2024-01-03 19:51:21
Heavy Russian air strikes on Ukraine again
There is news about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. In addition, Ukraine and Russia have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war. The developments in the ticker.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been prevented from inspecting the reactor halls of three units in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to the organization.
- The former head of an eastern Ukrainian separatist torture prison in Donetsk has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calls on the world to stop “Russian terror”.
- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, calls on Russia and Ukraine to show restraint in view of the recent mutual attacks with civilian casualties.
- You can read about what was important before here.
IAEA experts prevented from entering Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been prevented from inspecting the reactor halls of three units in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to the organization. Experts were not allowed to enter the reactor halls of units one, two and six in the past two weeks, said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi.
Hundreds of prisoners of war exchanged
Ukraine and Russia exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war. According to Ukrainian information, 230 Ukrainians were released. The Russian Defense Ministry said 248 Russian soldiers had been released from Ukrainian custody. The United Arab Emirates made the agreement possible.
15 years in prison for torture prison boss
The former head of an eastern Ukrainian separatist torture prison in Donetsk has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. The court found the man’s mistreatment of prisoners to be proven, the Ukrainian public broadcaster reported on Wednesday.
NATO orders up to thousands of Patriot air defense missiles
Against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, NATO has signed a contract with the German arms manufacturer Comlog for up to a thousand new Patriot air defense missiles. The company is expected to deliver, among other things, missiles, spare parts and test systems, as NATO’s joint procurement agency announced on Wednesday. The NATO states want to use this to strengthen their air defense systems.
Ukraine attacks Crimea and border regions
According to Russian information, Ukraine has again attacked the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow, and border regions in Russia. «The situation in Belgorod remains tense. There were two attacks in the morning,” said the governor of the border region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, on Wednesday. Russian air defense said it had intercepted six missiles over Belgorod.
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9:55 p.m
We hereby end our ticker on Wednesday
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9:18 p.m
IAEA: Improved emergency power supply at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
To prevent a nuclear accident, the emergency power system at the occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia has been improved. At the insistence of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Russian operators of the frontline nuclear power plant have set up a system that automatically connects the plant to a backup power line in the event of a main line failure. IAEA head Rafael Grossi announced this in Vienna.
The power plant, which currently does not generate electricity, needs external electricity to ensure the long-term cooling of the reactors. Temporary power outages have already occurred several times at the nuclear power plant as a result of the Russian war of aggression.
Grossi praised the improvement of the emergency power system as an “important development”. However, he expressed dissatisfaction with the maintenance of the nuclear power plant under Russian occupation. The IAEA chief reported that the operators had not yet taken care of a small leak in a reactor building through which boric acid had escaped from the cooling system. Such leaks are not unusual, but they must be remedied “properly and promptly” “to prevent further and possibly more serious impacts on security,” warned Grossi.
Grossi also criticized the fact that the IAEA experts, who are permanently stationed at the nuclear power plant, had recently not been given access to several reactors.
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8:54 p.m
Kiev is not without a chance: security researchers analyze the current situation in Ukraine at blue News
Rockets, drones, cruise missiles: Russia is shelling Ukraine more heavily than it has for a long time. The attacks have a new quality, says Niklas Masuhr. The security researcher from ETH Zurich analyzes the current situation at blue News: Kiev is not without a chance, he concludes.
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8:33 p.m
IAEA: Access to reactor halls of Ukrainian nuclear power plant denied
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been prevented from inspecting the reactor halls of three units in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to the organization. Experts were not allowed to enter the reactor halls of units one, two and six in the past two weeks, explained IAEA Director Rafael Grossi.
“This is the first time that IAEA experts have not been given access to a reactor hall of a block that was in cold shutdown,” said Grossi.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located in Russian-occupied territory.
In addition, access to some parts of the power plant’s turbine halls remains restricted, explained Grossi. The IAEA is also waiting for access to the reactor roofs planned for December 19th, which “did not take place due to safety concerns”. Grossi said his team would continue to request access to the reactor halls, where the reactor core and spent fuel are located.
The Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. The Russian army took control of the facility shortly after the start of its attack on Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, the plant has come under attack several times and the power plant has also been cut off from the power supply several times.
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6:05 p.m
Ukraine and Russia exchange prisoners of war
Ukraine and Russia exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war. According to Ukrainian information, 230 Ukrainians were released. The Russian Defense Ministry said 248 Russian soldiers had been released from Ukrainian custody. The United Arab Emirates made the agreement possible.
During the course of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, prisoners have already been exchanged several times through other agreements.
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5:46 p.m
15 years in prison for ex-head of eastern Ukrainian torture prison
The former head of an eastern Ukrainian separatist torture prison in Donetsk has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. The court found the man’s mistreatment of prisoners to be proven, the Ukrainian public broadcaster reported on Wednesday.
He was also convicted as a member of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, which is considered a terrorist organization in Ukraine. The convicted man was arrested in Kiev in 2021 by the SBU secret service. The judgment is of first instance and can still be appealed.
The prison, called Isolazija (Isolation), was set up in a former factory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk in 2014 after the Moscow-controlled forces came to power. Isolazija became internationally known through reports by the UN Human Rights Commissioner and the journalist Stanislav Asseyev. He was trapped there himself and wrote a book about it after being released through a prisoner exchange.
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4:35 p.m
NATO is buying up to a thousand Patriot missiles for air defense
Against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, NATO has signed a contract with the German arms manufacturer Comlog for up to a thousand new Patriot air defense missiles. The company is expected to deliver, among other things, missiles, spare parts and test systems, as NATO’s joint procurement agency announced on Wednesday. The NATO states want to use this to strengthen their air defense systems.
NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) said it would help Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain, among others, to buy the Patriots, which can be used against cruise and ballistic missiles as well as enemy aircraft. According to industry sources, the project could be worth $5.5 billion.
The purchase could help allies provide more defense systems from their own stocks to Ukraine so that it can better defend its territory in Russia’s war of aggression against the country. The NATO agency said, without going into detail, that other countries were expected to benefit from the terms of the agreement.
“Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians, cities and towns show how important modern air defense is,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, according to a statement. “Increasing ammunition production is crucial for our security and that of Ukraine.” As an organization, NATO only provides so-called non-lethal support to Ukraine. However, its member countries provide the country with weapons and ammunition alone or in groups.
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2:43 p.m
Politicians demand: Kiev should get weapons with a longer range
After the massive wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine at the turn of the year, calls for the supply of longer-range weapons to Kiev are increasing. “We should respond to the latest attacks on Ukraine in a language that Putin understands,” demanded Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Wednesday on the online service X, formerly Twitter. German foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen criticized the federal government for refusing to supply long-range weapons systems to Ukraine.
Sikorski called for tougher sanctions and the provision of “longer-range missiles” that would allow the Ukrainian government “to take out launch sites and command centers.”
Despite a trade conflict, Poland is one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters within Europe. During his inaugural visit to Kiev, Sikorski appealed to the European Union and the USA to “mobilize” their economies and production capabilities in order to equip Ukraine with weapons.
After Christmas, Russia launched one of the largest waves of attacks since the beginning of the war against the Ukrainian capital Kiev and other cities. More than 40 people were killed.
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2:03 p.m
London: Russians target Ukrainian defense industry
According to the British government, Russia is particularly targeting the Ukrainian defense industry with its air strikes. Russia has increased the intensity of its attacks against Ukraine since December 29th, writes the Defense Ministry in London in its situation report on Wednesday. Russian armed forces have deployed a significant part of the cruise and ballistic missile stocks built up in recent months.
The most recent attacks were probably aimed primarily at Ukraine’s defense industry – not at its energy infrastructure, as was the case last winter, the British wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter). At that time, for example, Russia massively attacked thermal power plants. Some people had to endure long periods without electricity or heating.
