01/01/2024
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 07:10 EON boss: Germany must never be so dependent on Russia again +++
The head of the EON Group, Leonhard Birnbaum, gives the all-clear on the gas for the winter: “We are much better prepared than a year ago, the gas storage facilities are well filled,” he tells the “Rheinische Post”. A lot would have to happen for there to be a gas bottleneck this winter,” Birnbaum told the “Rheinische Post.” When asked whether trade with Russia would ever be conceivable again, the EON boss said: “The West should do everything do so that Ukraine wins this terrible war. Our values are also sworn in there. But at some point there will be a time after Putin. Then why shouldn’t trading be possible again? However, certainly on a completely different level. And one thing is very clear: Germany must and will never again become so dependent on Russia.”
+++ 06:35 Death toll in Ukraine: So many well-known Russians have already fallen +++
How many Russians have died in Ukraine? There are no reliable figures, but the independent Russian portal does Mediazona is now, in collaboration with the BBC, providing an indication of the enormous toll in blood: it is publishing the names of 40,599 Russian soldiers who have been killed since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. The journalists point out that the actual figures are likely much higher because the information they have verified so far comes from public sources, including obituaries, contributions from relatives, news in regional media and reports from local authorities. Since Mediazona’s last update on December 15, the number of named victims has increased by 1,100. In total, almost 3,000 officers, including 341 with the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher, have died in Ukraine in the past 22 months.
+++ 05:59 Everything red: air alert throughout Ukraine +++
There is a nationwide air alert in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force warns of Russian missile attacks via Telegram and calls on the population to seek safety. “A total of 16 Tu-95MS strategic bombers are in the air. Do not ignore the air alert! Go to the shelters,” it says. The air force says it intercepted 35 Iranian-made Shahed drones during the night.
+++ 05:13 Klitschko: Air defense in action against Russian drone attack on Kiev +++
The mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, writes on the online platform Telegram that Ukrainian air defense is causing the loud explosions that can be heard in Kiev. Falling drone debris caused a fire in a residential building in the Desnianskyi district. The district on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River is the most densely inhabited part of Kiev. Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kiev military administration, said on Telegram that rescue services were also sent to the Holosiivskyi district on the western bank of the Dnipro. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
+++ 03:45 Ukraine: Air defense in action against drone attacks on the Kiev region +++
The air defense in the region around Kiev is deployed to combat another drone attack. The Ukrainian military reported this on Telegram.
+++ 02:30 Many Leopard tanks from Germany are broken +++
Very few of the modern Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks delivered from Germany are still in use in Ukraine – Green Party Housekeeper Sebastian Schäfer is therefore calling for faster steps to make them operational again. At the turn of the year, the defense budget expert wrote to the armaments companies Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) involved: “Unfortunately, it can be noted that only a very small number of the battle tanks delivered can still be used by Ukraine.” The repair takes a very long time because, according to the industry repair workshop in Lithuania, there is a lack of suitable spare parts.
+++ 01:51 Military administration: At least 29 people killed in attacks on Kiev +++
At least 29 people were killed in Russia’s mass attack on the capital on December 29, according to Serhii Popko, head of the military administration of the city of Kyiv. “As of 10:30 p.m. on January 1, rescue workers have recovered more bodies, bringing the total number of dead to 29. This is the most terrible attack on the capital since the beginning of the war,” Popko said on his Telegram channel.
+++ 00:25 Russian attack on Kherson region injures 44-year-old +++
According to the head of the Kherson military administration, Roman Mrochko, a woman was injured as a result of a Russian grenade attack in a suburb of the city. The 44-year-old was in her house during the attack. Mrochko goes on to say that the woman suffered mine trauma and a concussion.
+++ 22:59 Selinskyj: Russia suffers heavy losses on the battlefield +++
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Moscow is still suffering heavy losses on the battlefield. In an interview with the British weekly magazine “Economist,” Zelensky said the idea that Russia was winning the war, which has now lasted almost two years, was “just a feeling.” There are no real signs that Russia is interested in peace. Any suggestion that Russia is ready for talks only shows that Moscow is running out of weapons and soldiers. In order to reduce Russian attacks, Ukraine must attack the strong Russian forces in Crimea and defend the cities in the east of the country. Mobilization is “the only way to protect our state and end the occupation of our country.”
+++ 21:42 Video is supposed to show the work of the Ukrainian air defense +++
The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, publishes a video that is supposed to show the air defense at work. Last night, the air force intercepted a total of 87 of the 90 kamikaze drones shot down by the Russian military. According to Kiev, this was a record number.
You can read all previous developments here.