Day 694 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Germany Delays Sending Taurus Missiles To Kyiv

Day 694 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• Germany has again delayed sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine
• Ukraine's military said it shot down 22 of a total of 33 Russian drones that attacked the country last night
• Russian military says it shot down Ukrainian drones over Moscow and Leningrad regions
• The Ukrainian president called on his compatriots to take the initiative in the war with Russia into their own hands
• Sergey Lavrov said that the military agreement between London and Kyiv will not prevent Moscow from achieving its goals
• Leaders of the US Senate and Congress are optimistic about financial aid for Ukraine and Israel
• At least 250 Western companies have supplied Russia with weapons parts
• Medvedev: Until Ukraine enters a unified state with Russia, eternal war awaits it
• The great enemy of Russia - Ukrainian "gender neutral" toilets

Germany has again delayed sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine

The German parliament rejected late on Wednesday a proposal submitted by the conservative opposition to supply Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, DPA reported.

Almost all MPs from the governing tripartite coalition voted against the project. This development may seem puzzling given that two of the three parties that are part of the government - the Greens and the Free Democratic Party - have been calling on Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz for months to send the missiles. Ukraine can use them to strike deeper into Russian-occupied territories, DPA notes.

Deputies from the ruling coalition, however, explained their position by the fact that the proposal by the Christian Democratic Union and its sister party from Bavaria, the Christian Social Union, tied arms supplies to Kyiv with plenary debates in the German parliament itself on the annual report of its commissioner for the armed forces. This tactic of the conservative opposition was criticized by experts.

"Taurus" are one of the most advanced missiles and can destroy bunkers even from a great height and distance, DPA notes.

In early October, the German chancellor decided not to supply such weapons to Ukraine. The argument put forward by Scholz at the time was concerns that Kyiv could use Taurus missiles, which have a range of 500 kilometers, to strike deep into Russian territory, further escalating the conflict.

However, according to experts, these weapons may help Ukraine restore its territorial integrity.

Ukraine's military said it shot down 22 of a total of 33 Russian drones that attacked the country last night

Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 33 drones and two missiles, and Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed 22 of the drones, the Ukrainian military said, as quoted by Reuters.

Most of the strikes were against targets in southern and eastern Ukraine, the military said in a statement.

Reuters notes that it could not confirm the information through an independent source. At the moment, there are no messages from the Russian side either.

The Ukrainian military said Russian drones had struck residential areas in the southern city of Kherson. A woman was injured in the attack, and there was damage to buildings.

Unmanned aerial vehicles have also struck agricultural sites in the municipality of Berislav in the Kherson region.

Debris from drones caused damage to an agricultural warehouse in Mykolaiv region.

Russian military says it shot down Ukrainian drones over Moscow and Leningrad regions

The Russian Defense Ministry said early this morning that air defense units shot down one Ukrainian drone over Moscow Oblast and another over Leningrad, the administrative region around Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, Reuters reported.

In a post on the Telegram social network, it is stated that the two incidents took place around 1:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. Bulgarian time).

Earlier, the mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, announced on the same social network that the air defense forces had shot down a drone that was headed for the Russian capital. Debris from it fell to the ground, but there were no damages or injuries.

The other drone was intercepted over the Leningrad region and fell to the ground after its signal was silenced. No people were injured and no material damage was caused, TASS reported, referring to the local authorities.

According to Vladimir Rogov, a representative of the Russian-appointed authorities in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine, the target of this attack was an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, Reuters reported.

The agency notes that this is the first drone shot down in the Leningrad Region since the beginning of the war nearly two years ago.

The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, meanwhile, reported, quoted by AFP, about Ukrainian missile fire on the southern Russian region bordering the neighboring country.

A woman was injured by shrapnel in the knee area. Houses and power lines were damaged.

Belgorod region has regularly been the scene of deadly shelling from the Ukrainian side of the border for months, AFP notes.

The Ukrainian president called on his compatriots to take the initiative in the war with Russia into their own hands

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his compatriots to take the initiative in their own hands to decide the course of the war with Russia, which has been going on for almost 23 months now, and to secure support around the world, Reuters reported.

Zelensky said this in his regular evening video address after returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he appealed to the West to step up sanctions pressure on Moscow and increase its support for Kyiv.

Several months after Ukraine's counteroffensive yielded limited results, the country's president expressed confidence that Washington would soon deliver the aid that has been delayed by congressional disputes.

Support promised by the EU is also lagging, Reuters notes.

"Ukraine needs a more ambitious and active perspective so that the initiative is in our country, not in the enemy's, and the end of the war depends on Ukrainian actions," Zelensky said. "The world supports those who have a certain perspective. And this is a fundamental task - to take the initiative in order to have the opportunity to become stronger," added the Ukrainian president.

Sergey Lavrov said that the military agreement between London and Kyiv will not prevent Moscow from achieving its goals

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country was not opposed to a security agreement between Ukraine and Great Britain, but that Moscow would continue to pursue the goals of its "special military operation", Reuters reported.

Lavrov said this at his traditional annual press conference, as the occasion for his words was an agreement concluded last week in Kyiv between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the time, the Ukrainian president said the treaty provided for the provision of weapons, intelligence support and cyber technology, as well as the imposition of sanctions and other punitive measures against Russia.

At today's press conference, Lavrov accused the West that, under the leadership of the United States, it is "trying to maintain its global dominance and military superiority" and that it is "unwilling to resolve the Ukrainian crisis", adds Reuters.

