05/12/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 00:16 EU to classify Wagner group as a terrorist organization +++
Sweden wants the Russian mercenary group Wagner to be classified as a terrorist organization at EU level. Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper that his country was ready to work out a consensus among the member states as soon as the legal conditions were met. Sweden currently holds the EU Council Presidency. The foreign ministers of the 27 EU countries will meet in Stockholm on Friday.
+++ 23:23 Selenskyj wants to adjust criminal law for EU accession +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has drawn up a “comprehensive strategic plan” for the reform of criminal law and the law enforcement system for the path to the European Union. “Put simply, we need to ensure a law and order system for our country that is consistent with our goal of Ukraine’s speedy accession to the EU,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
+++ 22:12 Ukraine received around 17 billion US dollars in financial aid in 2023 +++
According to the government, Ukraine has received 16.7 billion US dollars (around 15.2 billion euros) in financial aid from its western allies so far this year. “We also have commitments from partners for further support in financing the state budget deficit in 2023,” says Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.
+++ 21:39 nuclear chief: Ukraine does not have to liberate the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant itself +++
In the opinion of the nuclear company boss, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant could be spared from fighting in the event of a Ukrainian counter-offensive. It is enough to cut off the Russian occupying forces in the power plant from their rear, says the head of the Ukrainian nuclear company Enerhoatom, Petro Kotin, to the US broadcaster CNN. “All we have to do is cut the connection between the Zaporizhia nuclear plant and (the peninsula of) Crimea,” Kotin said. This will be achieved as soon as the Ukrainian troops have captured the city of Melitopol, a good 90 kilometers south-east of the power plant in Enerhodar. After that, the Russian troops would only have the option of fleeing or surrendering.
+++ 21:16 Selenskyj is probably considering a visit to the Pope +++
According to Italian media reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is considering a visit to Rome at the weekend. There he could meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and also be received by Pope Francis, according to the Ansa news agency in the evening. This relies on sources in the government majority and within the Vatican. It is said that Zelenskyy’s trip to Rome is still being discussed. There are no official confirmations. Most recently, it was also expected that the Ukrainian would come to Berlin towards the end of the week.
+++ 20:42 Russian war blogger is alarmed +++
According to the war correspondent of Russian state television, the alarm bells are ringing among the Russian troops fighting in Bakhmut. In view of the Ukrainian attack successes on the flanks of the Wagner mercenary force fighting in the city, there is a risk of comprehensive encirclement, Yevgeny Poddubny writes on Telegram. He also reports on Ukrainian breakthroughs in fighting around Soledar, which is only a few kilometers northeast of Bakhmut. There, Ukrainian combat groups managed to break through the Russian lines. “The situation is difficult,” writes Poddubny. Russian forces only took Soledar at the end of January after weeks of heavy fighting.
Here you can read more about it.
+++ 8:05 p.m. Prigozhin complains: “The worst of all predictions” occurs in Bakhmut +++
The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, again accuses the Russian military of a lack of support in Bakhmut. In his estimation, the Ukrainian counter-offensive is already in full swing. “The Ukrainian units are moving on the flanks near Bakhmut – and unfortunately they are partially successful,” he says on the Telegram channel of his press service. “The situation on the flanks is developing into the worst of all forecasts,” he laments. The area, which had been occupied for months in hard fighting, is now being “given up practically without a fight by those who are supposed to be holding our flanks,” he says. At the same time, the lack of ammunition in his units continues “because the promises made by the Ministry of Defense have not been fulfilled”.
You can read all previous developments here.