Live blog: Zelenskyy thanks Germany for Patriot air defence system

Saturday, April 13, 2024

1410 GMT — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for committing to supply another Patriot air defence system and missiles, saying the military aid comes at a critical point.

"I am grateful to the chancellor for the decision to supply another additional Patriot system to Ukraine and missiles to the existing air defence systems. Thanks, Olaf, for your leadership! This is a real manifestation of support for Ukraine at a critical time for us," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

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1405 GMT — Germany to send additional Patriot system to Ukraine

Germany has said it will send an additional Patriot air defence system to Ukraine to bolster its hard-pressed military and help it fend off increased Russian aerial attacks.

"Russian terror against Ukrainian cities and the country's infrastructure is causing immeasurable suffering," said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, announcing the move.

"It is jeopardising people's energy supply and destroying the operational readiness of the Ukrainian armed forces."

It will be the third Patriot system that Berlin has supplied to Kiev, with the defence ministry saying the decision was taken at the request of the Ukrainian government and in coordination with allies.

1041 GMT — Ukraine starts building first US-design nuclear reactors

Ukraine has started constructing two US-designed reactors at a nuclear power plant in the west of the country following devastating Russian attacks on its energy network.

Workers at Khmelnytskyi nuclear power station on Thursday poured a symbolic cubic metre of concrete for the reactors, which will use US technology and fuel, as Ukrainian and US flags fluttered.

The project is aimed at increasing Ukraine's energy security and reducing its dependence on Russian nuclear technology.

Guests at the ceremony included the head of Ukraine's state nuclear operator, Energoatom, Petro Kotin; Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko; US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and the CEO of US nuclear energy company Westinghouse, Patrick Fragman.

1033 GMT — Russia claims captured a Ukraine village near Avdiivka

Russia said it had captured a village near the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Kiev said the situation on the eastern front was deteriorating.

The Russian defence ministry said troops had "liberated" the village of Pervomaiske in the Donetsk region, to the south of the largely destroyed industrial town of Avdiivka, which Russia fully captured in the middle of February.

0938 GMT — Ukraine strike on Russia-held Zaporizhzhia kills 10 people

At least 10 people -- including women and children -- were killed and more than 20 injured in a Ukrainian attack on a residential quarter in the Russia-held Zaporizhzhia region, according to media reports.

The overnight strike destroyed a residential building in the city of Tokmak, which is located in the Russia-controlled part of the region, the Russian state news agency TASS said.

Rescue operations are continuing, and more people can be pulled out from the rubble, it said.

The strike also damaged the gas supply system, leaving nine residential buildings and 25 private houses without access to the fuel, it said.

Ukraine is yet to comment on the incident.

0753 GMT — Ukraine warns of 'deteriorating situation' on eastern front

"The situation on the eastern front has deteriorated significantly in recent days" in the face of a heightened Russian offensive, Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky has said.

Syrsky, who took over as commander-in-chief in February after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired his popular predecessor, Valery Zaluzhny, said Russians also had superior weapons.

He spoke of "a significant intensification of the enemy's offensive after the presidential elections in Russia" in mid-March and added that decisions were being taken "to strengthen the most problematic defence areas with electronic warfare and air defence".

"The enemy is actively attacking our positions in the Lyman and Bakhmut sectors with assault groups supported by armoured vehicles. In the Pokrovsk sector, they are trying to break through our defence using dozens of tanks and armoured personnel carriers".

Ukraine has said the situation around the eastern frontline city of Chasiv Yar is "difficult and tense" with the area under "constant fire".

Chasiv Yar lies 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Bakhmut, which was flattened by months of artillery fire before it was captured by Moscow last May.

Russia has recently secured its first territorial gains since seizing Bakhmut and is now trying to press onwards against Ukrainian units hobbled by delays in the supply of vital Western military aid.

2130 GMT — US, UK widen ban on Russian metals as Ukraine war grinds on

The United States and Britain have taken joint action to widen a ban on Russian metal imports in a bid to target the important Russian revenue source following its 2022 offensive in Ukraine.

"This new action prohibits the import of Russian-origin aluminium, copper, and nickel into the United States," the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

The action also limits the use of these metals on global metal exchanges and in over-the-counter derivatives trading, building on previous actions taken by the US and UK governments.

"Our new prohibitions on key metals, in coordination with our partners in the United Kingdom, will continue to target the revenue Russia can earn to continue its brutal war against Ukraine," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

These actions would "reduce Russia's earnings while protecting our partners and allies from unwanted spillover effects," she added.

The announcement means that metal exchanges like the London Metal Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange will now be banned from accepting any new aluminium, copper, and nickel produced by Russia, according to the Treasury.

2000 GMT — US intel finding shows China surging equipment sales to Russia

China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine, according to a US assessment.

Two senior Biden administration officials, who discussed the sensitive findings on the condition of anonymity, said that in 2023 about 90 percent of Russia’s microelectronics came from China, which Russia has used to make missiles, tanks and aircraft. Nearly 70 percent of Russia's approximately $900 million in machine tool imports in the last quarter of 2023 came from China.

Chinese and Russian entities have also been working to jointly produce unmanned aerial vehicles inside Russia, and Chinese companies are likely providing Russia with nitrocellulose used in the manufacture of ammunition, the officials said. China-based companies Wuhan Global Sensor Technology Co., Wuhan Tongsheng Technology Co. Ltd. and Hikvision are providing optical components for use in Russian tanks and armored vehicles.

The officials said Russia has received military optics for use in tanks and armoured vehicles manufactured by Chinese firms iRay Technology and North China Research Institute of Electro-Optics, and China has been providing Russia with UAV engines and turbojet engines for cruise missiles.

For our live updates from Friday, April 12, click here.