Two German Leopard 2 tanks damaged on the battlefield in Ukraine conducted tests this Friday in front of the press in Lithuania to demonstrate the role of this Baltic state, which has become a repair center for these armored vehicles. Follow the latest information.
00:05
December 16, 2023
This life is now over.
Follow our current live broadcasts: 23:04
December 15, 2023
DECRYPTION
Russian soldiers say they captured a pregnant woman serving in the Ukrainian army, according to a video. Ukrainian women who enlist can voluntarily leave the army for reasons of pregnancy.
23:02
December 15, 2023
ON THE FRONT SIDE
Under pressure from the Russians, exhausted Ukrainian soldiers fled to secret underground bunkers. Our special correspondent Michel Scott went to the front lines in Robotyne, a town recaptured by now-depleted Ukrainian forces in August.
23:02
December 15, 2023
CAUTION
Vladimir Putin warned this Friday against any foreign “interference” in the campaign for the March 2024 presidential election in Russia. A campaign that will take place against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine and with strong repression of any opposition.
20:58
December 15, 2023
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN RUSSIA
“Any interference in Russia's internal affairs will be severely punished under Russian law,” re-election candidate Vladimir Putin said on Friday during a televised meeting with party leaders in attendance in the Duma, the lower house of parliament. “We defend the freedom of our people, their sovereignty, their right to decide their future. It is the people and only the people of Russia who are the only source of power in our country,” he assured.
20:54
December 15, 2023
DRONES IN CRIMEA
The Russian army claimed on Friday evening that it shot down 26 Ukrainian drones over annexed Crimea within two hours, repelling a “terrorist attack” from Kiev.
“Russian anti-aircraft forces destroyed 26 aerial drones over Crimea,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, without mentioning damage or casualties and saying those aircraft were all shot down “between 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. (between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. GMT).
6:20 p.m
December 15, 2023
More drones shot down
Six Ukrainian drones were shot down on Friday in Russia's Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Specifically, he stated that he neutralized two and then four drones thanks to his anti-aircraft defense. These devices targeted “facilities on Russian territory,” he said, without giving further details.
6:17 p.m
December 15, 2023
LITHUANIA ON THE FRONT
Two German Leopard 2 tanks damaged on the battlefield in Ukraine conducted tests in front of the press in Lithuania on Friday to demonstrate the role of this Baltic state, which has become a repair center for these armored vehicles.
According to the latest count, Ukraine has received 71 Leopard 2s from its Western allies. Since October and the arrival of the first tanks, the military training center in Rukla has been busy repairing the A5 and A6 models. “For this model, it is the only center,” Sebastian Dietz, CEO of Lithuania Defense Services (LDS), a company responsible for repairs and a subsidiary of German companies Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), told AFP on Friday. Manufacturer of the Leopard 2. “We cannot predict how many units will be damaged on the battlefield,” said Aivaras Kasuba, a senior LDS official.
6:14 p.m
December 15, 2023
EXPLOSIONS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MEETING
A Ukrainian elected official fired grenades during a community meeting, killing at least one person. According to local police, the attack occurred in Transcarpathia, near the Hungarian border.
5:05 p.m
December 15, 2023
MACRON'S REPLY TO PUTIN
On Thursday, Vladimir Putin said he was open to speaking with Emmanuel Macron, even though the two leaders have not spoken to each other in more than a year. The French President replied to his Russian counterpart from Brussels on Friday.
15:53
December 15, 2023
POLITICAL RESPONSE
“In a very difficult moment for Ukraine, a political response was needed – which has no legal value,” says Emmanuel Macron. “If the conditions are set and measured objectively by the Commission, there will be no start of negotiations (on Ukraine's integration into the EU). It is a process based on merit. On the contrary, if the seven rules are met, discussions will have to be opened,” continues the French president.
15:51
December 15, 2023
FINANCIAL AID TO UKRAINE
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen assured on Friday that the EU would find a solution to help Ukraine after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vetoed 50 billion euros in funding for Kiev on Thursday evening .
A future meeting of the heads of state and government of the European Union at the beginning of 2024 should enable the release of this aid. “Until then, we will use the time to ensure that we have an operational solution at this summit, whatever happens,” said the head of state.
3:42 p.m
December 15, 2023
MACRON'S REPLY TO PUTIN
“I'll say it very simply. It was not I who started the war unilaterally by breaking treaties that I had decided. It was not France that decided to commit war crimes in the north of Ukraine, which made discussions almost impossible,” begins Emmanuel Macron on Vladimir Putin’s recent statements. “I have not changed my number, and if President Putin has serious proposals, a desire to resume dialogue that will make it possible to build peace in compliance with international law, France will always be a power that helps and will spare no effort .” to achieve results,” he says.
