LIVE - Ukraine: Washington releases its last tranche of military aid available for kyiv

2023-12-27 22:35:36

The United States announced this Wednesday the release of $250 million in military aid for Ukraine. This is the last tranche available without a new vote in the American Congress. Follow the latest information live.

22:01

MILITARY AID

The United States announced on Wednesday the release of $250 million in military aid for Ukraine, its last tranche available without a new vote in the US Congress.

“It is imperative that Congress act as soon as possible to advance our national security interests by helping Ukraine defend itself”Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

21:09

PRODUCTION OF WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT TRIPLED

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine tripled its national production of equipment and weapons in 2023 compared to the previous year.

National production of ammunition, particularly for artillery, has also increased significantly. “extremely significant”added the head of state during a meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian defense industry.

18:29

PRESSURE ON SEVERAL FRONTS

The commander of the Ukrainian Army, Oleksandr Syrsky, stressed on Telegram on Wednesday that the situation was “difficile” in the east of the country. Russia “continues its intensive offensives in the directions of Kupiansk, Lyman, Siversk and Bakhmut.”

The country “has recently significantly increased the use of armored vehicles, kamikaze drones and continues to carry out intensive artillery fire”he added.

14:12

APPEAL REJECTED FOR EKATERINA DOUNTSOVA

While the Russian Electoral Commission had rejected, on December 23, the candidacy for the presidential election of the journalist Ekaterina Dountsova, the latter has just lost her appeal against this refusal, reported this WednesdayAssociated Press.

She defended her vision of a “humane” Russia, “peaceful, friendly and ready to cooperate with everyone on the principle of respect”. This former municipal representative now intends to work on the creation of her own political party which would defend “peace, freedom and democracy”, quotes the Associated Press. Find our article which takes stock of the rejection of this application.

InternationalPublished today at 4:02 p.m.12:09

GIGANTIC LNG PROJECT UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Russian Deputy Prime Minister of Energy, Alexander Novak, affirmed that the gigantic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Arctic Arctic LNG 2 had started despite American sanctions which jeopardized its launch.

“The Arctic LNG 2 plant is currently under construction, and the first stage has already started operating. We expect the first deliveries from this project to take place as early as the first quarter of next year,” he said. reported the Russian Deputy Prime Minister. According to media reports, Russian gas giant Novatek, which owns 60% of the megaproject, invoked “force majeure” earlier in December, a legal clause that allows companies to suspend deliveries due to factors beyond their control. .

11:55

DRONE ATTACK IN ODESSA

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a message posted on Telegram that “around midnight, the occupants [les Russes] dropped drones on the Odessa region. “One person died, four others were injured,” added the minister, who specified that residential buildings were damaged.

11:39

FENCERS WANTED BY RUSSIA

Sergey Bida and his wife Violetta Brida, two fencers who left Russia for the United States after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, have been placed on Moscow’s wanted list. They are suspected of having participated in a championship in the United States, without the agreement of Russia. Update on this matter in our article.

InternationalPublished today at 10:17:10:24

DELIVERY OF A FRENCH PILOT SHIP

Transport Minister Clément Beaune announced Monday on the social network X (formerly Twitter) the delivery of a “second pilot ship to support Ukraine”.

“Leaving Dunkirk, he will allow the supply of cereals, to better feed the world”, he wrote, promising a “total commitment (…)” and “a solidarity which will not stop”.

10:11

RUSSIA RE DIRECTS ITS OIL EXPORTS TO ASIA

Russia has almost completely redirected its oil exports to China and India, earning revenues at a level comparable to that of 2021, its Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Energy Alexandre Novak announced on Wednesday. According to him, Russia, targeted by a multitude of Western sanctions for its offensive in Ukraine, and in particular on its hydrocarbons, today sells 45-50% of its oil to China and 40% to India.

