US preparing Patriot missiles for Ukraine, Rada liquidates ill-famed court: highlights of the day

Liquidation of DACK

The Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill providing for the liquidation of the scandalous District Administrative Court of Kyiv. President Zelenskyy has already signed the document. It will come into force the next day after publication.

After that, the DACK will cease working. Consideration and resolution of administrative cases until the Kyiv City District Administrative Court starts working will be carried out by the Kyiv District Administrative Court.

The DACK does not agree with the bill. They believe that it allegedly does not meet the "requirements of wartime".

Patriot from US

The United States is finalizing its plans to send Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine. Currently, the approval of the delivery by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected, after which the decision will be submitted to US President Joe Biden for signature, CNN reports.

According to journalists, the delivery of Patriot should be announced this week. It is not yet known how many units are planned to be transferred. A typical Patriot battery consists of a radar that detects and tracks targets; a command post and up to eight launchers with four missiles each.

Possible Russian offensive

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba suggested that Russian troops may try to launch a "major offensive" against Ukraine in late January-February 2023. This is evidenced by mobilization, conscription, transfer of equipment, etc.

However, he stresses that this offensive will not necessarily take place.

Work of Verkhovna Rada

In addition to the DACK bill, the MPs adopted a number of other important documents. The Parliament approved the draft law on the selection of candidates for the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court on a competitive basis. But it was criticized because of the insufficient influence of international experts on the competition.

Also, the draft law on media and national minorities was adopted — both are necessary for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

The bill on reforming urban planning was also adopted. Before that, the heads of a number of cities opposed the document and urged the legislators to revise it.

€1 billion in aid

During the international conference "Standing with the Ukrainian people" in Paris, Ukraine attracted €1 billion of foreign aid. Of these, €500 million is grant support, another €500 million Ukraine will receive in goods, services, loans (most of them this year).

Of this billion, €415 million will be allocated for energy. However, it has not yet been decided where to allocate the remaining €500 million.

Sexual violence during war

After February 24, prosecutors recorded 154 counts of sexual violence related to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. In particular, in Kherson Oblast, investigators found that the occupiers had been raping a woman for four months.

The facts of gender-based violence were also recorded, when wives of Ukrainian defenders who participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation or were related to the Armed Forces were taken from their families and tortured.

Withdrawal of heavy weapons from ZNPP

French President Emmanuel Macron announced an agreement on the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the territory of Zaporizhzhya NPP seized by Russian troops. According to him, negotiations on the terms of withdrawal of weapons continue.

Meanwhile, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there were no heavy weapons at the occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. He said that Russia "highly appreciates the level of interaction with the IAEA" on ZNPP issues and is interested in continuing these contacts.

Inspection in Belarus

On December 13, the country's Defense Ministry announced the start of a "surprise inspection of combat readiness" on the order of self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko. The troops are to move to the designated areas as soon as possible, ensure their technical equipment, organize security and defense, and set up bridge crossings over the Neman and Berezina rivers.

Ukrainian forces are monitoring the situation in Belarus, where a "sudden inspection of combat readiness" was announced, but the situation remains fully under control.

Russian fake

In the evening of December 12, a video with the alleged burning of the "Point of Invincibility" in Kyiv was spread on social media. The police told us in a comment that they had analyzed and checked the video. And it turned out that it was filmed from the territory of Russia.

The police suggest that the footage of the fire was spread to alarm people.

In fact, that fire really broke out in St. Petersburg: in a building on the territory of the machine-building plant "Zvezda".

Operation of reactors

On the night of December 13, another reactor of one of the nuclear power plants was launched in Ukraine. Now nine out of nine power units located on the territory controlled by Ukraine are working.

Problems in the operation of power units remained after the massive missile attack on November 23. Then, for the first time, all four nuclear power plants were simultaneously shut down.

Situation at front and destruction of occupiers

Russian troops are focusing on the offensive in four axes: Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Zaporizhzhya.

Om December 13, according to the General Staff, the occupiers launched two missile strikes on the civilian infrastructure of Zaporizhzhya and Kharkiv oblasts, as well as carried out more than 20 attacks from multiple rocket launchers.

In the previous days, the Defense Forces destroyed the leadership of the 58th Army of the Russian Federation in Melitopol, and on December 11, they struck the deployment point of Russian troops near the occupied Kadiyivka, Luhansk Oblast. As a result of the strike, up to 60 enemy troops were killed and up to 100 more were wounded.

Restoration of nuclear status

In Ukraine, the number of those who support the restoration of the country's nuclear status has increased to 53%. In 2012, the number of such people stood at 27%.

In addition, 61% of Ukrainians said that Russia will deter Ukraine's accession to NATO, and 50% supported nuclear disarmament of Russia. The return of nuclear weapons to Ukraine is considered an effective deterrent by only 17% of people. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the sociological group "Rating".