Ukraine war live updates: Ukrainian capital attacked; Russia slams Zelenskyy, saying ‘everyone is tired of the beggar from Kyiv’

Nordic leaders on Wednesday reaffirmed their “unwavering support” for Ukraine, following talks and a news conference during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We convey our deep respect for and recognition of the persistence and spirit of the Ukrainian people, soldiers and leadership,” the prime ministers of Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden and the president of Finland said in a joint statement.

They called Ukrainian resistance a “fight for our common security and fundamental principles of international law,” and said this was why they had collectively provided military and civilian support and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine totalling around 11 billion euros ($11.8 billion) since February 2022.

The leaders said this would continue individually and collectively, and that “the Nordic countries will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Military contributions from the Nordics have included training and the provision of air defence systems, artillery systems and munitions, Leopard tanks, armored combat vehicles, field medical support and mine clearance equipment.

The countries remain committed to increasing international pressure on Russia through sanctions, the leaders said, and to Zelenskyy’s Ukraine Peace Formula, a list of conditions for Russia which includes the re-establishment of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.

— Jenni Reid

Germany will continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary despite adjustments and cuts to its budget, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a press conference on Wednesday.

This includes weapon deliveries, financial support for Ukraine’s budget and assistance for Ukrainian refugees in Germany, Scholz explained.

If the situation in Ukraine changes, “we will have to react,” which could include requesting an emergency exception for Germany’s budget, he said. This would allow Germany to expand its monetary support for Ukraine.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner said 8 billion euros ($8.6 billion) was currently allocated for “direct, bilateral support for Ukraine” in 2024.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Russia is highly likely dispersing the launch capabilities of its attack drones in an effort to thwart Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence said Wednesday.

In an intelligence update, the U.K. noted that Russia had launched at least 15 Iranian-made “Shahed” One Way Attack Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (or OWA-UAVs) from a new launch site in the Balaklava district of Crimea on Tuesday.

Balaklava is now the fifth confirmed attack-drone launch site used in Russian operations against Ukraine, alongside Cape Chauda, Yeysk, Primorsko, and Kursk, the ministry noted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Russia is highly likely dispersing its OWA UAV launch capabilities across several locations as both a force protection measure and to complicate Ukrainian air defence efforts,” the U.K. noted.

“Russia will likely use additional launch sites in response to Ukrainian attacks, forcing Ukraine to adapt to new transit corridors of these systems.”

— Holly Ellyatt

The European Union executive said on Wednesday it was waiting for a final step from Hungary to unlock Budapest’s access to billions of euros hitherto frozen over concerns Prime Minister Viktor Orban had damaged democratic checks-and-balances.

The European Commission said Hungary’s latest judicial reforms must first be published in the country’s official journal to be fully enacted, which would then allow the Brussels-based executive to unfreeze up to 10 billion euros in development aid for Budapest from the bloc’s shared budget.

The bloc had hoped unlocking the money would help sway Orban. But his senior aide bid for up to 30 billion euros in comments to Bloomberg on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the Commission responded by raising the stakes further as the EU is locked in a deepening tug-of-war with Hungary over support to Ukraine, which Orban threatens to veto at a summit of the bloc’s leaders in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

— Reuters

Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. poured scorn on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s trip to the U.S. this week, stating that “everyone is tired of the beggar from Kyiv.”

“Zelensky’s trip turned out to be empty,” Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said on the Russian embassy’s Telegram channel.

“It was not possible to convince that Ukraine is more important than the security of the United States. Everyone is tired of the beggar from Kyiv,” Antonov claimed.

Antonov’s comments come a day after Zelenskyy met his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden as well as lawmakers from both parties as he pressed home Ukraine’s need for additional funding to help it to continue to fight Russia’s invasion.

The U.S. also announced on Tuesday further, sweeping sanctions on more than 250 individuals and entities accused of helping Russia to evade sanctions imposed on it following its invasion of Ukraine. It also announced a new package of weapons and equipment for Kyiv.

Antonov said the measures would not work, and would not help Ukraine, saying that “restrictions and supplies of military products will not affect Russia’s foreign policy priorities.”