“If previously we supplied Europe with 40-45% of the total volume of exports of oil and oil products, we expect that this figure will not exceed 4-5% by the end of the year”, explained Alexandre Novak in an interview with the Russian television channel Rossia 24.

09:27

A SECOND WINTER OF WAR

In Bakhmut on the eastern front, winter is only just beginning. The fighting is currently taking place in freezing cold and extreme conditions. A team from TF1’s 20H was able to witness it alongside Ukrainian soldiers on the front line. A report can be found below.

InternationalPublished yesterday at 8:53 p.m.09:22

A RUSSIAN SWIMMING STAR ABSENT FROM THE 2024 Olympics

Kliment Kolesnikov, a rising Russian swimming star, will not go to the 2024 Olympics in Paris. “To this day, under current conditions, for me, this is unacceptable” to participate in the competition, he declared in an interview with AFP, explaining that he did not want to be a “black sheep” among the other athletes who will come to the French capital next summer. “The other guys are participating, competing as if nothing had happened, and we will not have the right to have a delegation (…), nor a flag or anthem”adds the world record holder in the 50m backstroke.

At the beginning of December, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) authorized Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Games (July 26-August 11) on the condition that they compete under a neutral banner, excluding team events, and that they do not have not actively supported the Russian offensive in Ukraine and that they have cleared the qualification hurdle. To date, there are only 11 in this case, eight Russians and three Belarusians, against around sixty Ukrainians, according to the IOC.

07:41

RELATIONS BETWEEN UKRAINE AND NATO

In a message published Tuesday on the social network his ministers and the head of the Rada, Ukraine’s unicameral parliament.

“Ukraine’s strategy in its relations with the Alliance is clear. It is about establishing the foundations of security for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe (…). Foreign policy, institutional measures inside the country: everything must be as meaningful as possible,” he wrote.

07:27

“DAMAGED” SHIP

Russia confirmed on Tuesday that one of its ships had been damaged in an attack by kyiv in annexed Crimea, a new snub for Moscow in the Black Sea welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed by his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of “damage” suffered by the large landing ship Novocherkassk during this strike in Crimea, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov told the press. without providing further details.

The Ministry of Defense, cited by the RIA Novosti agency, indicated that the boat had been “damaged during the night during an attack by the Ukrainian armed forces who used cruise missiles” in the city of Feodosia. The Ukrainian army claims to have “destroyed” this ship, which it claims was carrying Iranian-made Shahed drones, frequently used by Moscow in the conflict. The attack also left one dead and two injured and damaged six buildings, according to the governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksionov.

06:30

Kherson

At least one person was killed and four others injured Tuesday during a Russian bombing that hit a train station in Kherson, southern Ukraine, where civilians were preparing to evacuate, the Interior Minister said.

“Kherson, in the evening. About 140 civilians were waiting at the station for the evacuation train to leave. That’s when the enemy began a massive bombardment of the city,” Igor Klymenko said on Telegram . A police officer was killed and two civilians and two police officers were injured by shrapnel, he said.

06:30

Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Find the latest information on the conflict here.

The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valery Zaluzhny, announced on Tuesday that his forces withdrew in “periphery” of Marinka, a town in the east of the country which Moscow claimed the day before to have taken control of. “The fact that we have moved to the outskirts of Marinka and in some places have already exceeded the boundaries of the locality, should not cause public outcry”Zaluzhny said at a press conference.

He said Ukrainian soldiers are still in the northern part of the city, but his forces have “prepared a line of defense outside this locality” to which to retreat. Marina “does not exist anymore” in view of the destruction, he said.

Russia claimed Monday to have taken control of this town located five kilometers southwest of Donetsk, the main town under Russian occupation in the region. Marinka had been transformed by the Ukrainian army into a stronghold since 2014 and the start of a conflict with pro-Russian separatists led by Moscow, who had seized in particular the city of Donetsk.

LIVE – Ukraine: Washington releases its last tranche of military aid available for kyiv