army chief Salushnyj criticizes Selenskyj +++Accordingto a media report, Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerij Saluschnyj criticizes President Volodymyr Selenskyj for dismissing all the heads of the regional recruitment offices. "They were professionals who knew how to do it, and now they're gone," the Interfax Ukraine agency quoted Salushny as saying. Zelenskyi fired all regional heads of Ukrainian recruitment offices in August as part of an anti-corruption drive. Asked about the defense ministry's latest plan to boost military recruitment, Salushnyj says the old system should be reintroduced. "It's still a bit early to evaluate recruitment. As for mobilization, it is not necessary to increase it, but to return to the limits (and) to the framework that used to work."

+++ 22:23 Pentagon warns Ukraine funds will run out at the end of the year +++TheUS Department of Defense will have no more money for weapons and equipment to send to Ukraine after December 30, the Pentagon's comptroller warns in a letter to Congress in Washington. To avoid this, Congress must approve additional funds. President Joe Biden's administration has asked parliamentarians for 61 billion US dollars. "It is important that Congress act promptly on the Administration's pending supplemental request," the staffer asks.

You can read all previous developments here.