war | Ukrainian politician detonates hand grenade at meeting

News blog about the Ukraine war

Ukrainian politician detonates hand grenade at meeting

From dpa, Reuters, afp, t-online, bm, lw, LMK, sic, lec, cli, mam

Updated on December 15, 2023 – 6:48 p.m. Reading time: 29 min.

The local council sets off a hand grenade: The incident took place in western Ukraine. (Source: REUTERS / NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE)

Day 657: The Kremlin believes Ukraine’s accession could destabilize the EU. A local councilor detonates a hand grenade in western Ukraine. All information in the news blog.

The most important things at a glance

London: Heavy fighting for the southeast Ukrainian town of Marjinka

6:47 p.m.: According to British military experts, heavy fighting continues around the southeastern Ukrainian town of Maryinka and the surrounding area. This emerges from the daily intelligence report from the Ministry of Defense in London on the war in Ukraine. Russia has further reduced the small areas that are still under Ukrainian control near the city of Donetsk. According to the British assessment, an operationally significant Russian breakthrough in this sector is highly unlikely.

Marjinka is located almost 30 kilometers southwest of Donetsk city center. The town had around 9,000 inhabitants before the war, but is now almost completely destroyed.

Ukrainian local council detonates hand grenades during community meeting

4.40 p.m.: A Ukrainian local council detonated hand grenades during a meeting in the west of the country. 26 people were injured and some were in critical condition, according to the police. The incident occurred in the morning at a local council meeting in the town of Kerezky in the western Zakarpattia region.

Footage released by authorities shows a man entering a small room where several people were already discussing heatedly. He then pulls three hand grenades from his pockets, releases the safety pins and lets them fall to the ground. Several explosions and screams can then be heard before the video ends.

The authorities did not initially give a motive for the man. Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, many Ukrainians have had access to weapons.

Kremlin praises Orbán’s actions against Ukraine

1:44 p.m.: Russia has welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s blocking of new EU aid to Ukraine and criticized the decision to hold EU accession negotiations with Kiev. “Hungary is a sovereign country. It has its own interests,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in Brussels. “And unlike many other European countries, Hungary defends its interests resolutely, which impresses us.”

Orbán is the only EU head of government who maintains close relations with the Kremlin despite the Russian offensive in Ukraine. During the night he vetoed further economic aid totaling 50 billion euros for Ukraine. However, he refrained from blocking the accession negotiations with Ukraine and neighboring Moldova, which he also rejected. In addition, the summit agreement gave Georgia the status of a candidate country for membership.

The Kremlin spokesman warns that admitting Ukraine and Moldova could “destabilize” the EU because these countries “do not meet the criteria” for this. Peskov speaks of a “purely political decision” with which the EU wants to show its support to these countries. He accuses the EU of wanting to “turn the former Soviet states against Russia.” Read a comment on Orbán’s actions here.

THW delivers new winter aid for Ukraine

1:37 p.m.: On behalf of the Federal Government, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) is once again preparing humanitarian winter aid for Ukraine. According to the Foreign Office, another 500 power generators are to be transported to the country hit by the Russian war of aggression. The THW also supported the provision of 900 heaters, 1,700 winter sleeping bags, camp beds, tents and living containers. The total value of the relief supplies for the winter amounts to 6.1 million euros.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) calls the now more than 400 aid transports to Ukraine the “largest logistics operation in the history of the THW”. “We want to continue to help where help is needed most,” explains Faeser. This is a “commandment of humanity”.