16.12.2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 01:06 Development Bank FCI helps Ukrainian companies with a package worth billions +++
The international development bank FCI wants to support companies in Ukraine with aid worth 2 billion US dollars, around 1.88 billion euros. Initially, the focus is on rebuilding and maintaining the critical infrastructure – for example through funding for farms and importing fuel. The Ukrainian private sector has shown “unprecedented resilience” in the face of the war, but this needs to be supported and expanded, said IFC director Makhtar Diop in Washington.
+++ 23:27 Selenskyj: Red Cross worker killed in Cherson +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of killing a volunteer worker at a Red Cross station in the shelling of the city of Kherson. “The woman who died was a paramedic, a volunteer,” said the head of state in a video speech. The recently liberated port city in southern Ukraine was shot at 16 times by the Russian side today alone. In addition, the northern Ukrainian metropolis of Kharkiv has again become the target of Russian artillery attacks, while fighting continues in Donbass. “The occupiers throw everything and everyone on the offensive. They cannot defeat our army. So they physically destroy every town and village so that there are no buildings, not even walls, that can be used for any kind of defense.” , says Zelenskyy.
+++ 22:19 USA expand training of Ukrainian soldiers in Germany +++
The US is expanding its training programs for Ukrainian soldiers. Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder announced in Washington that the training, which was previously focused on the use of weapons, will be supplemented by maneuvers. In the future, the training will include units for 400 Ukrainian soldiers every month, also as a supplement to programs from the EU and Great Britain. The exercises should therefore take place at training places in Germany. According to the US Department of Defense, the United States has provided more than $19 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s war of aggression began in late February.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.