Moscow believes that at this stage it is not possible to renew the dialogue with Washington on issues of strategic stability, the Russian foreign minister pointed out.

Leaders of the US Senate and Congress are optimistic about financial aid for Ukraine and Israel

Leaders of the U.S. Senate and Congress showed moderate optimism after meeting with President Joe Biden on the weeks-blocked funding package for Ukraine, Israel and border security.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, described the meeting as "productive."

In a statement to the media, Schumer said he was "more optimistic than ever" about reaching an agreement.

He stated the need for a bipartisan agreement to provide support for Ukraine, noting that there was an understanding that if aid was not provided, the consequences for America's image in the world would be devastating.

However, the New York Democrat acknowledged that some participants in the meeting had insisted that border issues be prioritized first before committing to additional aid to Kyiv.

Congressional Speaker Mike Johnson described House and Senate leaders' meeting with Biden as "productive" but said the conversation reaffirmed Republicans' position that border policy change is needed and should be a top priority. For his part, President Biden has highlighted the "strategic consequences of inaction" in Ukraine, urging support because congressional inaction threatens the national security of the United States, NATO and the rest of the free world.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican, said bipartisan negotiators had made progress in agreeing on the most significant border improvements in nearly 30 years. However, before the meeting, he criticized Biden because the president did not recognize the situation on the southern border as a crisis.

Even if a deal is reached in the Senate, there is no guarantee that it will go into effect because it must be voted on by Congress, where Republicans hold a majority and some of them with far-right views are pushing for border and immigration measures that cannot be to be accepted by the Democrats.

At least 250 Western companies have supplied Russia with weapons parts

Ukraine has found parts of at least 250 Western companies in captured or destroyed Russian weapons. This was announced by the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.

"The products of more than 250 Western companies were found in samples of destroyed or captured Russian weapons," the service said, citing a study by a task force led by the president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and by Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia.

The EU has imposed sanctions on the export of dual-use goods, as well as a number of electronic components that can be used to make weapons. Despite the restrictions, Russia was able to acquire $2.9 billion worth of materials in the first 10 months of 2023.

The investigation focuses on Russia's attempts to circumvent sanctions to control the export of military goods, the president's office said.

Medvedev: Until Ukraine enters a unified state with Russia, eternal war awaits it

The existence of an independent state in the historical Russian territories will now be a constant reason for the resumption of hostilities. It's already too late. Whoever heads the cancerous new entity called Ukraine, he will not add legitimacy to his rule and legal capacity to the "state" itself.

This is predicted by the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council and former President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, on his Telegram channel, whom Ukrainian media call Putin's scandalous jester.

According to him, the existence of Ukraine is deadly for the Ukrainians themselves, regardless of who is in power. But they will realize that life in a great commonwealth is better than death

Here is what Medvedev wrote in Telegram:

“The existence of Ukraine is deadly for Ukrainians. And I don't just mean the current state, the Bandera political regime. I am talking about every, absolutely every Ukraine.

Why?

The existence of an independent state in the historical Russian territories will now be a constant reason for the resumption of hostilities. It's already too late. Whoever heads the cancerous new entity called Ukraine, he will not add legitimacy to his rule and legal capacity to the ‘state’ itself. And therefore the likelihood of a new struggle will remain indefinitely. Almost always. Moreover, there is a 100% probability of a new conflict, regardless of what security documents the West will sign with the puppet regime in Kyiv. Neither the association of Ukraine with the EU nor even the accession of this artificial state to NATO will prevent it. It could happen in ten or fifty years.

That is why the existence of Ukraine is fatal for Ukrainians. They are practical people after all. No matter how much they wish the Russians dead right now. No matter how much they hate the Russian leadership. No matter how much they strive for the mythical EU and NATO. Choosing between eternal war and inevitable death and life, the absolute majority of Ukrainians (well, except for a minimal number of thuggish nationalists) will ultimately choose life.

They will realize that life in a great commonwealth, which they now dislike very much, is better than death. Their death and the death of their loved ones. And the sooner Ukrainians realize this, the better.”

The great enemy of Russia - Ukrainian "gender neutral" toilets

The governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, announced that the Russian military in Ukraine clearly understood what they were fighting for, as they came across Ukrainian "gender neutral" toilets in schools.

Beglov wrote on "Telegram" that "it is easiest to talk with the soldiers on political topics", since they well understood the meaning of the war.

"Those boys who saw toilets in schools, where instead of two rooms - for girls and boys, there were three rooms - for girls, boys and gender neutral, there is no need to explain what values we stand for," Beglov wrote.

Representatives of the Russian authorities often resort to homophobic and transphobic rhetoric when publicizing their attachment to so-called traditional values, in particular claiming that the West is cultivating "genders" to break down the notion of the two biological sexes – male and female. In December 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized "gender neutral" toilets he had seen in Sweden. According to him, they were "anti-human". It turned out that the toilets addressed by Lavrov were not "gender neutral", but common for men and women (as can often be found in Russia).

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, numerous Russian officials have presented the most diverse goals of the "special military operation" - from the capture of Kyiv to the struggle with the United States for influence in the world. The claim that Russia defends the trampled traditional values in Ukraine is also particularly popular. The Russians refer to them to justify the repression to which representatives of the LGBTQ+ community and minority groups in general are subjected.

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