Russia-Ukraine updates: Moscow strives ‘for influence’ in Balkans
All the updates from December 6, 2022, as they happened.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.
- European Union leaders urged Western Balkan countries to fully align on foreign affairs and security matters including the EU’s sanctions on Russia.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Donetsk front line to mark his country’s armed forces day, and vowed to recapture all its lost territory.
- Russia said it repelled a drone attack at an airbase in the Kursk region, a day after similar raids on bases in the Ryazan and Saratov regions killed three Russian military personnel.
- Ukrainian embassies in Romania and Denmark received “bloody packages”, a week after a letter bomb was sent to an embassy in Madrid, Ukraine’s foreign minister said.
US does not ‘encourage’ Ukraine attacks into Russia
The United States is not enabling or encouraging Ukraine to attack beyond its borders, the US Department of State said, after Ukraine demonstrated an apparent new ability to penetrate hundreds of kilometres deep into Russian air space with attacks on Russian air bases.
“We are not enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We are not encouraging Ukraine to strike beyond its borders,” Price told reporters, adding that the US is providing Ukraine with what it needs to use on its sovereign territory to defend itself.
Kyiv did not directly claim responsibility for the attacks, but nonetheless celebrated them. Price said there was no confirmation the raids were carried out by Ukraine.
Frontex: Numbers crossing Ukrainian border constant
The EU’s border protection agency Frontex has found no significant change in the number of people crossing Ukraine’s border with the bloc, despite severe Russian attacks on the country’s essential infrastructure.
Over the past week, 229,542 people left Ukraine for an EU country, while 208,988 travelled in the opposite direction, Frontex tweeted.
Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have not caused significant changes in passenger traffic.
🔷 In the past week, more than 229 500 🇺🇦 citizens entered the EU
🔷 Over 208 990 Ukrainians left the EU in the same period pic.twitter.com/nzfJImYCbo— Frontex (@Frontex) December 6, 2022
Russia, China vying for influence in West Balkans: von der Leyen
Russia and China are trying to exert influence in the Western Balkans against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
“Will autocracies and the law of the strongest prevail? Or will democracy and the rule of law prevail?” von der Leyen said in Tirana as she arrived at the first summit of EU and Western Balkan leaders to take place in the region.
“This wrangling is also noticeable in the Western Balkans – Russia is trying to exert influence, China is trying to exert influence,” she said.
US diplomat: Russia must remove all its troops from Ukraine
The fastest way to peace in Ukraine is for Russia to withdraw the troops deployed, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said.
“Russia must remove all its troops from Ukraine – period,” Sherman said in Rome at an event hosted by LUISS university.
She added Western states were succeeding in helping Ukraine resist against Moscow’s “unprovoked” invasion and they must “stay the course”.
Russia to consider setting oil price floor in response to G7 cap: Bloomberg
Russia is considering setting a price floor for its international oil sales in response to the G7 cap, Bloomberg News reported.
The report added that Moscow is considering either imposing a fixed price for the nation’s barrels or stipulating maximum discounts to international benchmarks at which they can be sold.
The G7 price cap on Russian seaborne oil came into force on Monday to try and limit Moscow’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine, but Russia has said it will not abide by the measure even if it has to cut production.
‘Positive’ mood to Western Balkan countries joining EU bloc: German chancellor
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he has detected a more positive mood among EU members on the prospect of Western Balkan countries joining the bloc compared with a few years ago.
“I am quite sure that a new inclusive movement has arisen and that the scepticism that was formulated a few years ago by several member states has now mutated into a willingness to actively push this forward,” Scholz told reporters after a summit on the potential accession of the six Balkan countries.
Air base attacks will ‘deeply worry’ Russia: Western official
Attacks on Russian airfields have struck a psychological blow and Moscow will have to think much more carefully about how to keep its long-range bombers safe, says a senior Western official.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told Reuters news agency that the attacks were the deepest inside Russia since the war began.
“If it were them [the Ukrainians] … it does show that they can operate in Russia at will and that will deeply worry the Russians,” one official said.
“Psychologically, I think it strikes a blow.”
The Engels air base, near the city of Saratov and at least 600 km (372 miles) from the nearest Ukrainian territory, and two other airfields have been hit in the last two days by drone attacks.
“It may have the effect of pushing those bombers into dispersed locations,” the official said.
“It certainly makes the Russians less confident … [that] anywhere is safe.”
Ukrainians allege abuse at Russian ‘filtration’ camps
Russia has been transferring Ukrainian civilians to camps in Russian-occupied territories in what Moscow describes as an effort to protect Ukrainians as the war intensifies. But Kyiv says what the Kremlin calls evacuations are really forced deportations carried out with questionable motives.
