12/20/2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 06:22 IMF promotes financing of Ukraine by donor countries +++
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approves a four-month program to ensure Ukraine’s economic stability through donor countries. “Substantial and predictable foreign financial support will be critical to the success of the authorities’ strategy, and disbursements in early 2023 would help manage tensions,” said IMF Deputy Director Gita Gopinath. According to IMF estimates, the country will need between 40 and 57 billion dollars in external financing in 2023.
+++ 05:44 EKD peace officer insists on ceasefire +++
The Peace Commissioner of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Friedrich Kramer, sticks to his position against arms deliveries to Ukraine and is counting on a ceasefire. “It’s pretended that weapons are what gets things moving. But if you look closely, you also realize it’s like pouring oil on the fire,” says Kramer, who is the regional bishop of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany. “We don’t know how long the war will go on, whether we have to prepare for 2, 4, 6, 10 years. How many people die there, it’s all terrible. And I think it has to stop immediately. The world community should too stand up for a ceasefire much more clearly,” demands Kramer.
+++ 04:11 Zelenskyj calls for medical help for Georgia’s ex-president Saakashvili +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging the imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to be treated abroad. “Everyone has probably seen how Mikheil Saakashvili’s health is. I appeal to the Georgian people and the Georgian authorities,” says Zelenskyy in his nightly video address. “What is happening to Micheil is cruel. It doesn’t suit Georgia. It has to be stopped.” The 54-year-old should be transferred to a medical facility in Ukraine, Europe or the United States. Saakashvili had launched a new hunger strike last week because he was not allowed to attend a court hearing in Tbilisi via video link. Georgian authorities say Saakashvili is faking to force his release. Saakashvili has not been seen in public for months. The pro-Western ex-president was convicted last year of alleged abuse of office.
+++ 02:50 report: Only every third self-propelled howitzer ready for action +++
A large part of the Panzerhaubitzen 2000 in the inventory of the Bundeswehr are currently allegedly not ready for use. As the “Bild” newspaper reports, citing a confidential paper from the Federal Ministry of Defense, the Bundeswehr can currently only use about every third of the Panzerhaubitzen 2000. According to this, the stock of Panzerhaubitzen 2000 as of December 2, 2022 was 105 units. The Army currently has 73 of these available, and their operational readiness is “around 50 percent”. This results in about 36 operational self-propelled howitzers. In addition, a total of 18 self-propelled howitzers 2000 were in the “factory repair at the industry”. How many of the 36 operational weapon systems are among them is unclear.
+++ 01:59 Fewer and fewer Ukrainians for the Orthodox Christmas date +++
In Ukraine, the majority for keeping the Orthodox Christmas date is shrinking. According to a telephone survey by the rating group, 55 percent of Ukrainians want to continue celebrating traditionally exclusively on January 7th. In 2021 it was still 71 percent. According to the survey, the proportion of Ukrainians who celebrate Christmas Day around December 25 has also fallen. Only a third instead of 58 percent as in the previous year are against it. The Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches in Ukraine traditionally celebrate Christmas on January 7 according to the old Julian calendar. Since 2017, both December 25 and January 7 are non-working holidays in Ukraine. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, founded in 2019 with state aid, announced in October that it would also offer services on December 25 this year.
+++ 01:07 No drone inspection so far – USA disappointed with UN +++
The United States has accused UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of “apparently giving in to Russian threats” and not sending officials to Ukraine to inspect drones that may have come from Iran. “We are disappointed that the Secretariat, which appears to have caved in to Russian threats, has not carried out the Council’s mandate to investigate,” said US Deputy Envoy Robert Wood. Guterres said the allegation “will be looked at in the larger context of everything we’re doing related to the war to determine if and when we should send officers to Kyiv.” Russia denies using Iranian drones in Ukraine. There is also no mandate for UN officials to travel to Kyiv to investigate the origin of the drones.
+++ 00:21 Putin orders increased border protection +++
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered increased border protection. In addition, there must be “strong countermeasures” against foreign services, traitors and spies must be unmasked, Putin said in a video speech. The security forces should therefore ensure control over the places where mass events are held and over the strategically important infrastructure. One of the most important tasks of the security forces is to protect the citizens of the “new regions” of Russia. This refers to the parts of Ukraine annexed by Moscow in violation of international law.
+++ 23:25 Selenskyj: Russia will soon have lost 100,000 soldiers +++
Russian forces have already lost nearly 100,000 soldiers since the invasion of Ukraine began, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “So far there are almost 99,000 soldiers, in a few days the occupiers’ losses will increase to 100,000,” says Zelenskyj in his evening video address. “And for what? No one in Moscow has an answer to that and will not (in the future) have one.” Tuesday is the 300th day of the war. Those responsible in Moscow waged war and “wasted human lives – the lives of other people, not that of their relatives, not their own lives, but that of others,” said Zelenskyj. For security reasons, both sides are not providing precise information on the losses of the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces. Western military officials recently estimated the number of Russian soldiers killed and wounded at well over 100,000.
+++ 22:29 Lavrov: Selenskyj shows “lack of understanding of the seriousness of the moment” +++
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of “a lack of understanding of the seriousness of the moment and a lack of concern for his people”. “He just bubbles over with ideas,” Lavrov said in an interview with the television station “Belarus 1” in Minsk. But this fountain reveals this lack of understanding on the part of Zelenskyy for the seriousness of the situation and for his people. Zelenskyy’s ideas, which Lavrov does not specify, in turn revealed the “racist character” of the leadership in Kyiv. The Ukrainian head of state had recently pushed the idea of an international criminal court before which all responsible politicians and military officers from Moscow should answer for the war in Ukraine and the war crimes committed there.
+++ 22:06 Ukrainian soldiers get higher pay +++
Ukrainian soldiers are to receive higher pay in December, says Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar, according to Flash News on Twitter. The salary should therefore increase by 37 percent compared to the previous month. The reason for the increase is the increased cost of living.
+++ 21:42 US security expert makes devastating verdict on German defense policy +++
A US security expert delivers a devastating verdict on German defense policy. Germany is breaking the promise to NATO that it would invest more than two percent of its gross domestic product in defense in the future, and instead is “falling back into old habits,” writes Mike Watson, a member of the Hudson Institute think tank, in a guest article for the “Wall Street Journal”. In the analysis, Germany is described as a “procrastinator” because other NATO members supported Ukraine far more extensively. The United States must continue to guarantee Europe’s protection against possible Russian attacks, since Germany is refusing its leadership role on the continent in order to form “a counterweight to Russia”.
+++ 21:15 Shoigu limps after arrival in Minsk +++
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu will accompany Russian President Putin to the meeting with Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko. Videos are circulating on social networks showing Shoigu arriving at the Palace of Independence, where foreign delegations are received in Minsk. Striking: Schoigu is limping on his right leg after his arrival, hiding one hand in his right trouser pocket.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.