The day before, the Kremlin's master told our special envoy that Russia was ready to talk to France “if there was an interest.”
“I haven’t changed my number”: Macro’s response to PutinSource: TF1 Info
3:42 p.m
December 15, 2023
“FAR FROM AN EFFECTIVE EXPANSION”
“We are very far from an effective enlargement” of the EU to include Ukraine, assures Emmanuel Macron from Brussels. “In any case, any enlargement will require a profound reform of our rules,” he adds.
15:26
December 15, 2023
REFORMS IN UKRAINE
According to Emmanuel Macron, “The start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU is a response to the reforms that Kiev has continued to implement and to the progress measured by the Commission.” “This step will be followed by the adoption of the negotiating framework and then the holding an intergovernmental accession conference,” specifies the French President.
15:23
December 15, 2023
RESULTS OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL
“The European Council made it possible to formalize the principle of opening accession negotiations with Kiev. Today, six of the seven conditions set by the Commission for Ukraine have been met,” says Emmanuel Macron from Brussels. “It was also an opportunity to reaffirm short-term and long-term military support among Europeans, to maintain pressure on the Russian war machine through the adoption of a twelfth sanctions package against Moscow and to support peace in Ukraine,” the French plan adds President of the Republic added.
15:17
December 15, 2023
SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE
“The focus of this European summit was the political and financial issue of Ukraine in the context that we know,” says Emmanuel Macron from Brussels. “We are continuing our policy of clearly supporting the Europeans towards the Ukrainians,” he added.
2:46 p.m
December 15, 2023
NEW EU AID
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called on Friday to lift the block on 50 billion euros in EU aid to Kiev from January due to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's veto.
“We expect that all necessary legal procedures will be completed by January 2024, which would allow us to obtain the funds in question as quickly as possible,” the ministry said in a statement.
12:55
December 15, 2023
Throwing a grenade during a community meeting
According to national police, a local officer detonated grenades at a community meeting in Ukraine's western Zakarpattia region on Friday, injuring 26 people. Images released by authorities show a man entering a small room where several people were already sitting.
After a short conversation, he takes out his bags and throws what appear to be grenades on the ground. Several loud explosions and panicked screams followed before the video was cut.
12:35
December 15, 2023
The Russian central bank is raising its key interest rate
Russia's central bank said on Friday it would raise its key interest rate from 15% to 16%, the fifth straight increase since July, to counter inflation that is squeezing Russians' purchasing power under the impact of sanctions. “Current inflation pressures remain high. Annual inflation for 2023 is expected to be close to (…) 7-7.5%,” well above the 4 percent target, the BCR explained its decision in a press release.
The BCR said it expects “the maintenance of tight monetary conditions (…) over a long period of time” to “stabilize” price increases by around 4%. This rate hike was expected by observers as the BCR has repeatedly said it wants to fight inflation at all costs, which accelerated to 7.5% year-on-year in November.
11:39
December 15, 2023
Ukraine says it shot down 14 Russian drones
The Ukrainian air force said on Friday it had shot down fourteen explosive drones launched by Russia against the neighboring country overnight. Kiev says it shoots down most of the missiles and drones fired nightly by the Russian army at its infrastructure and is still demanding more resources for its anti-aircraft defenses, while Europeans and Americans are no longer able to due to internal disputes to unlock new aid for Ukraine.
According to Kiev, the 14 drones shot down last night were launched from the southern Russian region of Krasnodar towards the Ukrainian regions of Mykolaiv (south), Kherson (south), Khmelnytsky (west) and Poltava (centre). Ukraine claims that, like last winter, Russia is trying to destroy the country's energy facilities to plunge Ukrainians into darkness and cold.
11:39
December 15, 2023
UKRAINE'S ACCESS TO THE EU
The Kremlin estimated on Friday that Ukraine and Moldova's accession would “destabilize” the European Union as those countries “fail to meet the criteria” the day after opening accession negotiations.
The spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, also said that the EU's green light for Kiev and Chisinau, which also granted candidate status to Georgia, was aimed at “damaging Russia.”
11:38
December 15, 2023
THE KREML WELCOMES HUNGARY FOR DEFENDING ITS INTERESTS
The Kremlin said on Friday that Hungary was “defending” its interests “unlike many European countries” after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked new European Union aid to Ukraine.
“Hungary is a sovereign country, it has its interests. And unlike many European countries, it resolutely defends its interests, which we appreciate,” said spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Russia has been waging an offensive against Ukraine for almost two years and Viktor Orban is the only EU leader to have close ties with the Kremlin.