“The anti-Russian steps announced today – new sanctions and another shipment of weapons – are nothing more than an attempt to put a good face on a bad game. Nothing will help Zelenskyy,” he added.

“The Americans risk getting even more bogged down in the quagmire of the Ukrainian conflict,” he said.

— Holly Ellyatt

The European Union’s chief executive called on Wednesday for the bloc to support Ukraine as long as it takes, her remarks ahead of a key European leaders’ summit standing in sharp contrast with Hungary’s criticism of giving more aid to Kyiv.

Hungary is opposed to granting Ukraine more financial aid and has threatened to veto plans to advance Kyiv’s EU membership bid at a summit of the bloc’s leaders in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

Ukraine is looking to the summit for a positive signal on its future in the European Union and existential budget aid as the country is increasingly exhausted from nearly two years of fighting a war against a Russian invasion.

“As the war drags on, we must prove what it means to support Ukraine for as long as it takes,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament ahead of the leaders’ summit.

Her Commission has proposed that the summit takes a decision this week to start EU membership talks with Ukraine once it meets the four outstanding conditions set out previously to advance Kyiv’s EU hopes. The Brussels EU executive suggested that could happen in March.

Von der Leyen said on Wednesday the laws Ukraine passed last week — including on national minorities, an issue raised by Hungary — cleared three of the remaining tasks, meaning that only one was missing: a new lobbying law to rein in oligarchs.

While EU officials and Budapest say they may work around Hungary’s opposition to a proposal to give Ukraine 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in economic aid through 2027, advancing Ukraine’s European aspirations requires unanimous backing of all the bloc’s 27 states.

Hungary — whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban boasts about his ties with Moscow at a time the bloc is trying to isolate it for waging the war against Ukraine — has dug its heels in, setting the stage for a showdown at the year’s final summit of EU heads.

— Reuters

Over 50 people have been injured after Russia targeted the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with ballistic missiles overnight, city officials said Wednesday.

A hospital, school, kindergarten, morgue and residential buildings were damaged in the attack, Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, with the latest update stating that 53 people were injured. Twenty of them, including two children, were hospitalized as a result of the strikes.

Images taken in the city show the extent of the damage caused by the latest attack:

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Norway, where he will meet the prime minister and other Nordic leaders on Wednesday, the Norwegian government said.

The Ukrainian leader is set to meet Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, with Norway’s further support for Ukraine set to be central to discussions, the government said.

“I warmly welcome Volodomyr Zelenskyy to Norway. Now I look forward to meeting and having conversations with him. Norway continues to support Ukraine’s defense struggle. We give Ukraine strong and long-term support in its struggle for freedom and democracy. It is also important for our freedom and security” Støre said in a statement, translated by Google. 

There will be a press conference after the meeting between the leaders.

Zelenskyy will also participate in the Nordic summit with Støre, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. After this meeting, there will be a press conference with Zelenskyy and the Nordic leaders.

Zelenskyy’s visit comes after his trip to Washington earlier this week, where he was trying to maintain support for Ukraine’s war efforts.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the overnight ballistic missile attack on Kyiv in which 53 people were injured, stating:

Russia denies targeting civilians in the war against Ukraine.

— Holly Ellyatt

Over 50 people have been injured in a large, overnight ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, city officials said early Wednesday.

A hospital and residential buildings were hit in the attack, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, with the latest update stating that 53 people were injured. Twenty of them, including two children, were hospitalized as a result of the strikes.

Windows and entrances of buildings were blown out in the blasts, and falling debris started some fires, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration, said on Telegram.

The Ukrainian Air Force said one of its anti-aircraft missile units shot down 10 ballistic missiles that targeted the capital at night, although the total number and type of missiles used was not yet known.

It’s unknown whether anyone has been killed in the latest strike on the capital, an attack that comes two days after the last ballistic missile strike on Kyiv. Russia denies targeting civilians in the war against Ukraine.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna told CNBC’s Silvia Amaro Tuesday she believes that there are enough options on the table for the European Union to pass a 50 billion euro ($54 billion) aid facility for Kyiv at its summit on Dec 14-15.

