Tuesday, December 5, 2023
1608 GMT — Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's chief of staff said that the postponement of US assistance for Kiev being debated in Congress would create a "big risk" of Ukraine losing the war with Russia.
The official, Andriy Yermak, also told an audience at the US Institute of Peace, a think tank, that: "It will be difficult to keep in same positions and for the people to really survive" without direct budget support.
"If the help which (is) now debating in Congress will be just postponed ... it gives the big risk that we can be in the same position to which we're located now," he said, addressing the audience in English.
"And of course, it makes this very high possibility impossible to continually liberate and give the big risk to lose this war."
More updates 👇
2041 GMT — Zelenskyy cancels videolink appeal to US senate
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has unexpectedly cancelled a scheduled videolink appeal to US senators as Washington is set for a showdown on funding for the war with Russia.
Zelenskyy was to appear during a classified briefing, a day before the Senate took the first procedural vote on an emergency aid package that included more than $60 billion for Kiev.
"Zelenskyy, by the way, could not make it — something happened at the last minute — to our briefing," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
"We can't ever put a price on defending democracy in its hour of need, because if Ukraine falls, Putin will keep on going," Schumer said before Zelenskyy's cancellation.
"Autocrats around the world will be emboldened. Democracy, this grand and noble experiment, will enter an era of decline."
1604 GMT — US issues fresh Russia and Belarus related Sanctions-US Treasury Department website
The US Treasury Department has issued fresh sanctions on Russia and Belarus.
1558 GMT — Zelenskyy to appeal to US senators ahead of vote on Ukraine aid
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was set to appeal directly to US senators for support ahead of a showdown over funding the war with Russia with Washington fast running out of the cash approved so far to help its besieged ally.
Zelenskyy will appear via video link during a classified briefing on the conflict, a day before the Senate is scheduled to take the first procedural vote on an emergency aid package that includes more than $60B for Kiev.
1547 GMT — Macron to meet Orban to discuss Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron will receive Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for a working dinner at the Elysee Palace in a bid to find a compromise ahead of next week's EU summit.
The two leaders are due to discuss "various aspects of European support for Ukraine" as well as other topics on the summit's agenda, according to a statement released by the French presidential office on Tuesday.
Orban's press chief Bertalan Havasi also confirmed the leader's visit to Paris to private Hungarian broadcaster ATV.
1320 GMT — Hungary demands Ukraine be taken off EU summit agenda
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has stepped up his spoiler tactics within the European Union by demanding that key discussions on Ukraine be taken off the agenda of an EU summit next week.
"I respectfully urge you not to invite the European Council (of EU leaders) to decide on these matters in December as the obvious lack of consensus would inevitably lead to failure," he wrote in a letter to EU chief Charles Michel dated Monday and seen by AFP on Tuesday.
It was the second such letter expressing scepticism over Brussels' approach to Ukraine that Orban has sent to European Council President Michel, who chairs the summits.
0522 GMT — Russian air defence systems destroy 41 Ukraine drones: ministry
Russian air defence systems destroyed or intercepted a total of 41 Ukraine-launched drones overnight and early morning, the Russian defence ministry said.
Twenty-six of the drones were destroyed over Russian territory, and 15 were intercepted over the Sea of Azov and the Crimean Peninsula, the ministry said in a statement on its Telegram channel.
The ministry did not say whether there was any damage caused by the attack or falling debris. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
0803 GMT — Two killed in Russian strike on Ukraine's Kherson: presidential adviser
At least two people were killed and one wounded after Russian forces struck the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, a presidential adviser said early.
"Terrorists," Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential administration, posted on Telegram along with two images of bodies lying on a sidewalk.
Reuters could not independently confirm the details. Russian forces have regularly shelled Kherson since retreating from the regional capital late last year to the other side of the Dnipro River.
0612 GMT — Ukraine: 10 of 17 Russian drones downed
Ukraine's military shot down 10 out of 17 attack drones launched overnight by Russia, authorities said. The governor of Ukraine's western Lviv region said three drones had struck an unspecified infrastructure target, but damage had been minimal, and no casualties had been reported.
Kiev's air force said the drones were shot down over "various regions" of the country. It also said six S-300 missiles had been launched at civilian objects in the eastern Donetsk and southern Kherson regions.
0036 GMT — Zelenskyy to address US senators via video as WH urges more aid
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address US senators by video during a classified briefing as the Biden administration urges Congress to approve the White House's nearly $106 billion request for funds for the wars in Ukraine, Israel and other security needs.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Zelenskyy's appearance after the administration on Monday sent an urgent warning about the need to approve the military and economic assistance to Ukraine, saying Kiev's war effort to defend itself from Russia's invasion may grind to a halt without it.
Schumer said the administration had invited Zelenskyy to address the senators so they "could hear directly from him precisely what's at stake." They will also be hearing from the secretaries of Defense, State and other top national security officials.
0011 GMT — Russia presses attacks on devastated Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine
Russian forces have intensified attacks on the pulverised town of Avdiivka, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow's military presses its slow advance through eastern Ukraine. "
Yesterday and today, we have seen a significant increase in artillery shelling ... and a great many instances of mortar shelling," Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka's military administration, told national television.
"There has also been an increase in assault actions. They are probably waiting for better weather to use some of their equipment again as they did previously, but on a larger scale."
Military analyst Oleksandr Musiyenko told Ukrainian NV Radio that the Ukrainian defence of Avdiivka was working well in that it was obliging Russia to divert resources into the area.
"They have disrupted the pace of the [Russian] advance, destroyed a significant amount of equipment, and the Russians are suffering considerable losses," he said. "You can see that they are trying to compensate by bringing in men from other sectors."
For our live updates from Monday (December 4), click here.
