Turkish Minister to Russia
15:46 | Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar is in Moscow for talks, the Turkish Defense Ministry said. Turkey is known for wanting to mediate in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The topic of the conversations Akar participated in is still unknown.
Ukraine close to breakthrough around Luhansk
14:56 | The Ukrainian army is trying to force a breakthrough in the border area with Luhansk, one of the areas of Donbass annexed by Russia. According to Peter Wijninga of the Center for Strategic Studies in The Hague, the Russians are now worried about a Ukrainian breakthrough in this area.
Nearly 7,000 civilian dead in war in Ukraine
11:20 am | The United Nations human rights organization has estimated that nearly 6,900 civilians have been killed since February 24 in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The conflict erupted in 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Since then, 11,000 unarmed people have been injured, according to the United Nations.
Among the victims are about 1,800 women and 400 children. Most of the civilian casualties were caused by very heavy explosive shells such as those used in heavy artillery bombardment, rocket attacks and other air raids.
Italy’s support for Ukraine is uncertain
09:30 | The Italian defense minister is still not sure whether Italy will be able to supply Ukraine with air defense systems, as requested by President Zelensky. The systems would be delivered “if possible,” Guido Crosetto told Il Messaggero newspaper in an article published on Wednesday.
His statements follow a conversation between Zelensky and Italian Prime Minister Meloni, after which Zelensky tweeted that Rome was considering providing air defense. He urges Ukraine’s Western allies to step up military aid to counter Russia’s three-month-long missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Under former prime minister Mario Draghi, Italy has sent five aid packages to Kiev, including military supplies, and Meloni’s government is working on a possible sixth delivery.
“The Orthodox Church must declare Putin the devil”
06:00 | The Ukrainian branch, which has separated from the Russian Orthodox Church, must distance itself from Moscow. That’s what Secretary Oleksii Danilov of the National Security Council in Ukraine asked on TV on Tuesday. “If you don’t have relations with Russia, say hello and say that Russian President Vladimir Putin is Satan,” Danilov said. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is also a devil, according to him.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was subordinated to the Moscow Patriarchate until May of this year. Subsequently, the Church officially distanced itself from Moscow and condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But Ukrainian rulers continue to question the loyalty of the clerics and have raided their main residence in the capital Kiev several times. They suspect Russian spies are active.
The lease of the 11th-century Kiev-Pechersk Lavra or Cave Monastery, designated a United Nations World Heritage Site, has been cancelled. In November, Ukrainian security forces also carried out checks at two other monasteries and other religious institutions.
The Russian Foreign Minister sees the United States as the main culprit of the war
05:00 | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sees the United States as the main culprit in the conflict in Ukraine. The United States is also the biggest beneficiary of the war, he says. “The strategic goal of the United States and its allies in NATO is a victory over Russia on the battlefield to weaken or even destroy Russia,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russia’s state news agency TASS on Tuesday. Washington would aim to destroy the traditional relations between Russia and Europe.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th. The United States, the European Union and other Western countries then imposed harsh sanctions on the country. In addition, the United States has sent several large packages of weapons to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky visited Washington earlier this month. There he met, among other things, US President Joe Biden. He also spoke to the US Congress. The Kremlin reacted angrily to the visit, saying the US clearly does not want peace.