DrAuthorities in the Crimean city of Sevastopol said again on Thursday that Russia’s Black Sea Fleet had shot down a Ukrainian drone. Ukrainian news portal „Real creamShe reported an explosion that could be heard in the city center. The city’s Russian-appointed mayor, Mikhail Razvogayev, announced the overthrow.
As the naval base of the Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol on a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 is of strategic importance to Moscow. Ukraine attacked the city repeatedly from the air with combat drones and once from the sea with remotely controlled drone boats. Although there was no significant damage, Russia moved some of its ships to the port of Novorossiysk on the mainland.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow still saw the threat of an attack on Crimea. However, the air defense shows that the countermeasures worked.
All developments in the live stream:
12:21 p.m. – The Kremlin is not announcing the annexation of more territory
According to the Kremlin, Russia does not currently plan to incorporate new regions into its war against Ukraine. „There is no talk of that,” Russian news agency Interfax quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. Instead, there is „a lot of work” to wrest the incorporated regions from Ukrainian control. Russia had annexed the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia under international protest from Ukraine and the West. No country recognizes this violation of international law. Recently, Ukraine liberated parts of the regions from Russian occupation.
11:25 a.m. – Ongoing power outages in Ukraine
Power outages continue in Ukraine after the recent wave of Russian attacks. According to electricity company DTEK, there are emergency shutdowns in Kyiv and the surrounding area, in the Odessa region in the south of the country and in Dnipro in the interior of the country. Network operator Ukrenergo says the situation is made even more difficult by the weather. Power lines froze in the west of the country. „All regions lack energy – up to a third of what is needed,” says the governor of the Zaporizhia region, Alexander Starukh.
11:05 am – Russia regrets not being involved in the Nord Stream investigation
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow accuses Sweden and Denmark of refusing to involve the Russian authorities in the investigation of holes in the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea. „Denmark and Sweden fear Russia’s involvement in the investigation, because then the world will know who is responsible for the bombings,” said Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry. European governments suspect that cracks in pipelines that carry gas directly from Russia to Germany were the result of sabotage.
9:55 a.m. — Schultz hopes to build a missile defense shield within five years
Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that the envisioned European anti-missile defense system will be built in the next five years. „The government is currently in talks with the manufacturers of the various systems in order to prepare concrete decisions,” the Social Democratic Party politician told newspapers Funk Media Group and the French newspaper Ouest France. Fourteen European Union countries have expressed interest in participating. Germany will permanently spend two percent of its economic output on the Bundeswehr.
08:53 – Russian soldiers take part in exercises in Belarus
Russian soldiers take part in military exercises in Belarus. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that „soldiers of the Western Military District continue intensive combat training at the shooting ranges of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus.”
Combat training takes place during the day and at night. Videos released by the ministry showed Russian soldiers training near tanks in a winter scene, firing weapons including artillery fire.
In the past, Belarus has declared that it does not want to interfere in the war between Russia and Ukraine. However, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered the transfer of troops to the Ukrainian border.
7:30 a.m. — Schulz sees the risk of a nuclear escalation in the Ukraine war receding
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democrats) sees the danger of a nuclear escalation in the Ukraine war crumbling. „Russia has stopped threatening to use nuclear weapons,” Schultz told the Funk media group (Thursday edition) and Ouest France newspaper. This is „a response to the international community that draws a red line.”
Asked if the risk of a nuclear escalation had been averted, Schulz said: „For now, we’ve pegged it.”
The chancellor again called on Moscow to immediately end the war and withdraw its forces from Ukraine. At the same time, he was ready to „talk to Russia about arms control in Europe.” This was shown to Moscow before the war – „and nothing has changed in this situation.”
At the same time, Schultz advocated helping Kyiv. „After the United States, Germany is one of the countries that most support Ukraine, including with weapons,” he said. The federal government always works in close consultation with its allies. „By the way, no one has delivered Western-style main battle tanks,” the chancellor added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow would use nuclear weapons in response to an attack. „We consider weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons as a means of defense,” the Kremlin chief said.
4:22 a.m. – Schwyzig calls for relief for heating oil customers
Ahead of Thursday’s conference of prime ministers, the head of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern government, Manuela Schwezig (SPD), is pushing for extra help for customers of heating oil, pellets or briquette, in addition to fast hardship rules for small and medium-sized businesses. „So far we have not had a solution for consumers who use oil, pellets or briquettes, although their spending has risen sharply,” Schwezig says in an interview with the German Liberation Network (RND).
00:01 – Putin: Ukraine’s war could continue „for a long time”.
Almost nine and a half months after invading Ukraine, Kremlin President Vladimir Putin does not rule out launching a protracted war against the neighboring country. „Of course, it could be a long process,” Putin said at a meeting with representatives of the Human Rights Council he founded. He also made it clear that half of the roughly 300,000 reservists recruited in the past few weeks are stationed in Ukraine.
10:55pm – Ukraine: Over 1,000 Russian attacks on our power grid
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia has attacked Ukraine’s power grid more than 1,000 times. These attacks are the biggest hit to the power grid ever. „More than 1,000 hand grenades and missiles were fired at electrical equipment, lines and substations,” the Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted the head of the network operator, Volodymyr Kudritsky, as saying. The power infrastructure is still functioning despite the extensive damage.
9:50pm – Russian journalist sentenced to 22 years in prison – Court rejects appeal
A Moscow court rejected a former journalist’s appeal and upheld his 22-year sentence for treason. Ivan Safronov was accused of leaking military secrets to Czech and German intelligence. He dismissed the allegations as absurd and said he had done nothing illegal.
Safronov worked as a military correspondent for the business newspaper Kommersant and later became an adviser to the head of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. He stated at trial that as a journalist he published information he had gathered from a government agency and sources in the military industry. He never had access to classified documents.
Safronov was arrested in Moscow in July 2020. His trial was widely characterized as politically motivated. His colleagues criticized the verdict, describing it as unfounded, and demanded his release. They suspected possible retaliation by the authorities because he had reported incidents in the army and suspicious arms deals.
The European Union called on the Russian authorities to drop all charges against Safronov and to release him unconditionally.
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