The agreement will be closely tied to discussions over whether to begin formal talks over Ukraine’s accession to the bloc, she said.

“Following my conversations I had here in Brussels, I am confident that at this particular point there are enough options on the table for a discussion with leaders which would allow to balance the interests of all parties, answer partially the questions and concerns raised by the Hungarian government,” Stefanishyna said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has threatened to veto the aid package, which is supported by all the bloc’s other member states. Hungary may also obstruct the start of accession talks.

Orban has retained cordial ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the war, recently meeting with him at China’s Belt and Road Summit. Meanwhile, Hungary has seen escalating tensions with Ukraine over issues such as cross-border exports. Hungarian officials have frequently criticized EU policy on the war, arguing that isolating Russia and arming Ukraine was not the right approach.

The funding approval is particularly vital to Ukraine as it coincides with uncertainty over the future of funding from the U.S., its biggest donor, along with the onset of winter, fierce frontline fighting and increased Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure.

“The busy job [negotiating] between the member states has brought us to understanding there are pretty many options on the table which makes me feel more positive that there is a way to find a solution and avoid failure to take any decision over the next days,” Stefanishyna said.

Ukraine understands the European Commission has safeguarding options that would secure financial support for 2024 at least, “but of course absence of this decision would lead to total uncertainty in terms of ability to ensure the sustainability of Ukraine’s budget,” she said.

It is also “not a very good signal to other partners, including those across Atlantic, that the EU is not able to form a strategic vision of supporting Ukraine throughout the complicated circumstances of war,” she added.

— Jenni Reid

The chief executive of Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, Kyivstar, says the company’s IT infrastructure has been “partially destroyed” by a cyberattack earlier Tuesday.

CEO Oleksandr Komarov said on national television that the attack had “significantly damaged the [IT] infrastructure, limited access, we could not counter it at the virtual level, so we shut down Kyivstar physically to limit the enemy’s access,” according to comments translated by Reuters.

Kyivstar said earlier that it had been “the target of a powerful cyber attack” that had left mobile connections and internet access temporarily unavailable. It said law enforcement bodies were investigating “the circumstances and consequences of illegal interference in the activity of the network.”

It did not provide any detail on who it believed was behind the cyberattack but stated, “yes, our enemies are insidious. But we are ready to face any difficulties, overcome them and continue working for Ukrainians.”

— Holly Ellyatt

The Kremlin said Tuesday that it will be closely monitoring the upcoming meeting meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Speaking to reporters, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said the meeting, in which Biden and Zelenskyy are expected to discuss the prospect of a large chunk of additional funding for Ukraine, would not change the course of what Russia calls its “special military operation.”

“It is important to understand that tens of billions of dollars pumped into Ukraine did not help it gain any success on the field battle. Other tens of billions will be doomed to the same fiasco,” Peskov said, according to comments published by Tass.

Peskov said the meeting would be monitored “very carefully” nonetheless.

Russia is certainly hoping that additional aid for Ukraine is blocked as it hopes to outlast Ukraine and its allies’ ability to continue fighting as the war approaches its second anniversary. Intense negotiations are ongoing on Capitol Hill as the White House tries to get Republican lawmakers to back a $106 billion supplemental package of wartime funding for Ukraine, as well as Israel, and domestic border security.

— Holly Ellyatt

The upcoming meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not impact circumstances on the battlefield or Russia’s progress with its so-called “special operation,” according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

“The tens of billions of dollars pumped into Ukraine did not help it; the new tens of billions are doomed to the same fiasco,” he said in Google-translated comments carried by Russian state news agency Tass on Telegram.

Biden and Zelenskyy are set to meet at the White House later on Tuesday amid growing concerns over the U.S.’ willingness to extend further funding to Kyiv. Ukraine has depended on Western allies for support and weaponry throughout its defensive campaign to fend off an ongoing Russian invasion into its territory.

The U.S. president wants Congress to approve $106 billion in supplemental spending, of which more than $61 billion would be earmarked for Ukraine, with the remaining financing split between close Washington ally Israel, border enforcement and humanitarian aid.

— Ruxandra Iordache