The new attacks now indicate at least a temporary change in strategy, the British wrote. Russian planners would certainly know that the defense industry would become more important as they prepared for a long war. The Russian military leadership had also declared the day before that it would target arms factories. According to the Kremlin, one of Moscow’s war goals is the demilitarization of the neighboring country.
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1:08 p.m
EU puts Russian diamond company on sanctions list
In addition to the import ban on Russian diamonds that has been in effect since the beginning of the year, the EU states have imposed further sanctions against Russia’s state diamond producer Alrosa and its boss. They are responsible for actions “that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the European Council said on Wednesday.
Alrosa and its managing director Pavel Marinytschew are now on the EU sanctions list. This supplements the import ban on Russian diamonds.
According to information, Alrosa is the largest diamond mining company and covers more than 90 percent of all Russian diamond production. “The company is an important part of an economic sector that generates significant revenues for the Government of the Russian Federation,” the states said. In 2021, the state diamond miner Alrosa had income of 332 billion rubles (around 3.15 billion francs). Russia is considered the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds.
In December, the EU decided to ban the import of diamonds from Russia. The measure is intended to deprive the government in Moscow of an important source of income and thus also limit the ability to finance the war against Ukraine. The EU Commission recently estimated Russia’s income from the sale of diamonds at around four billion euros per year.
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11:03 a.m
Russia reports new Ukrainian attacks on Crimea and Belgorod
According to Russian information, Ukraine has again attacked the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow, and border regions in Russia.
«The situation in Belgorod remains tense. There were two attacks in the morning,” said the governor of the border region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, on Wednesday. Russian air defense said it had intercepted six missiles over Belgorod.
The region on the border with the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv has been repeatedly attacked since the beginning of the war. On Tuesday, one person was killed and eleven others were injured in attacks, Gladkow said. In the Kursk region north of Belgorod, an airstrike damaged infrastructure and caused power outages, according to Governor Roman Starovoyt.
The governor of the Crimean city of Sevastopol said a rocket was fired near the city.
On Friday, the massive shelling of Ukrainian cities cost more than 30 people their lives. Ukraine responded with rocket attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod over the weekend, killing 25 people. On Tuesday, Russia fired 99 rockets into Ukraine, killing five people.
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5:50 a.m
Zelensky warns of spread of “Russian terror”
“If we don’t do this now in Ukraine, then Russian terror will continue to spread in Europe and the world,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev on Tuesday. Democracies would have to prove that they can protect lives. After the new devastating drone and missile attacks, he called on the world to fight together against Russia’s terror.
The Russian rulers should no longer have the feeling that they can destroy human lives and cause suffering with impunity. “Russia must learn what responsibility means for destroying lives and what the power of defending lives means,” said Zelensky.
According to Zelensky, Russia fired around 100 rockets of various types into Ukraine on Tuesday alone, killing five people and injuring 130 others. He expressed his condolences to the families of the killed civilians and assured help to the injured in the Kharkiv, Kiev and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Zelensky said there had been 500 Russian missile and drone attacks since Friday last week. “No other state has ever repelled such attacks, such combined drones and missiles, including ballistic ones from the air.”
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4:09 a.m
UN Human Rights Commissioner calls for immediate de-escalation
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has called on Russia and Ukraine to show restraint in view of the recent mutual attacks with civilian casualties. “Alarming escalation of hostilities, dozens of civilians killed in #Ukraine & #Russia,” his office wrote late Tuesday evening on the online platform X, formerly Twitter. International humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate attacks and attacks on civilian objects. To protect the civilian population and to comply with international law, Türk called for “immediate steps to de-escalate”.
The number of Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine has recently increased. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has fired hundreds of missiles and drones in the past five days, killing or injuring numerous people.
According to authorities, 24 civilians were killed by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian city of Belgorod over the weekend – it was the largest such loss for Russia in almost two years of war. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin then announced increased attacks on Ukraine.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for almost two years. With the series of heavy night bombings from the air since before the New Year, the Russian army is demonstrating that it can shell every corner of the neighboring country.
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