Skip next section Polish farmers staged a protest at the Medyka border crossing during the Christmas holidays
12/23/202323. December 2023
Polish farmers interrupt a protest at the Medyka border crossing during the Christmas holidays
Polish farmers will suspend their protests at the Medyka border crossing with Ukraine from Sunday morning until January 2 or 3, the PAP news agency reported.
Truck drivers will continue the blockades at three more intersections over Christmas, meaning even fewer trucks will be able to pass through than before.
Truck drivers last year called for the cancellation of an agreement between the EU and Ukraine to relax rules on the transport of goods by truck.
They want to see the old system restored, under which Ukrainian companies need permission to operate in the bloc, as do European truck drivers wanting to enter Ukraine.
The truckers were later joined by farmers who demanded government subsidies for corn and no tax increases.
Earlier on Friday, Poland's deputy infrastructure minister said he hoped the problem on the border with Ukraine could be resolved before the end of the year.
https://p.dw.com/p/4aXB7Skip next section Germany's Baerbock: Putin wants to destroy Ukraine
12/23/202323. December 2023
Germany's Baerbock: Putin wants to destroy Ukraine
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany would continue to support Kiev as long as it needed help against a Russian invasion and warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to destroy Ukraine.”
“The fact that Putin's original plan to take Kiev and murder more than 40 million people failed is thanks to the incredible courage of Ukrainian women and men in defending their country,” she told Potsdamer Neuesten Nachrichten.
“And also because of the support from us (Germany) and so many other countries that are doing something humane: helping the victims and not helping the attacker by looking the other way.”
Russia repeatedly carries out attacks on the energy infrastructure, such as this power plant in Kiev. Image: Maxar Technologies/AP/dpa
She said the situation in Russian-occupied territories and vulnerable regions this winter highlighted what could have threatened Ukraine and neighboring countries like Moldova if the European Union and a global majority had not stood with Ukraine.
She said Putin was attacking power plants, power distribution centers and power lines so that water supplies would freeze in the low temperatures and people would die of thirst and cold.
“He wants to destroy Ukraine, and that’s why we will support her as long as she needs us,” said Baerbock.
https://p.dw.com/p/4aWZSSkip next section Would-be peace candidate is not allowed to run against Putin
12/23/202323. December 2023
Would-be peace candidate is not allowed to run against Putin
Yekaterina Duntsova, a former journalist who said she wanted to run for president to end the war in Ukraine and release political prisoners, was barred from the vote by Russian election officials.
The Central Election Committee rejected Duntsova's application, saying she had made “mistakes” during registration.
Critics of the Kremlin have long accused the Russian government of trying to suppress any realistic competition with incumbent President Vladimir Putin in March.
With most Russian opposition figures either behind bars, such as prominent rival Alexei Navalny, or outside the country, it seems almost certain that Putin will win a fifth term as head of state, cementing his decades-long hold on power.
https://p.dw.com/p/4aWYMSkip next section Ukraine faces “leaden darkness” before Christmas – Austrian daily newspaper Standard
12/23/202323. December 2023
Ukraine faces “leaden darkness” before Christmas – Austrian daily newspaper Standard
Despite the Russian invasion, Kiev is still decorated for the Christmas season. Image: Photoshot/Picture Alliance
The Austrian newspaper Der Standard on Saturday took a sobering look at the situation in Ukraine at Christmas time, reporting that many people in the country were despondent over the human toll of the Russian invasion.
“The counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army, which was supposed to deal a decisive blow to the Russian aggressors, has more or less come to nothing,” it said.
“Thousands have died on the frozen front; Mothers, fathers, widows and children mourn them. And air strikes still claim far too many victims,” it continues.
The newspaper reported that Ukrainian authorities now faced a shortage not only of weapons but also of manpower, prompting them to draft men who had fled abroad to escape the conflict.
“So in Ukraine at Christmas 2023 there will be more despair than reflection,” it says.
The paper said authorities in Kiev were particularly concerned about growing war weariness in the West and the consequences of a possible Trump victory in the 2024 US presidential election.
