01/01/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 09:57 Ukraine reports shooting down of 45 drones +++
According to the air defense in Kyiv, Russia attacked Ukraine during the night with a total of 45 drones. All of the Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze combat drones were destroyed by the Ukrainian air defenses, the armed forces said. “It was not possible to spoil the celebration for the Ukrainians,” the statement said.
+++ 09:29 “The air alarm came on the dot at zero o’clock” +++
Even on New Year’s Eve, the Ukrainians don’t get any rest. Russia is again flying drone attacks, in many cities the air alarm is loud instead of fireworks. From Kostyantynivka in the Donbass, ntv reporter Gordian Fritz reports:
+++ 08:57 Klitschko demands Leopard 2 tanks from Germany +++
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, is demanding that Germany deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. “It will depend decisively on Germany that Leopard 2 tanks are finally delivered,” writes Klitschko in a guest article in “Bild am Sonntag”. “Without this type of tank, it will be difficult to recapture more areas in Ukraine.” The politician also expects a new attack on Kyiv.
+++ 08:28 interest of Russian secret services in Germany is growing +++
According to estimates by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the interest of Russian secret services in Germany continues to increase the longer the war in Ukraine lasts. “Russia’s interest in clarification here in Germany is not only unbroken, but is also increasing the further the effects of the war continue,” said the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, of the German Press Agency. The head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution also counts China and Iran among the states whose intelligence services are developing considerable activities in Germany.
+++ 07:49 Recruited prisoners escape from the Wagner center +++
Six armed Wagner group mercenaries recruited from Russian prisons escaped from a Wagner training center in the Luhansk region on Friday. This is reported by the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW). A Russian source warned residents of the Rostov region to be vigilant and “pay particular attention to persons in military camouflage uniforms” as the fleeing Wagner mercenaries may have made their way to Rostov. The financier of the Russian private army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed according to the ISW that he had the situation under control yesterday – he knows more than the press. According to Prigozhin, the Russian National Guard, the police and the Wagner Security Service have extensive experience in arresting armed persons. They were working to “arrest a lot of scoundrels, of which [russische Bürger] don’t even need to know anything”, starting from the front lines of the Luhansk region, Donetsk region and the Russian borders.
+++ 07:21 Ukraine reports more than 100 attacks at the turn of the year +++
Ukrainian forces repelled attacks near nine settlements yesterday. According to the Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform, the general staff reported this in a morning update. In the past 24 hours, Russia has carried out, among other things, 31 rocket attacks and more than 70 attacks with multiple rocket launchers. The civilian infrastructure of the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Mykolayiv and Cherson regions was shelled. Information on civilian casualties is under review.
+++ 06:51 ISW sees Russian attack speed drop +++
The US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assumes that the Russian armed forces cannot maintain their current pace of operations. Because they are probably in the process of using up their artillery ammunition supplies.
+++ 06:26 Russia attacks Kyiv from the air +++
The military administration of Kyiv reports that the air defenses shot down 32 targets – until late on New Year’s Eve Russia attacked Ukraine with rockets and drones, as the “Kyiv Independent” reports. The air alert in Kyiv continues.
+++ 06:02 Germany is now no longer importing Russian pipeline oil +++
At the turn of the year, Germany stopped all imports of crude oil from Russia. The background is the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. An EU import ban on Russian crude oil, which comes by tanker, has been in effect since December 5th. Now follows a German import ban on oil from the Druzhba pipeline. The East German refineries in Schwedt in Brandenburg and Leuna in Saxony-Anhalt therefore have to change their sources of supply.
+++ 04:45 Germany has taken over the leadership of the NATO intervention force VJTF +++
At the beginning of the year, Germany took over the leadership of the NATO Rapid Reaction Force (VJTF). The Bundeswehr thus provides around 8,000 men and women for a total of around 11,500 soldiers. This must be ready in 48 to 72 hours to be moved to wherever the alliance needs it. NATO describes its “spearhead”, the leadership of which changes every year, as an essential contribution to deterrence and defense in Europe.
+++ 00:38 Selenskyj wishes 2023 victory for Ukraine +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants Ukraine to win the war against Russia by 2023. “We are ready to fight for freedom,” said Zelenskyj in a video message shortly before midnight. “That’s why each of us is here. I’m here. We’re here. You’re here. Everyone’s here. We’re all Ukraine,” Zelenskyi said.
+++ 22:42 Ukraine reports arrival of Russian Kamikaze drones +++
Shortly before the turn of the year, Ukraine reports the arrival of kamikaze drones from Russia. In the cities of Odessa and Mykolaiv in the south, and Dnipro in the center of the country, there is an air alert, reports the Unian agency. Mykolayiv military administrator Vitali Kim reports two formations of drones that have been sighted in his area. The air defense opened fire on the Iranian-made Shahed drones.
+++ 21:49 Zelenskyj wishes Ukrainians a year of victory +++
In a short message of congratulations on the turn of the year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wishes his fellow citizens a happy new year and the “year of our victory”. Among other things, he writes that this is the only wish that exists at the turn of the year Twitter to a photo of himself and his wife Olena in front of a modestly decorated Christmas tree. “And it will not come true through a miracle, but through our work, struggle, mutual aid, humanity.”
+++ 21:05 Macron assures Ukraine help until victory +++
France pledges support for Ukraine until victory. In the new year, France would stand unreservedly with Ukraine, said President Emmanuel Macron in his New Year’s speech.
+++ 19:46 Kyiv: air strikes do not cause “severe damage” +++
According to the Ukrainian government, the Russian air raids on New Year’s Eve were unsuccessful. Energy Minister German Galushenko wrote on Facebook that there was no “serious damage” to the country’s energy infrastructure. The air defense had done “excellent work”. The energy supplier of the capital Kyiv is said to have even canceled temporary emergency blackouts to save electricity. A hotel and a residential building in Kyiv were badly damaged in the latest attacks. At least two people were killed.
+++ 18:22 Ukrainian artillery attacks Luhansk +++
Ukrainian artillery has attacked Russian positions in eastern Ukraine. The village of Pervomaiskoye in the Luhansk region in the Donbass has been the target of at least two rounds of fire from the American HIMARS multiple rocket launcher, reports the Russian agency TASS, citing local authorities. There is no information about casualties or damage.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.