Ukraine war in the live ticker: +++ 00:45 Lavrov: Either Kyiv meets demands or the army decides +++

Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 00:45 Lavrov: Either Kyiv meets demands or the army decides +++

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Moscow’s demands for the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine have been submitted to the government in Kyiv. “Our proposals to demilitarize and denazify the areas controlled by the regime, to eliminate the threats they pose to the security of Russia, including our new territories, are well known to the enemy,” Lavrov quoted the Russian state news agency as saying. “The point is quite simple: fulfill them for your own good. Otherwise, the question will be answered by the Russian army.”

+++ 23:38 Zelenskyj: Situation at the front is “difficult” +++
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the situation at the front in the Donbass region is “difficult and painful” and requires all the country’s “strength and concentration”. “First of all, the situation at the front: Bakhmut, Kreminna and other areas of the Donbass, which require maximum strength and concentration,” says Zelenskyy in his evening video address. “The situation there is difficult and painful. The occupiers are using all the means at their disposal – and these are considerable resources – to make any advance.”

+++ 22:28 Selenskyj: Nine million people in Ukraine still without electricity +++
Despite repair work on the power grid, which was severely damaged by Russian attacks, around nine million people in Ukraine are still without electricity. “But the number and duration of power outages is steadily decreasing,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his daily video address. But there are still many deficits in the power supply. Important decisions were made during his consultations with government representatives on the situation in the energy and infrastructure sectors. “We are preparing for next year, not just for the winter months,” Zelenskyj said. The President did not give any details. At the same time, Zelenskyy warned of possible new Russian attacks on the Ukrainian energy grid. “The air defense is preparing, the state is preparing and everyone has to prepare,” he said.

+++ 21:56 Ukrainian Energy Minister fears a major Russian attack on the New Year +++
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko fears a major Russian attack with rockets and cruise missiles on New Year’s Eve. “The Russians have not renounced attacks against our energy grid,” he said on Ukrainian television. “And since they’re looking at specific dates, New Year’s is likely to be one of those dates that they’re going to try to damage our energy grid.” The power grid is currently being repaired quickly in order to bring the Ukrainians uninterrupted New Year’s celebrations. The prerequisite, however, is that there are no new Russian attacks.

+++ 21:29 War crimes admitted – court accuses soldiers of “spreading fake news” +++
A Russian soldier who has admitted to committing war crimes in Ukraine faces charges in Russia of “spreading fake news”. This is reported by the Russian newspaper “Novaya Gazeta Europe”, which is published in exile. Accordingly, a court in Khabarovsk will deal with the case of the Russian soldier. In an interview with a reporter in August, he is said to have admitted that he had committed several war crimes in Ukraine, including the murder of civilians. “I confess to all the crimes I committed in Andriivka: shooting civilians, stealing civilians and confiscating phones from civilians,” the newspaper quoted from the interview with “IStories*”.

+++ 20:56 Ukrainian soldiers get their own uniforms +++
The soldiers in the Ukrainian army now receive uniforms specially tailored to them. As Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov announced on Facebook, the first deliveries of uniforms and corresponding underwear have already been issued to several brigades for testing. After a certain “trial period” changes could still be made. Uniforms for pregnant soldiers should also find their way into the units. Reznikov put the number of female soldiers in the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces at 41,000. Almost 19,000 other women are employed as civilian employees in the army. “About 5,000 women are directly involved in combat operations,” writes Resnikov.

Read more about this here.

You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.

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