Ukraine updates: US nears delivery of Patriot missiles

The United States is finalizing plans to send its sophisticated Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, US media reported on Tuesday.

The move could be announced as soon as Thursday and is a response to Russia's increased bombardment of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, US officials told the Associated Press and other organizations on the condition of anonymity.

The Patriot system consists of up to eight missile batteries plus a radar, a control station and power generation equipment. The US describes it as its "most advanced air defense system."

The system typically requires 90 soldiers to operate and maintain but can be fired with a team of just three if needed.

"These are going to be quite capable of dealing with a lot of different challenges the Ukrainians have, especially if the Russians bring in short-range ballistic missiles [from Iran]," Alexander Vindman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and onetime leader of Ukraine policy at the White House, told the Reuters news agency.

In recent weeks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Western governments for high-tech defense equipment in order to protect energy infrastructure, including gas pipelines and nuclear power plants.

"Unfortunately, Russia still has an advantage in artillery and missiles," Zelenskyy told the Group of Seven (G7) nations on Monday.

Prior to the Russian invasion in February, Ukraine's air defense arsenal largely consisted of Soviet-era missiles and planes.

They have since been joined by the NASAMS, donated by the US, and IRIS-T, donated by Germany, among others.

Here are the other top stories related to the war in Ukraine on Wednesday, December 14:

Zelenskyy calls on Europe to back war crimes tribunal

President Zelenskyy issued a statement calling on European powers to swiftly set up a war crimes tribunal to bring Russian leaders to justice.

"I call on all of you, your parties and states to effectively support this work. The tribunal must start working," Zelensky told the European Parliament in a speech via video link. "It is necessary to make it a reality as soon as possible."

Zelenskyy was speaking to the parliament as he accepted the EU's annual Sakharov Prize for human rights on behalf of the "brave people of Ukraine."

Member countries such as the Netherlands, Poland, and the Baltic States have already backed called for a tribunal.

"The cities and villages destroyed by Russia, destroyed lives should be reflected in the sentences not only for those who directly committed all this but also for those who organised and started this aggression," Zelenskyy said.

Dozens of Kyiv military members released in prisoner swap

Ukraine said Wednesday that it had secured the release of 64 Ukrainian military members and a US citizen in a prisoner swap with Russian forces.

"Sixty-four soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces who fought in Donetsk and Lugansk, in particular participated in the defense of the city of Bakhmut, are going home," the Ukraine president's chief of staff Andriy Yermak tweeted. "It was also possible to free a US citizen who helped our people... Suedi Murekezi," he added.

Russia's state-run TASS news agency has reported that Murekezi was arrested in the Donetsk region in June, charged with participating in anti-Russia protests while inciting "ethnic hatred."

Putin has failed, says Scholz

Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed in his mission to divide Europe, damage democracy and take Ukraine quickly, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers in Berlin on Wednesday.

Putin "believed he could dry up Europe's solidarity by turning off our gas tap," Scholz said, before adding that the Russian president was wrong "about the courage of Ukrainians, about Europe, about us, about the character of our democracies, about our will to resist big power mania and imperialism."

Blasts rock Kyiv

As Washington neared its decision about sending a Patriot system, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that the city's current air defense system was able to shoot down 10 drones over the capital in the early hours of Wednesday.

He identified the drones as Iranian-made Shahed drones. He added that there had been some explosions in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. Two adminstrative buildings were damaged, but it was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

Although the damage in Kyiv appeared to be limited, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, an official in President Zelenskyy's office cautioned that "the danger is not over yet'' on the social media channel. He added that a private home in the southwestern suburb of Vyshneve had been hit.

Ukrainian High Command said that overnight, Russian missile strikes had continued to target civilian infrastructure in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Zelenskyy addresses New Zealand parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday became the second-ever foreign leader to address the parliament of New Zealand after former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard did so in 2011.

Zelenskyy used the rare address to shore up international support for a 10-point peace plan that would guarantee nuclear safety and environmental protection.

He said it would take years to rebuild infrastructure and the economy.

"But you can't rebuild destroyed nature, just as you can't restore destroyed lives," the Ukrainian president added.

He pointed to poisoned groundwater, ravaged forests, flooded coal mines and swathes of land that remain contaminated with unexploded mines — which make up an area the size of Cambodia, Syria or Uruguay.

The New Zealand government used the occasion to announce an additional $2 million (€1.9 million) in humanitarian aid through the Red Cross.

"Our judgment was a simple one," Kiwi Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. "We asked ourselves the question: 'What if it was us?'"

Australian pro-Putin activist arrested at Ukraine rally

Simeon Boikov, a far-right, pro-Putin activist who goes by the name "Aussie Cossack," has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a 76-year-old attendee at a Ukraine rally in Sydney.

"Self defense, anyone touches me, I'll defend myself," Boikov can be heard saying in a video clip of the incident he posted to his Telegram channel with more than 50,000 subscribers.

Boikov has gained a following for voicing opposition to COVID-19 vaccines and has been interviewed by high-profile American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Police said he is due to appear in court in late January.

More DW content on the war in Ukraine

Despite the invasion's impact on Ukraine's economy in general, the country's tech sector is thriving. DW reports on how local tech companies are working without reliable internetand managing to donate profits to the defense effort.

European leaders promised to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes." But much of the promised aid has not yet arrived in Ukraine. DW's Nick Connolly looks at what kind of support has been pledged so far.

jsi,zc,es/wd (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)