Summary of the day
A Ukrainian military spokesperson told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Russia has fired at least 60 North Korean-supplied ballistic missiles during the war, launched by Moscow in February 2022. “Their accuracy, in principle, is not very high. We understand that the technology with which they were manufactured is outdated,” Andrii Cherniak, a military intelligence spokesperson, said, answering questions about the likelihood of Russia’s use of KN-23 ballistic missiles.
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has been in Kyiv for an unannounced visit that marks his first trip to Ukraine since the early months of full-scale war in the summer of 2022. Scholz, who met with Volodymy Zelenskyy during the visit, used the trip to announce further equipment deliveries worth €650m (£540m) to be delivered this month. The package includes IRIS-T air defence systems, Leopard 1 tanks and armed drones, a defence ministry spokesperson said. Zelenskyy wrote on X: “We are deeply grateful to Germany for all the assistance it has provided. Germany stands as a European leader in supporting Ukraine, helping us defend ourselves against Russian aggression and terror.”
The US is preparing to send Ukraine an additional $725m in military assistance, including counter-drone systems and munitions for its high mobility artillery rocket system, which could indicate more of the longer-range missiles are headed to the battlefield, the Associated Press reported.
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, warned her Chinese counterpart that Beijing’s support for Moscow would impact ties and instead urged China to help end the war in Ukraine. “The Russian president is not only destroying our European peace order through his war against Ukraine, but is now dragging Asia into it via North Korea,” she told a press briefing. “My Chinese counterpart and I have therefore discussed in depth that this cannot be in China’s interest either.”
Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of Russia’s upper legislative house, said she expects Russian-Ukrainian peace talks next year.
The Kremlin has said that preparations were under way for Vladimir Putin to visit India but no exact dates were given. The Russian president is likely to visit India in early 2025 at the invitation of his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, Indian broadcaster CNN-News18 reported earlier.
Officials said today that Russian attacks against Ukraine have killed at least four people and injured about two dozen others across multiple regions.
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Updated
We have some comments from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has met with his German counterpart, Olaf Scholz, today in Kyiv. You can read more about the trip here. Speaking to journalists, he said that strong weapons and diplomacy were required to ensure peace, as he urged Germany not to end its support to his country.
“We can only ensure peace through strength, the strength of our weapons, our diplomacy, and our cooperation,” Zelenskyy told a press briefing, alongside Scholz.
He added: “It is fundamental for us that Germany as a leader does not reduce (support) next year, including financial support.” Germany is to hold an election in February in which Scholz faces a mounting right wing challenge. Scholz has been criticised both by politicians who want Germany to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, and by those who want him to take more bold action, including sending long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv, which he has so far refused to do.
