2023-12-14 04:31:08
War in Ukraine
Updated on December 14, 2023, 5:55 a.m
“If I had the power to make decisions, we would be finished in three months,” Kadyrov said of the war. (Shooting date: December 6, 2023) © IMAGO/SNA/Aleksey Nikolskyi
Shortly before the EU summit, Zelensky is pushing hard for the start of accession negotiations. While the Ukrainian troops in the east of the country are under heavy pressure, Chechen leader Kadyrov is predicting the end of the war. What happened since Wednesday evening and what will be important on Thursday.
Before the EU summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again urged the start of accession negotiations in a telephone conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“I expect that the EU leaders will recognize Ukraine’s efforts and take this historic step,” Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. Ukraine has done its part of the work. The Ukrainian president said he was optimistic that he believed the EU would demonstrate unity and strength in receiving an invitation to start talks.
At the two-day EU summit starting this Thursday, accession negotiations for Ukraine are one of the big topics. In view of the ongoing Russian aggression, the prospect of joining the EU is extremely important for Kiev. However, there is still resistance within the Union to EU accession negotiations.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has made it clear several times in recent weeks that, in his view, no decisions should be made on EU accession negotiations with Ukraine at the moment – for example because the country attacked by Russia has not yet met all the reform requirements.
Zelenskyj wrote early on Thursday morning on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that he had also spoken on the phone with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. With Michel he discussed the “expected results for Ukraine” at the summit, which must demonstrate the EU’s unwavering support and unity. “Both are necessary to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience against Russian aggression and on the path to EU membership.” He spoke to Tusk about the upcoming decisions at the summit that would bring the entire European community together. “I heard words of sincere support. We are stronger when we are together,” Zelensky wrote.
Kadyrov predicts the war will end by summer
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov predicted the war would end next summer. “Around June or July. If I had the decision-making power, we would be finished in three months,” Kadyrov said in a live stream on Wednesday, according to media reports.
He expressed optimism that Russia would achieve its war goals. He explained the delay by saying that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin had given the military the task of destroying the Ukrainian cities as little as possible. Russia has been waging a brutal war of aggression against its neighboring country for more than 21 months, regularly attacking cities.
Moscow’s military bloggers report taking Mariinka – Kiev denies it
The Ukrainian military denied the capture of the town of Maryinka in the Donetsk region, claimed by Russian military bloggers. “Information and provocations continue to be spread about the alleged complete capture of the city. The defense continues,” wrote the Ukrainian commander in charge of this sector of the front, Olexandr Tarnawskyj, on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. According to him, the Russian occupiers continued their storm attempts. The information cannot be independently verified.
The badly damaged Marjinka is, along with Avdiivka, one of the focal points of the Russian attack efforts in the Donbas region. In the two cities outside the industrial metropolis of Donetsk, they use heavy technology and the air force. Donetsk has been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014. According to Tarnavskyi, there were 19 airstrikes on Maryinka and Avdiivka within two days.
The first Russian military blogs such as Operazija Z reported on the alleged capture of Marjinka on Tuesday. The Russian Defense Ministry did not officially report the capture and instead spoke of successful Russian attacks on Ukrainian positions in the Mariinka area.
Part of the telephone network restored
After more than 30 hours of total failure, the largest Ukrainian mobile phone provider Kyivstar apparently brought the first subscribers back online. This particularly affects the capital Kiev and other large cities, as Ukrainian media reported on Wednesday. In a statement, the group confirmed that the telephone network would be gradually restored from 6 p.m. (5 p.m. CET). Short messages and mobile internet should be possible again over the next 24 hours. The day before, Kyivstar’s network was completely down after an unprecedented hacker attack. According to its own information, the provider has a good 24 million subscribers. An act of Russian sabotage is suspected.
What will be important on Thursday
A two-day European Union summit begins in Brussels, from which Kiev hopes to give the green light to start accession negotiations to the EU. Meanwhile, in Moscow, Russian President Putin will once again present his view of the war in Ukraine that he ordered at his annual press conference and public consultation. (dpa/mbo) © dpa
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