Day 623: An armored Ukrainian vehicle crossed the Dnipro for the first time. EU accession is gaining momentum. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Russia fires with German weapons in the Ukraine war
10:38 a.m.: Since Russia invaded Ukraine, there have been strict sanctions against the country – actually including weapons. A report now shows that German weapons apparently still end up in Russia. Here you can read more about it.
Ukraine: 60 attacks on energy facilities in recent weeks
10.30 a.m.: According to the Ukrainian government, Russian forces have attacked energy infrastructure 60 times in recent weeks. The Ukrainian Energy Ministry said various weapons were used. “After each new attack, the need for energy equipment grows, and therefore the help of partners is very important for the Ukrainian energy sector.” Last year, the Russian military increasingly attacked energy facilities in Ukraine before winter.
G7 admonishes China for proximity to Kremlin
9:49 a.m.: The G7 countries have called on China to pressure Russia to end its war of aggression against Ukraine. Beijing must not support Moscow in its war against Ukraine, the G7 foreign ministers said on Wednesday at the end of their two-day meeting in Tokyo. Instead, China should urge Russia to “end its military aggression and support a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
Ukraine: First armored vehicle crosses Dnipro
4.30 a.m.: Ukraine appears to be continuing to make progress in expanding its bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnipro River. After several soldiers have been stuck there for weeks, an armored vehicle is now said to have been brought across the river for the first time. This is what drone footage is supposed to show, as the “Kyiv-Post” reports. Accordingly, a BTR-4 infantry fighting vehicle was brought to the largely Russian-occupied side of the river with an amphibious vehicle. Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces had even moved several armored vehicles to the eastern (left bank) bank of Kherson Oblast, according to the American Institute for War Studies.
A few days ago, Ukraine had more soldiers transferred and attacked the headquarters of the Russian Dnipro troops.
Report: Von der Leyen to present positive EU assessment of Ukraine
4:01 a.m.: According to information from the German Press Agency, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to present a positive assessment of the country’s reform progress in Brussels this Wednesday. It is also planned to officially recommend the governments of the EU states to start accession negotiations.
Accordingly, the EU Commission assumes that outstanding reform steps can be completed by Ukraine in a short time and are not a reason to postpone the fundamental decision on the start of accession negotiations. The approval of the heads of state and government of the EU states could thus take place at the EU summit on December 14th and 15th, as the government in Kiev had hoped.
Latvia: Russia invaded airspace
11:15 p.m.: Latvia has accused Russia of illegally entering its airspace with an aircraft. The unspecified aircraft flew on November 6th near the Latvian-Russian border over the territory of the Baltic EU and NATO member, the Defense Ministry in Riga said on Tuesday evening.
After crossing the border illegally, the plane returned to Russian territory, the statement said. The Foreign Ministry in Riga summoned the charge d’affaires of the Russian embassy because of the incident and handed over a note.
In response to the detected airspace violation, “necessary measures were taken to avert any threat to Latvia’s security,” the statement continued. “Operational information” was also transmitted to NATO. No details were given.
