2024-01-03 16:27:00
Ukrainian border guards stopped fleeing men. Federal government refuses to provide Taurus cruise missiles. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners
5:27 p.m.: According to consistent information, Russia and Ukraine have once again exchanged prisoners of war. The Russian Defense Ministry reports that 248 of its soldiers were released after mediation by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke of more than 200 Ukrainian prisoners.
Ukrainian border guards stop fleeing men with warning shots
4:10 p.m.: The Ukrainian border guard prevented a group of twelve conscript men from fleeing the war-torn country with warning shots. The authorities in Kiev said the incident occurred on the border with Hungary. All twelve come from the Zakarpattia region, which borders Hungary. The refugees had previously paid a local person the equivalent of 285 euros per person for the trip to the border. The driver was also arrested a short time later. The refugees face fines for attempting to break through the border. The escape aider faces a prison sentence of up to nine years.
At the same time, two other refugees subject to military service were stopped at the border with Moldova. They were discovered using a surveillance drone.
Men of military age between 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country. Nevertheless, over 700,000 Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 64 are now registered as refugees in the European Union.
Gazprom supplies record amounts of gas to China
3:59 p.m.: Energy giant Gazprom says it has set a new daily record for gas deliveries to China. The state-controlled company announced that the day before, more gas was transported to the neighboring country in one day via the “Power of Siberia” pipeline than ever before.
In addition, Gazprom delivered 22.7 billion cubic meters of gas through the line in 2023, almost 1.5 times more than a year earlier. The West has severely restricted its gas imports from Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine.
Federal government refuses to provide Taurus cruise missiles
3:45 p.m.: The German government condemns the recent Russian air strikes on Ukraine as a “war crime”, but continues to refuse to provide Taurus cruise missiles. There is “no new status” on this, says government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin.
At the same time, he emphasized that Russia’s actions would be “strongly” condemned by Germany. “The massive attacks on civilian infrastructure are a war crime and are absolutely despicable,” says Hebestreit.
EU puts Russian diamond producer Alrosa on sanctions list
10:49 a.m.: The European Union has placed the Russian diamond manufacturer Alrosa and its CEO Pavel Marinychev on its sanctions list. This is in line with the diamond ban that the EU introduced with the twelfth sanctions package, writes EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell on the short message service X.
Poland calls for longer-range missiles for Ukraine
8:56 a.m.: In view of the recently increased Russian air strikes on Ukraine, Poland is urging the West to supply the leadership in Kiev with longer-range missiles. “We should respond to the latest attack on Ukraine in a language that Putin understands,” writes Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski on the short message service X.
With more long-range missiles, Ukraine could eliminate Russian missile and drone launch sites as well as command centers behind the front. Sikorski is also calling for sanctions to be tightened so that Russia can no longer produce new weapons with smuggled components.
Russia: Missile attacks on Belgorod and Crimea repelled
1:10 a.m.: According to Russian information, there has been another attack on the Belgorod region. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said nine Ukrainian missiles were fired. The governor of Russian-occupied Crimea also reports alleged successes with air defense. A rocket was intercepted over Sevastopol, writes Mikhail Razvoshayev on Telegram. Nobody was injured and no damage was caused. Several Telegram short messages stated that there were loud explosions over various parts of Sevastopol.
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