Resumption of strike on border with Poland, lack of ammunition on front line: highlights for December 18

Resumption of the strike

Polish carriers resumed their strike on the Polish-Ukrainian border at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on December 18. Farmers will join them.

The new Minister of Infrastructure of Poland, Dariusz Klimczak, called the protest of Polish carriers a "transport Gordian knot" that has dragged on because of the inaction of his predecessors. According to him, it will be difficult to resolve this situation now.

Lack of ammunition

Ukrainian troops on the front line are facing a shortage of artillery shells, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria Operational and Strategic Group of troops, told Reuters.

According to him, the shortage is "a very big problem" and the reduction of foreign military aid has affected the battlefield.

"The volumes we have today are not enough for our needs. So, we are redistributing them. We are re-planning the tasks we have set for ourselves and reducing them because we need to ensure they are met," Tarnavskyi said.

New sanctions against Russia

The European Union has adopted the 12th package of economic and individual sanctions against Russia. The agreed package bans the direct or indirect import, purchase or transportation of diamonds from Russia.

This ban applies to diamonds of Russian origin; diamonds exported from Russia; diamonds transiting through Russia; and Russian diamonds processed in third countries.

Reaction to the wiretap found in Zaluzhnyi's office

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the first time officially commented on the discovery of eavesdropping devices in one of the places of residence of Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

"The listening devices were installed in the offices intended for the work of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and employees of the apparatus for supporting his activities," the statement said.

Speaking to journalists, Zaluzhnyi said that the bugging was found in the room he was supposed to use for a meeting on December 18. According to him, those who bugged the office were unlikely to have heard state secrets, as the office had not been in use for a long time.

Other news

• On December 18, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien arrived in Kyiv.
• A court has transferred the property of the head of the Rivne regional military enlistment office, who is suspected of illicit enrichment and beating a soldier, to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA).
• The case of the deaths of two cadets of the State Emergency Service in Kharkiv Oblast from an explosion in a dormitory was submitted to court. The indictment concerns the former head of the department, who ordered the students to disassemble the shell without supervision, and the SES employee who brought the shell to the school. Both face imprisonment.
• In Ukraine, the church is steadily losing public trust. Currently, 38% of respondents trust it, according to a KIIS poll.
• Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest, believes that it will be impossible to rebuild the Avdiyivka Coke Plant after the war ends due to the destruction caused by Russian strikes.