DrAccording to British experts, the Kremlin will find it increasingly difficult to justify the war in Ukraine to its own people. This came from the daily intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense in London on the Ukraine war on Sunday. „Given that Russia is unlikely to achieve any significant battlefield successes in the coming months, it is likely that it will be increasingly difficult for the Kremlin to win even the tacit approval of the population,” the statement said.

According to the British, data leaked from the Russian authorities show that only a quarter of the population in Russia now supports the war of aggression in Ukraine. At the beginning of the war it was still 80%. However, the partial mobilization in September made the war felt for many people.

The British Ministry of Defense published daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the war of Russian aggression against Ukraine at the end of last February, citing intelligence information. By doing so, the British government wants to counter the Russian image and keep the Allies in line. Moscow accuses London of launching a targeted disinformation campaign.

All developments in the live stream:

12:51 p.m. – Map with the current front line:

12:50 p.m. – German Ambassador: Expect momentum from Ukrainian refugees

According to the German ambassador in London, the federal government expects a large number of refugees from Ukraine to arrive in the coming weeks. Miguel Berger told Britain’s Sky News on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to terrorize the civilian population in his neighboring country. Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine since February, and recently it has been increasingly attacking power and thermal power plants.

“We are very concerned that these attacks on energy infrastructure mean that many people in freezing temperatures may be forced to leave Ukraine,” the diplomat said, adding: “We expect a further rise in refugee numbers in the coming weeks.” Berger added that there is no reason for optimism that the war can be ended by diplomatic means.

10:47 a.m. – The chief of US intelligence is optimistic about Ukraine’s success

The Director of US Intelligence, Avril Haines, has expressed optimism about the prospects for Ukraine confronting Russia in the coming months. The pace slowed during the war, Haines said in California. Both Ukraine and aggressor Russia will likely want to prepare for a possible Ukrainian counterattack in the spring. But it is doubtful whether Russia will be able to do this. „I am more optimistic about the Ukrainians in this time frame.”

9:30 am – Lithuania is waiting for another German self-propelled howitzer for Ukraine

Lithuania sent another German self-propelled howitzer to Ukraine in 2000 after repairs in the Baltic states of the EU and NATO. The Ministry of Defense in Vilnius announced, on Saturday evening, that two repaired artillery pieces were returned to the country that Russia attacked with ammunition.

Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas announced on Twitter at the end of November that the howitzers had been repaired in Lithuania. There has been a maintenance center for combat vehicles since the summer, which was founded by German arms companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall.

8:06 a.m. – Military Commissar wants multi-year ammunition procurement schedule

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högel, has called for a specific timetable for the procurement of new ammunition in the billion-digit range for the next few years. It is understood that the industry demands binding commitments if it is to increase production capacity now, the SPD politician told the German news agency in Berlin.

“Now we need a timetable, a coordinated approach with binding agreements with the arms industry, when ammunition can be produced, where and for what period of time. This is the arrangement now, and the best coordination at the European level.”

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) is facing growing criticism over the German army’s ammunition shortage and shortage of artillery shells and rockets. Empty warehouses have been known for a long time. However, it is becoming increasingly incomprehensible to the opposition and the Traffic Light Coalition that in the nine months since Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine began, very little orders have been given.

7:00 a.m. – Why the warring factions are slowing down the fight now

US intelligence assumes that the slowdown in the fighting in Ukraine will continue. „We’re already seeing a kind of de-escalation of conflict and we expect that to continue in the coming months,” Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, said at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in California.

Both countries would attempt to stockpile supplies overnight in preparation for the post-winter counterattack. Despite Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and other civilian installations, there are no signs of waning Ukrainian will to resist.

6:32 am – NASA: Russia harvested billions of Ukrainian wheat

According to the US space agency NASA, Russia has harvested wheat worth about $1 billion (about 950 million euros) from Ukrainian fields this year. About 5.8 million tons of wheat has been harvested from fields in Ukraine that are not under the country’s control, NASA Harvest, the US space agency’s food security and agriculture program, said. For the survey, Nasa Harvest uses satellite data and modeling with several partner institutions.

Scientists involved in the research project estimate that 26.6 million tons were harvested in Ukraine this year, much more than previously expected.

5:11 a.m. – Lithuania is waiting for another German self-propelled howitzer for Ukraine

Lithuania sent another German self-propelled howitzer to Ukraine in 2000 after repairs in the Baltic states of the EU and NATO. The Ministry of Defense in Vilnius announced, on Saturday evening, that two repaired artillery pieces were returned to the country that Russia attacked with ammunition.

Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas announced on Twitter at the end of November that the howitzers had been repaired in Lithuania. There has been a maintenance center for combat vehicles since the summer, which was founded by German arms companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall.

10:37pm – Macron wants to speak to Putin „soon”.

French President Emmanuel Macron wants to speak on Sunday with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, and „soon” also with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. Macron told Le Parisien newspaper that after spending „many hours” discussing the war in Ukraine and its implications with US President Joe Biden during his visit to the US this week, Macron will speak again with Grossi on Sunday.

„On this basis, I will soon be able to have a concrete conversation with President Putin on the topic of civil nuclear energy,” Macron added in the interview. Before that, he was also talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about it.

The last time Macron spoke to Putin was in mid-September. He announced last week that he would soon be in „direct contact” with the Russian president again.

He had earlier talked about possible negotiations in a television interview broadcast on Saturday. In his view, the West should also address Russia’s security needs in peace negotiations to end the Ukraine war. According to Macron, Europe must prepare a new security architecture. He also pointed to repeated complaints by Russian President Vladimir Putin about NATO’s expansion.

„One of the main issues we need to address, as President Putin has always said, is the fear of NATO approaching Russia’s doors and deploying weapons that could threaten Russia,” Macron said. This issue will be part of the peace issues. That is why we need to determine what we are willing to do, how to protect our partners and member states, and how to provide guarantees to Russia once it returns to the negotiating table.”

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9:09 pm – US Secretary of Defense: Russia is targeting civilians

According to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Russia is deliberately attacking civilians in Ukraine. „With deliberate ferocity, Russia targets civilians and civilian targets,” Austin said at a defense forum in the US state of California.

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