Live blog: Ukraine secures $1.1B in aid 'to get through winter'

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Ukraine secures $1.1 billion in aid 'to get through winter'

Ukraine's Western allies pledged an additional $1.1 billion in emergency winter aid, responding to pleas from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to help the country withstand Russia's onslaught against its energy grid.

Around seventy countries and international organisations gathered in Paris for a meeting aimed at enabling Ukrainians "to get through this winter", said French President Emmanuel Macron.

In a video message, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed assistance worth around 800 million euros in the short term for its battered energy sector.

US finalising plans to send Patriot missile defence system to Ukraine

The United States is finalising plans to send the Patriot missile defence system to Ukraine which could be announced as soon as this week, CNN reported, citing officials.

The Pentagon's plan still needs approval from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin before it is sent to President Joe Biden for his signature, but the approval was expected, according to the report. 

Kiev asks for more weapons 'to fight through the winter'

Ukraine urged allies to send more weapons to help it "fight through the winter" and sustain Kiev's military advances despite Russian attacks on its energy infrastructures. 

"Given the scale of the war and Russia's unwillingness to accept the reality and withdraw from Ukraine, we will need to fight through the winter," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told a news conference.

"The best way to protect our civilians from Russian terror is to defeat Russia."

Withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine 'out of question': Kremlin

The withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine by the end of the year is "out of question," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov said at a news conference in Moscow that Ukraine should take into account the "new reality" that evolved after the start of the "special military operation" while forming its approach to a peace settlement.

Regarding a statement by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about "three steps to achieve peace," including providing Kiev with modern tanks, artillery and shells, longer-range rocket artillery and missiles, increasing energy supplies and summoning a Global Peace Summit "to determine how and when the points of the Ukrainian 'formula of peace' will be implemented," Peskov referred to it as "three steps to the continuation of combat activities."

Kiev provides Tehran with 'evidence' of strikes by Iranian-made drones

Ukraine said that Kiev provided Tehran with "the evidence" of strikes in Ukraine by Iranian-made drones.

"We are not surprised by yet another objection from Iran regarding the supply of weapons to Russia. During the technical meeting, Ukrainian experts provided the Iranians with the sufficient evidence," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said during an interview with Kiev-based news agency Interfax-Ukraine.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry also pledged "to take the toughest possible measures" to stop the use of Iranian weapons by Russia against Ukraine.

US targets network after 'sensitive items' sent to Russia, Commerce Dept says

Washington has temporarily suspended export privileges for three people and two companies following unauthorized exports of "sensitive items" to Russia, the US Commerce Department said, saying the evasion helped Moscow's "war machine."

The department, in a statement, said some of the components that were exported "can be used in military applications" and that their privileges would be put on hold for 180 days.

Belarus puts southern military unit on alert in large-scale readiness exercise

Belarus has put one of its southern military units in a state of alert as part of surprise drills to test the combat readiness of its troops, the secretary of Belarus's Security Council said.

"The inspections will be of a wide-ranging nature and carried out unannounced by the leadership of the armed forces," Alexander Volfovich said.

The snap military inspection is the latest in a burst of exercises and other military activity that have prompted concern from neighbouring Ukraine.

Ukraine PM says IAEA mission will 'secure' nuclear plants

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said that the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA had agreed to dispatch permanent teams to the country's nuclear plants, including the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant, a hotspot of fighting.

"The missions are aimed at securing the plants and recording all attempts to externally influence them, in particular shelling by the Russian aggressor," Shmygal said in a statement on social media following a meeting in Paris with Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

World must 'rethink nuclear safety': Ukraine energy minister

The world must "rethink nuclear safety" after Russia's seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko told AFP news agency ahead of a conference in Paris.

The international gathering hosted by France aims to raise funds to repair Ukraine's damaged infrastructure as well as highlight the country's support for Kyiv in its fight against Russia. 

With at least 40 percent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure demolished in the past two months, Galushchenko will join the conference to ask for materials and funds to get Ukrainians through the winter. 

Ukraine’s president calls on Russia to begin withdrawing its forces at Christmas

Ukraine’s president called on Russia to start withdrawing its forces at Christmas, local media reported.

Speaking via video link at the G-7 Summit, Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Russia to at least try to prove that it is capable of abandoning aggression as Christmas approaches, according to Ukraine’s state-run news agency Ukrinform. 

“This is the time for normal people to think about peace, not aggression,” he said, adding, “If Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine, it will ensure a lasting cessation of hostilities.”

US sends first shipment of power gear to aid Ukraine

The United States has shipped the first part of its power equipment aid to Ukraine, US officials said, as Washington works to support the country's energy infrastructure against intensifying attacks from Russia.

The first tranche was power equipment worth about $13 million, one of the officials said. Another source familiar with the matter said two more planeloads of equipment would leave from the United States this week.

Russia has been carrying out widespread attacks on Ukraine's electricity transmission and heating infrastructure since October, in what Kiev and its allies say is a deliberate campaign to harm civilians.

Head of Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine's Donetsk says 50% of region under Moscow control

The top Moscow-backed official in the occupied parts of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine said early on Tuesday that more than 50 percent of the region's territory is under Russian control.

The so-called Donetsk People's Republic is one of the four regions in Ukraine which Moscow proclaimed as its own in September in what Ukraine and its allies called a "sham," coercive referendum.

"A little more than 50 percent of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic has been liberated," Denis Pushilin, Russian-supported administrator of the Moscow-controlled parts of Donetsk, told RIA.

Ukraine needs extra gas and weapons, Zelenskyy tells G7

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged G7 nations to provide extra gas and weapons to help Ukraine survive a brutal winter, which threatens to bring further suffering to millions in the war-torn country.

With snow on the ground and Ukraine's energy grid battered by Russian strikes, many are facing freezing temperatures without power or heating.

During a video conference with the G7 club of wealthy nations, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs "about two billion cubic metres" of additional gas to get through the winter.

He also urged the G7 to send more arms to Ukraine, including "modern tanks" as well as "rocket artillery and more long-range missiles".

For live updates from Monday (December 12), click here