Germany takes delivery of first new howitzer – DW – 01/13/2025

The European Union invited leaders of its member states to a meeting in Belgium on February 3, just two weeks after Donald Trump returned as US president, to discuss a common defense policy.

“Europe needs to take greater responsibility for its own defense,” European Council President Antonio Costa said on Monday, inviting NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to participate.

“I believe we share a similar assessment of the threats facing Europe,” Costa said, adding that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 could lead to a return to “violent war” on the continent. He said that it shows.

“Peace in Europe depends on Ukraine winning a comprehensive, just and lasting peace,” Costa stressed, adding that the EU’s geopolitical outlook “remains difficult for the foreseeable future.” I warned him that it would happen.

Talks will focus on setting priorities for Europe’s defense capabilities as President-elect Trump promises some early resolution to Russia’s war in Ukraine and demands increased defense spending from NATO allies It turns out.

The EU’s new foreign policy chief, Kaja Karas, reiterated last week that she hoped the United States would maintain its support for Kiev, but that Europe was ready to take the lead if it did not.

This is why British Prime Minister Starmer was also invited, even though the UK left the EU in 2016. Starmer’s New Labor government is keen to renew its relationship with Europe, particularly in the defense sector, while Britain remains one of Europe’s largest countries. military power.

Amid deepening tensions between the two countries, Slovakian Prime Minister Roberto Fico has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to attend talks on gas transport.

“Such talks will lay a good basis for an open discussion on gas supplies to Slovakia and other countries through Ukrainian territory,” Fico said in an open letter to Zelenskiy.

The unrest began earlier this month when Ukraine suspended Russian gas shipments to Europe through its territory after a transit agreement between Kiev and Moscow expired.

Slovakia has a large contract with Russia’s state oil giant Gazprom. Despite protests from other EU leaders, Fico visited President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss the issue.

Last week, Fico suggested that aid to Ukraine could be withheld because of the dispute.

President Zelenskiy said Fico “made a clear mistake in believing that he could continue his shady dealings with Moscow indefinitely” and rejected the government’s offer to help the Slovak leader find a workaround. He arrogantly refused.”

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius handed over to Ukraine the first of 54 planned wheeled howitzers to strengthen its artillery capabilities.

“Ukraine can count on us. This is a signal, and Germany is ready to take responsibility in Europe,” Pistorius said in the city of Kassel, where the weapon system is produced by tank manufacturer KNDS.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany Oleksiy Makeyev symbolically accepted the first of the new RCH 155 self-propelled howitzers for his country.

“We don’t need mediators; we need allies,” the ambassador said.

The RCH 155 gun system is described by its manufacturer as “the world’s most modern wheeled howitzer”, which makes it possible to fire on the move for the first time.

The European Commission has announced a new humanitarian aid package worth 140 million euros ($142.8 million) to support eastern and southern Ukraine.

The commission said in a statement that the funds will be used to provide food, shelter, clean water, medical care and winter gear to people in war-torn areas.

This brings the total humanitarian aid allocation from the European Commission to over €1.1 billion.

A further €8 million was allocated to humanitarian projects in neighboring Moldova supporting Ukrainian refugees and host communities.

The commission said some 12.7 million people were in dire need of assistance as “Russia’s war of aggression continues to ravage Ukraine.”

The announcement of further support comes as EU crisis commissioner Haja Ravib is scheduled to visit Ukraine and meet a number of leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The UK Ministry of Defense announced that Russia deployed approximately 1,700 One-Way Attack Unmanned Aircraft Systems (OWA UAS) to Ukraine in December.

The Ministry of Defense’s intelligence update on the Ukraine war said this was down from the 2,300 deployed during November and said weather conditions may have played a role in the drop in numbers.

The Ministry of Defense announced that the Ukrainian Air Force reported shooting down 53% of the drones, with the rest either using electronic warfare to jam them or flying off course.

The Defense Ministry said Russia is likely to be able to sustain at least 1,500 drone launches per month.

Russian state media TASS reported, citing the Ministry of Defense, that Russian troops had captured the village of Pishchane in the Donetsk region.

The captured village is located about 8 kilometers (5 miles) southwest of Pokrovsk, home to Ukraine’s most important coal mine.

Mine owner Metinvest announced last month that it had ceased operations at the site and evacuated all employees.

Russia has been trying to capture the key supply hub for months. The fall of the city would give Russia access to important roads and railways that could serve as a gateway to the neighboring Dnipro-Petrovsk region.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense has accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on Turk Stream, a pipeline that transports Russian gas to other parts of Europe via Turkey.

“On January 11, the Kiev regime attempted a strike with nine drones to cut off gas supplies to European countries,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The ministry said the attack targeted a compressor station in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, but the facility was operating normally and there were no casualties.

These claims could not be independently verified.

The gas pipeline will start from the Russkaya (Russia) compressor station on the outskirts of the city of Anapa in Russia’s Krasnador region, run to Kiyköy in Turkey, and then on to Europe. Compressor stations are used to stabilize the gas pressure and flow rate.

Ukraine’s air force said its air defenses shot down 78 of the 110 Russian drones launched in waves during the night.

“The air attack was repulsed by aviation units, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups of the Air Force and the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the air force said in a statement on its Telegram message service.

It also said that debris from the drone damaged several commercial and residential buildings in four regions of central, northern and southeastern Ukraine.

Russia frequently carries out early morning attacks using Shahed drones supplied by Iran.

South Korean lawmaker Lee Sung-geun said, citing the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS), that the North Korean military appears to have been given orders to commit suicide in order to evade capture.

The agency said notes found on the dead North Korean soldiers showed they had been ordered to commit suicide before their capture, Lee said.

Lee said, “The fact that the North Korean authorities emphasized suicide bombings and suicides before their capture, and vaguely hoped that the soldiers would join the (North Korean) Workers’ Party or be pardoned, also contributed to the fact that the people who were killed were This was discovered from a note he was carrying.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Kiev is willing to hand over North Korean soldiers to leader Kim Jong Un in exchange for the repatriation of Ukrainians held captive in Russia.

President Zelenskiy said on social media: “In addition to the first North Korean soldiers captured, there is no doubt that many more soldiers will be captured. It is only a matter of time before our troops capture other soldiers. ” he said.

Ukraine’s president shared a video showing the interrogation of two North Korean prisoners of war.

In the video, one of the prisoners is seen lying on a bunk bed while the other is sitting on a bed with a bandage on his chin.

President Zelenskiy added that North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return may have other options, saying, “Those who express their desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in the Korean (language) will be given that opportunity,” he added. ”

South Korean intelligence has said that North Korean military casualties in Russia’s war against Ukraine likely exceeded 3,000.

South Korean National Assembly member Lee Sung-geun told reporters after a press conference with intelligence agencies, “The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia has also expanded to the Kursk region, and it is estimated that the number of North Korean casualties is 3,000.” It exceeds that.”

That number includes “approximately 300 deaths and 2,700 injuries,” Lee said.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service announced in October that North Korea is sending up to 12,000 troops to Russia, where it continues to invade Ukraine.

A defense pact signed between North Korea and Moscow in June entered into force in December.

The agreement obliges both countries to provide military aid if the other is attacked and to jointly oppose Western sanctions.

kb/ab (AFP, AP, DPA, Reuters)