Two Ukrainians who have been through such camps told Al Jazeera they witnessed aggressive interrogation, torture and beatings at the sites.
“It was very cold, I slept on a chair. They kept us without food, water and information about our loved ones,” one displaced Ukrainian said.
“I had to listen to their sick minds. I was depressed that I could not answer them because it could end badly for me and my family.”
EU looking for solution to release funds to Ukraine: Czech minister
The Czech Republic’s Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura has said that the European Union will push on with efforts to secure funds for Ukraine after Hungary vetoed a $19bn (18-billion euro) loan to Kyiv jointly financed by the bloc.
“We will not be discouraged. Our ambition remains that we’ll start the disbursement of our aid to Ukraine in January,” said Stanjura.
“This means we will be looking for a solution supported by 26 member states,” without Hungary, he added.
As oil becomes more expensive, could Europe adopt renewables?
With the war in Ukraine exposing the global reliance on oil, the International Energy Agency is forecasting that renewables will become the biggest source of energy.
“Higher fossil fuel prices worldwide have improved the competitiveness of solar photovoltaics and wind generation against other fuels,” the IEA said in a new report.
But experts have cautioned that Europe is not ready for change.
Read more here.
Russian POWs flown to Moscow after prisoner swap
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 60 prisoners of war on each side in the latest series of such swaps.
Russia’s defence ministry said the 60 freed Russian soldiers would be flown to Moscow to receive medical care and psychological support.
Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, hailed the returning Ukrainians as heroes and said they included dozens who had held out in the city of Mariupol – including the besieged Azovstal steelworks – until Russia forced its surrender in May.
“We continue to return the defenders of Mariupol – in today’s ‘list of 60’ there are 34 of them, including 14 from Azovstal. Some are wounded, and will receive all the necessary help in Ukraine,” Yermak said.
EU plans to sanction Russia’s mining sector: Financial Times
The European Commission is considering a ban on new investments in Russia’s mining sector as part of a new sanction package to stop the Kremlin’s ability to fund its war in Ukraine, according to the Financial Times.
The ban would be part of a ninth EU sanctions package that officials are planning to discuss with member states in the coming days, the newspaper reported.
The sanctions could include export controls on civilian technologies suspected of supporting Russia’s arms factories, a ban on transactions with three more Russian banks and targeted sanctions against 180 individuals, the report said.
Officials hope to reach an agreement on the ban by the end of next week, it said.
Two people killed in Donetsk shelling, says Russian-installed head
The Russian-appointed mayor of Donetsk says Ukrainian shelling has killed “two civilians” after a blast on the youth centre.
Alexey Kulemzin, the Moscow-installed head of the city, said on Telegram: “The terrible consequences of the shelling of the Donetsk City Youth Center. Two civilians died here. The Ukrainian fascists have nothing sacred left. They continue to kill women, old people and children in cold blood.”
Oil tankers queue to cross Turkish straits
At least 20 oil tankers queueing to cross from Russia’s Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean are facing more delays as operators race to adhere to new Turkish insurance rules added ahead of a price cap by the Group of Seven developed countries on Russian oil, industry sources said.
Turkish maritime authorities issued a notice seen by the Reuters news agency last month asking for additional guarantees from insurers that the transit through the Bosphorus would be covered starting from December 2.
The new rule was announced before a $60-per-barrel price cap was imposed on Russian seaborne crude this week. Western insurers are required to retain proof that Russian oil covered is sold at or below that price.
The industry has a 90-day grace period to comply with the G7 plan.
“Extra coverage from Russian P&I seems to be the way out for tanker operators,” the shipping source said, referring to protection and indemnity insurance providers.
“We’ll see further delays if owners (or) operators can’t provide the required guarantees.”
Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey’s Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean.
Hungary vetoes EU’s 18-billion euro Kyiv aid package
Hungary has vetoed an 18-billion euro ($18.93bn) financial aid package to Kyiv.
Vetoing the aid package means EU member states must work out a more complicated technical plan to ensure aid can keep flowing to Kyiv in the new year.
“In the end, agreement was found on formulations that allow a flexible and quick way to deploy funds to Ukraine without fundamentally changing the way the EU manages its funds. I say agreement, but in the reality, that agreement was minus one,” said Tuomas Saarenheimo, the chairman of the EU Council Economic and Financial Committee.
Many nations see Orban’s tactics as a thinly veiled attempt to get the EU to release billions in regular funding and pandemic recovery cash that has been held up.
The EU’s 27 nations have until December 19 to make a decision, and EU leaders meet for a two-day summit next week, increasing the chances that the issues would still need to be grappled with later.