10:28
December 15, 2023
GLUCKSMANN'S FEAR THAT UKRAINE WILL BE “FUCKED”
MEP Raphaël Glusksmann (Place publique) expressed concern on Friday that “Ukraine will be crushed in the coming weeks” as the EU is unable to agree on new financial aid due to a Hungarian veto. At a summit in Brussels on the night of Thursday to Friday, European heads of state and government failed to convince Hungary to give up its resistance to this 50 billion euro aid. They will resume discussions at the beginning of the year.
09:20
December 15, 2023
ORBAN CONDITIONAL HELP IN RELEASING FUNDS TO HUNGARY
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday called for “all European funds,” billions of euros of which remain blocked, before he may consider lifting his veto on new aid to Ukraine. “I have always said that if we were to proceed with a change in the EU budget (…), Hungary would take the opportunity to clearly demand what it deserves. Not half, not a quarter, but the whole,” the nationalist leader said in an interview on state radio.
08:06
December 15, 2023
EU SUPPORT BLOCKED BY HUNGARY
On the night from Thursday to Friday, the heads of state and government of the European Union failed to convince Hungary to lift its veto against the new 50 billion euro aid for Ukraine, after previously managing to hold accession negotiations with the country at war.
Ukraine: Orban blocks EU aidSource: TF1 Info
06:58
December 15, 2023
EU AGREEMENT
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday hailed the European Union's decision to open accession negotiations with Kiev on the first day of a summit of twenty-seven leaders as a “victory for Ukraine” and “all of Europe.”
06:57
December 15, 2023
“HISTORIC DECISION” BY THE EU
The USA welcomed on Thursday that the start of negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union represents a “historic decision”. “We welcome the EU’s historic decision to begin accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, a crucial step towards realizing its Euro-Atlantic ambitions,” Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said on the social network.
06:44
December 15, 2023
NEW SANCTIONS PACKAGE AGAINST RUSSIA
The European Union has agreed to a new package of sanctions against Russia, which notably includes a ban on imports of Russian diamonds into the EU, the Twenty-Seven said in a statement on Thursday. European leaders at a summit in Brussels welcomed the adoption of this new package, the 12th since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The EU will also take measures to improve the effectiveness of sanctions against Russian oil .
Moscow is accused of financing part of its war against Ukraine through the lucrative diamond trade, which represents a turnover of around four to five billion dollars a year. The EU ban will apply to natural or synthetic diamonds and jewelry from January and to Russian diamonds cut in other countries from September 2024.
06:41
December 15, 2023
DISCUSSIONS ON EU FILMS RESUME IN EARLY 2024
The leaders of the Twenty-seven will resume talks “early next year” on new EU budget aid for Ukraine, European Council President Charles Michel said on Friday, following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's veto. “I don't want to rush into the details, I will work with my colleagues in the coming days and weeks to prepare a summit for the beginning of next year,” Michel emphasized to the press.
06:39
December 15, 2023
HUNGARY VETO NEW AID OF EUR 50 BILLION
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Friday that he had vetoed the adoption of a new 50 billion euro EU budget aid for Ukraine during a 27-nation summit. “Veto on additional funds for Ukraine, veto on the revision of the European multi-annual budget, we will return to the issue next year after appropriate preparations,” he indicated on X (ex-Twitter). On the other hand, on Thursday he did not use his right to veto the decision of the EU heads of state and government to start accession negotiations with Ukraine.
06:37
December 15, 2023
WELCOME
Hello everyone. Welcome to TF1info to follow the latest news surrounding the war in Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, after the Russian invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin.
The European Union has agreed to a new package of sanctions against Russia, which includes, in particular, a ban on the import of Russian diamonds into the EU, said a press release from the 27 on Thursday. European leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels will be congratulated on the adoption of this new package, the 12th since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The EU will also take measures to increase the effectiveness of sanctions against to improve Russian oil.
Moscow is accused of financing part of its war against Ukraine through the lucrative diamond trade, which represents a turnover of around four to five billion dollars a year. The EU ban will apply to natural or synthetic diamonds and jewelry from January and to Russian diamonds cut in other countries from September 2024.
Belgium has lifted its reservations about these sanctions decided by the G7 countries and has proposed solutions, in particular through a tracking system, to make them effective without penalizing its own industry, which thrives in Antwerp (northwest).
also read
EU opens accession negotiations with Kiev, Zelensky welcomes “victory for Ukraine” and “all of Europe”
The EU is also seeking better enforcement of sanctions against Russian oil. Western countries have decided to ban all imports of Russian oil above a price of $60 per barrel. However, Russia managed to circumvent this measure by building a “ghost fleet” of tankers and also thanks to the help of China and India, as Carnegie researcher Alexandra Prokopenko recently noted.
The Twenty-Seven also decided to extend these oil sanctions to liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, butane and propane, used in particular for heating.
The editorial team of TF1info