President Vladimir Putin has justified the attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and has made accusations against Ukraine. News ticker on war events.
- Putin comment on the possible war end: The Kremlin boss emphasized that he still expects a longer process in the fight against Ukraine.
- Patriots after Poland: The federal government is open to the stationing of air defense systems on the NATO border.
- Stoltenberg supposed Russian offensive: According to the NATO Secretary General, Russia is preparing for a new attack.
Update from December 9, 10:00 a.m.: This news ticker has ended. All further information on the military events in the Ukraine war can be found here.
Update from December 8, 6:36 p.m.: Several loud explosions are said to have occurred in Berdyansk, a major Ukrainian city on the Azov Sea currently under Russian control, on Thursday. Videos of a fire that then broke out can be seen on several social media channels.
The blasts were confirmed by the head of the city’s military administration, Viktoria Galitsyna, and an adviser to the mayor of the nearby city of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko. According to Galitsyna, the explosions happened at an airfield north of the city. The Russian side did not provide any information on the situation.
Attacks on energy infrastructure: Putin rejects allegations against Russia and accuses Kiev of genocide
December 8 update at 4:17 p.m.: Vladimir Putin has dismissed criticism of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and announced a continuation of the airstrikes. “A lot of noise is being made about our attacks on a neighboring country’s energy infrastructure. Yes we’ll do that. But who started it?” Putin said, referring to Ukraine, according to the AFP news agency. Criticism of the Russian approach would “not interfere with our combat missions,” added the Kremlin chief.
The attacks are therefore a Russian response to the destruction of the Crimea bridge by Ukraine. In addition, Putin also blames Ukraine for attacks on a high-voltage power line near a nuclear power plant in Kursk and for cutting off the city of Donetsk’s water supply. “Not providing water to a city of more than a million people is an act of genocide,” Putin said. However, the West would remain silent on these events, the Russian President continued.
Putin spokesman admits “risks” in annexed Crimea
Update from December 8, 1:03 p.m: After several drone strikes on Russia-annexed Crimea, the Kremlin has acknowledged an existing risk of Ukrainian attacks on the peninsula. “There are certainly risks because the Ukrainian side continues its policy of organizing terrorist attacks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “On the other hand, the information we receive indicates that effective countermeasures are being taken.”
Kremlin on the Ukraine war: No incorporation of new Ukrainian territories planned
Update from December 8, 12:40 p.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin is not planning any further annexations of Ukrainian territories in the ongoing Ukraine war. “There is no talk of that,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. Rather, there is “a lot of work” to wrest the incorporated areas from Ukrainian control.
At the end of September, Putin declared the regions of Luhanks, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Cherson to be annexed by decree. With a few exceptions, the international community does not recognize the annexations. In 2014, Russia illegally annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
Peskov also addressed a possible recapture of Crimea by Ukraine. “The risk undoubtedly remains, because the Ukrainian side continues its line of organizing terrorist attacks,” said Peskov. However, the air defense shows that the countermeasures worked. The Kremlin spokesman also rejected statements from Germany, for example, according to which Ukraine should not limit itself to its own territory in its defense against Russian aggression. This would widen the conflict, Peskow warned.
Putin comments on the possible end of the war: “It can be a long process”
December 8 update at 6:56 am: “Of course, it can be a long process”: Even Vladimir Putin apparently no longer expects the Ukraine war to end any time soon. At a meeting of the Human Rights Council he set up himself, the Kremlin chief also said that half of the 300,000 mobilized Russian reservists were already stationed in the combat zone. The remaining men are housed as “combat reserves” at military bases.
Putin ordered partial mobilization in September after the Russian military suffered a severe defeat in Kharkiv – but this triggered real panic in his own country. Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled abroad. The measure has now been officially completed. But many Russians do not trust the Kremlin. According to Western intelligence services, many of the Russians drafted to the front have already been killed.
Update from December 7th, 8:00 p.m.: In the city of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region, eight people have apparently died as a result of Russian rocket fire. This is reported by the deputy head of the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, on Telegram. Accordingly, five injuries are to be lamented. A market, a bus stop, gas stations and residential buildings were hit.
Patriots to Poland – Federal government probably open to stationing at NATO border
Update from December 7th, 7:45 p.m.: The federal government has agreed in principle to the Polish government’s proposal for the deployment of Patriot air defense systems, such as the German press agency learned from the Ministry of Defense in Berlin. From the German side it was said that the weapon systems were part of the integrated NATO air defense and would also be managed by NATO in the event of a reaction to an attack. The day before, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Twitter that they were working on stationing the Patriots on Polish territory and placing them under the Polish command system.
First report from December 7th: Munich – In the Ukraine war, both sides will presumably hardly be able to shift the front line in their favor during the upcoming frosty winter weeks. The experts largely agree on that. However, it is also expected that Vladimir Putin will drive his troops on a new offensive in the second year of the war.
Stoltenberg suspects a Russian offensive – momentum in Ukraine probably concerns the Russian army
Jens Stoltenberg assumes the same. At a British newspaper event Financial Times said the NATO Secretary General that it can currently be observed that Russia is trying to pacify the war for a short time. Most recently, the invaders had withdrawn from Cherson and abandoned the west bank of the Dnieper.
Stoltenberg sees the Russian tactics as a plan to regroup the forces – many of which had only been sent to the Ukraine as a result of the partial mobilization in late summer – and to repair the material before a new major offensive takes place in the spring. At the same time, he emphasized that the Russian troops would act in this way “because Ukraine currently has the momentum”. (mg)
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