Orban has previously angered the bloc’s officials with his repeated criticism of EU sanctions targeting Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Russia has enough stock for several big air attacks, says Ukraine
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief says Russia has enough high-precision missiles to conduct several more big air attacks on Ukraine before it runs out of stock.
But, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the defence intelligence agency, said on national television that Russia’s stocks were ending.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry said it carried out a large high-precision attack on Ukraine’s military command system on Monday, the RIA news agency reported.
Ukraine said that at least four people were killed in Russian missile attacks but that 70 missiles were shot down.
Who controls what?
Here are four maps, which we update daily, charting the latest war developments.
More Ukrainian embassies receive ‘bloody packages’
Ukrainian embassies in Romania and Denmark have received “bloody packages”, Ukraine’s foreign minister has said.
Over the past week, Ukrainian embassies in several European countries have been sent packages containing animal eyes coated in a pungent liquid.
In Spain, the embassy received a letter bomb which caused injuries to a security officer’s hand.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for sending the packages.
Attacks aim to crush Ukraine’s ‘military potential’, says Russian defence minister
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu says the Russian Federation attacks various targets in Ukraine to crush its “military potential”, Interfax reported.
In a conference call, Shoigu said, “The Russian Armed Forces are inflicting massive strikes with long-range precision weapons on the military command and control system, defence industry enterprises, and related facilities to crush Ukraine’s military potential.”
Shoigu added that Russian forces continued to “liberate” the Donbas, with more settlements coming under Russian control.
“The Russian armed forces continue to liberate the Donbas. Recently, Mayorsk, Pavlovka, Opytnoye, Andreevka, Belogorovka Yuzhnaya and Kurdyumovka have come under our control”, he said.
Russia, Ukraine to swap 60 prisoners each: Separatist
Russia and Ukraine are set to exchange 60 soldiers each in the latest prisoner swap between the warring countries.
“Another 60-60 exchange with Kyiv is taking place today,” the Russian-installed official of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, wrote on Telegram.
Opposition figures urge Russia to end partial mobilisation
Opposition representatives from five Russian regional councils have sent appeals urging President Vladimir Putin to issue a decree formally ending the partial mobilisation.
The defence ministry announced the end of the call-up of 300,000 reservists on October 31, but the Kremlin said that no formal decree to cancel the mobilisation was needed.
Emilia Slabunova, an opposition councillor in Karelia in northern Russia, said the absence of such a decree meant those already drafted could not leave the armed forces.
She said commanders refused to discharge them, and appeals against such refusals in court led nowhere, as courts were siding with commanders, citing that Putin’s September mobilisation decree still had legal force.
“We, as councillors, represent our constituents and these appeals from us are the result of numerous appeals from citizens,” Slabunova said.
Reuters news agency saw similar appeals from opposition deputies in the Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Pskov and Novgorod regions.
All are members of the liberal opposition Yabloko party.
Zelenskyy visits soldiers on Donetsk front line
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited the front-line city of Sloviansk in the region of Donetsk, where Russian forces have been pressing an offensive for months, the presidency said.
Zelenskyy appeared in a video on social media wearing a winter coat and standing next to a large sign in Ukraine’s blue and yellow colours, calling for a moment of silence to commemorate fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
The president also called the soldiers the “outpost of our independence”.
Russia to receive 60 prisoners in swap with Ukraine, says Moscow
Russia is expected to receive 60 soldiers in a prisoner swap with Ukraine, a politician from Russia’s ruling party said.
“The Russian Ministry of Defence is conducting another exchange of prisoners of war today. Sixty Russian servicemen are returning home,” State Duma deputy Shamsail Saraliev wrote on Telegram.
‘Absurd’ to stoke energy fears in France, says Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron said it was “absurd” to stoke fear in France over the country’s energy situation and reaffirmed France would get through this winter despite energy market tensions caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“The role of public authorities is not to spread fear nor to govern by fear,” said Macron, as he arrived at a summit of European Union and Western Balkans leaders in Albania.
“We must not make people feel scared. We must stop all that,” Macron also said. “We will get through this winter, despite the war,” he added.
Peace talks can only happen after ‘special military operation’, says Kremlin
The Kremlin says it agrees with the United States about the need for lasting peace in Ukraine but does not see the prospect of negotiations at the moment.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview that the Ukraine conflict would end “almost certainly with diplomacy” and negotiations and that “just and durable peace” was needed.
“That the outcome should be a just and durable peace – one can agree with this. But as for the prospects for some sort of negotiations, we do not see any at the moment,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
He added that for talks to happen with potential partners, Russia would need to fulfil the goals of its “special military operation”.