2023-12-16 16:47:20
News blog about the Ukraine war
Ukraine announces search for Russian church leader
From dpa, Archyde.com, afp, t-online, bm, lw, LMK, sic, lec, cli, mam
Updated on December 16, 2023 – 4:27 p.m. Reading time: 32 min.
Near the contested city of Avdiivka: Footage shows Ukrainian troops successfully defending themselves against Russian advances. (Source: t-online)
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
Ukraine: Russia gathers troops near Kupyansk
4:04 p.m.: According to the Ukrainian military, Russia is massing reserve forces near the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. According to army spokesman Volodymyr Fito, another attempt by Russian troops to take the city is imminent. Kupyansk was taken by Kremlin troops shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. However, the city was liberated again during the Ukrainian counteroffensive in autumn 2022.
According to the army spokesman, Russia is now massing a “significant number” of personnel and equipment near Kupyansk. While the military equipment in the region is “better protected”, Russia is handing over large numbers of its soldiers to the Ukrainian forces, almost unprotected. Kupyansk is considered a strategically important city as it is a center of Ukrainian war logistics and is used for possible advances.
Ukraine announces search for Russian church leader
3:53 p.m.: The Ukrainian secret service SBU has put out a wanted notice for the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill I. This emerges from the Ukrainian Interior Ministry’s wanted list. The Ukrainian news portal “The Kyiv Independent” had previously reported on it.
The country’s secret services accuse Kirill of supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government wants to reduce the influence of priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, who it says have close ties to Russia and infiltrate Ukrainian society. Kirill’s entry on the wanted list is purely symbolic, as the patriarch is in Russia and is not threatened with arrest there.
Black Sea: riparian states want to clear sea mines
3:16 p.m.: Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria want to work together to clear sea mines in the Black Sea. A corresponding contract is to be signed in January, said Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler. “Due to the war between Ukraine and Russia, mines have been laid in both Ukrainian and Russian ports. These sometimes become loose and reach our straits due to the current,” Guler told journalists.
Air strikes on several regions: Ukraine shoots down 30 Russian drones
2:47 p.m.: Russian forces have again attacked the Ukrainian capital Kiev and fired drones at targets across large parts of the country. “This is the sixth airstrike on Kiev since the beginning of the month,” said Serhiy Popko, the head of the city’s military administration. Iranian Shahed drones flew in waves towards Kiev from different directions. There were no casualties or major damage, Popko said. Kiev Mayor Wladimir Klitschko had already reported on the attacks that night (see blog entry from 12:24 a.m.).
Video | Russian drone attacks on hospital – police react immediately
Quelle: t-online
The Ukrainian Air Force said on the short message service Telegram that 30 of a total of 31 drones had been intercepted and destroyed during the night. They were shot down across eleven regions in the center, north and south of the country. They were Shahed drones. Fighter jets, anti-aircraft units and mobile groups of drone hunters were deployed to intercept them.
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