If military and financial aid is not forthcoming, “the Christmas splendor could soon be followed by leaden darkness,” wrote Der Standard.
https://p.dw.com/p/4aWMYSkip next section The Ukrainian ambassador praises Scholz for his “diplomatic masterpiece”
12/23/202323. December 2023
The Ukrainian ambassador praises Scholz for a “diplomatic masterpiece”
Oleksii Makeiev highly praised the German ChancellorImage: Christoph Schmidt/dpa/picture Alliance
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was highly praised by Ukraine's ambassador to Berlin, Oleksii Makeiev, for his role in averting a possible veto by Hungary that would have blocked Kiev's EU accession negotiations.
Speaking on German radio, Makeiev said Scholz had achieved a “diplomatic masterstroke” at the recent EU summit by suggesting that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban leave the room during a vote on the talks.
As a result, the 26 remaining EU leaders were able to agree to the proposal to start accession talks with Ukraine, a move that Hungary has vigorously rejected.
Makeiev also thanked Germany for its continued support of Ukraine in defending itself against a Russian invasion. “This government has its head to the right,” he said.
Berlin is currently Ukraine's second largest arms supplier after Washington.
Makeiev's positive comments about the German chancellor stand in stark contrast to those of his predecessor, Andrij Melnyk.
Melnyk, for example. Scholz once called Scholz “an insulted liverwurst” for refusing to visit Kiev after Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was not invited.
The term literally means “an offended liver sausage” and in German describes an overly sensitive person.
https://p.dw.com/p/4aWKxSkip next section Ukraine says it has shot down three Russian fighter-bombers
12/23/202323. December 2023
Ukraine says it has shot down three Russian fighter-bombers
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and military officials said the country's armed forces shot down three Russian SU-34 fighter-bombers on the southern front on Friday, hailing it as a success in the 22-month war.
The Russian military made no mention of the incident. But Russian bloggers acknowledged the loss and analysts suspected that US-supplied Patriot missiles were likely used.
The reports could not be independently verified.
“Today at noon in the southern sector: minus three Russian SU-34 fighter-bombers!” The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, wrote on the messaging app Telegram.
Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat described it on national television as a “brilliantly planned operation.”
In his nightly video speech, Zelensky praised the anti-aircraft unit of the Odessa region for shooting down the planes in the Kherson region.
https://p.dw.com/p/4aWHvSkip next section German ambassador says Putin is 'not ready to negotiate at all'
12/23/202323. December 2023
German ambassador says Putin is “not willing to negotiate at all”
Vladimir Putin just reiterated his war goals in Ukraine during his annual press conferenceImage: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Portal
The German ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, sees no change in Russian President Vladimir Putin's attitude to the war in Ukraine.
“Putin has just reaffirmed his war goals,” Lambsdorff told the Germany editorial network. “He is not willing to negotiate at all.”
There are no signs that Putin will change his stance after the March 2024 presidential election, he added.
According to the diplomat, there are also no signs that Putin could be replaced. Putin's re-election is to be expected, said Lambsdorff. He currently sees no cracks in the Putin regime.
The German ambassador could also see “no signs” that the Russian head of state’s health “might not be good.”
Putin confirms his candidacy for re-election
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https://p.dw.com/p/4aWHlSkip next section Poland hopes that the dispute over truck drivers can be resolved by the end of the year
12/23/202323. December 2023
Poland hopes that the dispute over truck drivers can be resolved by the end of the year
Poland's deputy infrastructure minister said he hoped protests by Polish truck drivers on the border with Ukraine could be resolved before the end of the year.
Polish drivers have been blocking several border crossings with Ukraine since November 6, demanding that the European Union reintroduce a system under which Ukrainian companies require authorization to operate in the union, and this also applies to truck drivers from the EU allowed to enter Ukraine.
“We had a long meeting with my (Ukrainian) counterpart. … Today we agree on the final details that will lead to the final agreement,” Polish Deputy Infrastructure Minister Pawel Gancarz said during a press conference in Kiev.
“We hope that this issue will be resolved by Christmas, later this year,” he added.
Ukraine's Ministry of Municipalities, Territories and Infrastructure Development said in a statement that the meeting resulted in an “agreement on common positions on unblocking the border.”
The next step in implementing an “action plan” will include talks between the Polish ministry and the protesting truck drivers, it said.
dh/sri (AP, AFP, dpa, Portal)
https://p.dw.com/p/4aWI5