08/14/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 01:51 air defense active over Odessa +++
According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia is again attacking the southern Ukrainian region of Odessa overnight with rockets and kamikaze drones. The air defense has been activated, reports the news portal “Ukrajinska Pravda”, citing the air force and the regional military administration. Several explosions were heard in Odessa. After Russia failed to extend the grain agreement in July, the army is increasingly targeting the Ukrainian Black Sea ports around Odessa. The port facilities and the city itself are repeatedly shelled.
+++ 00:49 Sumy border region under heavy Russian fire +++
According to the Sumy regional military administration, Russia is again attacking Ukrainian territory near the Russian border. On Sunday alone, the enemy fired mortar and artillery shells at the region in north-eastern Ukraine 21 times, the military administration announced on Facebook during the night. A total of 144 explosions were registered. At least two residential buildings were damaged in the attacks. The information could not be independently verified.
+++ 22:30 Selenskyj: “Now there can only be two behaviors” +++
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is calling on his compatriots to get involved in the fight against the Russian occupiers. “Now there can only be two ways of behaving – either you fight for Ukraine, or you help the fight, help save lives,” says Zelenskyj in his nightly speech.
+++ 21:30 Russians attack residential areas in Cherson +++
After the attacks on two villages in Kherson Oblast in the morning, in which seven civilians were killed, the Russian army also shelled residential areas in the region’s capital. Among other things, an apartment building was hit in an air raid. According to authorities, three people were injured. The region’s prosecutor’s office released photos showing the aftermath of the attack.
+++ 20:42 Resnikov: Up to five mines per square meter +++
According to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraine is currently the most heavily mined country in the world. In an interview with the Guardian, he said that the Ukrainian armed forces would have to contend with kilometers of minefields and millions of explosive devices in their counter-offensive – “up to five mines per square meter”. Russian minefields are “a serious but not insurmountable obstacle” for Ukrainian troops, says the minister. Nonetheless, Ukraine suffers from a lack of equipment and specialists capable of clearing the mines.
+++ 20:01 politicians from the FDP and the Greens are pushing for Taurus deliveries +++
The FDP and the Greens are again demanding the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. “It is urgently necessary to deliver the Taurus,” says the chairwoman of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. “We must not waste any time.” The deputy head of the Greens parliamentary group, Agnieszka Brugger, is quoted by the newspaper in this context as saying: “The federal government should decide quickly and positively.”
+++ 19:12 reservists’ association calls for an increase in the active Bundeswehr reserve +++
In view of the security situation after the Russian attack on Ukraine, the German reservists’ association is in favor of a significant increase in the active Bundeswehr reserve. “The operational reserve must include considerably more than the current 33,000 forces,” said association president Patrick Sensburg to the “Tagesspiegel”. There are a total of 230,000 former soldiers who have actively declared their general reserve readiness. This is “a good size and ultimately also the group that the Bundeswehr should also try to attract,” adds Sensburg. By increasing the active reserve, it could also be avoided that the Bundeswehr itself would grow back to the 500,000 soldiers it had at the end of the Cold War. All in all, “more mass” is needed for a credible deterrent against Russia. That applies to personnel as well as material. According to the Bundeswehr, around 34,000 reservists are currently actively volunteering for regular exercises. The need to fulfill the order of the reserve is therefore around 60,000.
You can read more about the events of the previous day here.