The current status as of December 14 in the Russia-Ukraine War is as follows: A missile strike by Russia on Kyiv resulted in 53 individuals being injured, including six children. Despite Kyiv's air defenses intercepting the Iskander-M and S-400 missiles, the falling debris caused damage to residential buildings, a children's hospital, and parked cars. Among the injured, 18 required hospitalization. Additionally, a cyberattack on Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile phone network, disrupted services, leaving millions without phone access and air raid alerts. The hacker group Solntsepyok claimed responsibility, believed by Kyiv to have ties to Russian military intelligence. Kyivstar initiated efforts to restore voice services for some users.
Political and Diplomatic Developments
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during his visit to Norway following his return from the United States, addressed Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban's opposition to Kyiv's potential membership in the European Union (EU). Zelenskyy stated that Orban had no valid reason to block Ukraine's entry into the 27-member bloc and had conveyed this sentiment directly during a brief encounter in Argentina. Orban, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin within the EU, remains steadfast in opposing Ukraine's swift accession to the EU, citing it as contrary to Hungary's and the EU's interests. On the other hand, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland assured Zelenskyy of their enduring support for Ukraine, pledging extensive military, economic, and humanitarian aid until the conflict is resolved. They urged Russia to cease aggression and withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory in accordance with international borders.
Several EU leaders, including Ursula von der Leyen, Olaf Scholz, and Emmanuel Macron, reiterated their backing for Ukraine. Scholz proposed that EU enlargement decisions should be made through a majority vote instead of requiring unanimity. Meanwhile, newly-elected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed his intent to persuade Orban to reconsider, emphasizing that indifference toward Ukraine's situation is unacceptable. Tusk vowed to engage with "some member states" to advocate for Ukraine's cause.
In a separate development, a German court heard a case involving Carsten Linke, a former soldier working for Germany's foreign intelligence agency (BND), accused of accepting at least 450,000 euros from Russia for divulging information about weaponry provided by the West to Ukraine. Linke and his associate, Arthur Eller, a Russian-born German diamond trader, face charges of high treason.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that the West's ongoing military assistance to Ukraine aims to bolster Kyiv's defense to a level that would dissuade any future attacks by Russia.
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