01/12/2024
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 00:11 Pentagon: No evidence of misuse of weapons supplied +++
The Pentagon says it has no credible evidence that weapons supplied by the US to Ukraine ended up in the wrong hands. This is reported by the Ukrainska Prawka portal, citing a briefing by Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder. But you can see that “Russia is constantly trying to spread contrary information,” says Ryder. The spokesman referred to an earlier report by the department’s inspector general. He criticized the failure to promptly and fully account for almost 40,000 weapons destined for Ukraine since 2014.
+++ 21:39 Washington: US aid to Ukraine expired +++
According to the government in Washington, US aid to Ukraine has expired. “The assistance we have been providing has now come to a standstill,” said John Kirby, US government national security spokesman. The background is a dispute in Congress over further financial support for the government in Kiev.
+++ 21:17 Ministers want to initiate a possible meeting between Orban and Zelensky +++
Amid the dispute over EU aid funds for Kiev blocked by Hungary, there could soon be a meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The foreign ministers of both countries, Peter Szijjarto and Dmytro Kuleba, want to discuss this on January 29th in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, as both sides announced. The head of Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak, should also take part in the meeting, says Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko. Orban maintains good relations with Russian President Waldimir Putin. At the last EU summit, Orban vetoed the planned special payment of 50 billion euros for Ukraine.
+++ 20:41 Ukraine: Russia is looking for tactical victories before the election +++
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, Russia is aiming for tactical victories in the war against Ukraine before the presidential election. After the vote in mid-March, larger actions will be targeted, says Zelensky in Riga.
+++ 20:06 Zelenskyj calls for increased European arms production +++
President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is calling for increased European arms production. “This year, Ukraine will do everything in its power to create a new European arsenal of weapons to prevent Russian aggression against Europe,” said Zelensky in Riga, the last stop on a trip to the Baltics. Zelenskyj arrived in Lithuania unannounced in the morning and then visited Estonia and Latvia. The trip comes amid fears that support for Ukraine could be waning.
+++ 19:31 Kiev: Without Sevastopol, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is lost +++
According to the Ukrainian Navy, Russia cannot keep its Black Sea Fleet in the Black Sea without the Sevastopol base. “Sevastopol is the main base, which includes the maintenance of the fleet, the repair base, several workshops and airfields, including Belbek and Kacha,” said the commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Vice Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa, in an interview with the online portal Ukrainska Pravda. “In Novorossiysk, for example, there are no airfields, no large repair factories, no weapons depots and so on.” He adds: “This is largely one of the reasons why they (note: the Russians) landed in Crimea in 2014. Because without Sevastopol they would not have been able to keep the Black Sea Fleet in the Black Sea.”
You can read all previous developments here.