Ukraine Today - 14/12/2022

14/12/2022. The latest news from Ukraine and about Ukraine. Ukraine under attack. The story of reforms in Ukraine continues even amid the war. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his video address, commenting on the law on the liquidation of the District Administrative Court of Kyiv, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada and signed by him on December 13, 2022. The small Donbas city of Bakhmut is currently the focus of a ferocious Russian assault, and some of the most intense fighting of the entire 10-month invasion. Experts can’t really figure out why. More news: sbs.com.au/ukrainian

Following the conference in Paris, Ukraine’s partners announced the provision of $1 billion in assistance to the country to survive the winter period. "The conference resulted in about $500 million in grant funds, completely new funds agreed upon at this conference, and about $500 million worth goods, services and additional loans for additional support to the enterprises of the state sector of the economy," Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said during a joint press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. According to him, Ukraine will receive a significant part of the aid by the end of 2022. Credit: Ukrinform

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging the international community to establish a special tribunal for the crime of aggression in order to prosecute Russia’s political and military leadership.

Russian troops have twice shelled the Dnipropetrovsk district over the past day. The security situation is remaining challenging. The relevant statement was made by Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council Head Mykola Lukashuk on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “The Nikopol district’s Marhanets has twice come under enemy fire today. The occupiers struck it with heavy artillery. Civilians remained unharmed,” Lukashuk wrote.

Russia is preparing to mount a major offensive in the first couple of months of 2023. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba, speaking to reporters from a bomb shelter in downtown Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports, referring to The Globe and Mail. According to Mr Kuleba, Russia has been unable to regain momentum after Ukrainian forces took back control of Kherson in November. But, Putin will insist on a breakthrough shortly. “I think the Russian capability to conduct a large offensive may be restored somewhere by the end of January, February, but that is what they are trying to do. In the best-case scenario [for Russia], taking the mobilisation, the conscription they have announced, and the training of new conscripts and the movement of heavy weapons across the country, they definitely still keep hopes that they will be able to break through our lines and advance deeper in Ukraine,” Mr Kuleba told. Credit: Ukrinform.

Following the conference in Paris, Ukraine’s partners announced the provision of $1 billion in assistance to the country to survive the winter period. "The conference resulted in about $500 million in grant funds, completely new funds agreed upon at this conference, and about $500 million worth goods, services and additional loans for additional support to the enterprises of the state sector of the economy," Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said during a joint press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. According to him, Ukraine will receive a significant part of the aid by the end of 2022. As reported, Ukraine’s First Lady, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, and the government representatives arrived in France on a working visit on December 12.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine. This was reported by CNN with reference to U.S.officials, according to Ukrinform. “The Pentagon’s plan still needs to be approved by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin before it is sent to President Joe Biden for his signature,” the report says. Credit: Ukrinform

In France, President Emmanuel Macron is hosting an international donor conference in Paris to raise and help coordinate tens of millions of dollars of aid for the population of Ukraine. It is the latest call for renewed aid for Ukrainians as the Russian military targets infrastructure in the country, leaving large parts of the population without electricity. Mr Macron says the actions of the Russian military must be condemned:

At the heart of the Russian offensive after the military defeats of the last weeks is to plunge the Ukrainian people into despair and therefore to attack in an unacceptable way the civilian infrastructure, to cut the water, to cut the electricity and to plunge the population into darkness and cold. And so we are mobilized to help them to resist.

A Ukrainian military medic who was pregnant when she was captured by Russian troops in Mariupol has spoken of her nearly six-month ordeal in captivity. Maryana Mamonova says she received little medical care and that her unborn baby only survived because other prisoners shared food with her.

More news: sbs.com.au/ukrainian