In Russia, one of the last prominent members of the opposition has been sentenced for criticizing the war of aggression against Ukraine. 39-year-old Ilya Yashin was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison at a trial in Moscow for allegedly disparaging the Russian armed forces.
Meanwhile, while Russia is again using Iranian drones on the battlefield, according to British intelligence, the Turkish President is trying to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv. Meanwhile, a Nobel Peace Prize winner is calling for Vladimir Putin to finally be brought before an international tribunal.
Erdogan wants to talk about grain corridor
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to hold talks with Kremlin chief President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The aim of the dialogues planned for Sunday is to "strengthen" the Black Sea corridor set up with the grain agreement, Erdogan said in Istanbul. He did not give details. Mediated by Turkey and the United Nations, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in July to export Ukrainian grain via a corridor in the Black Sea. The agreement ended a months-long blockade on Ukraine's grain exports as a result of Russia's war of aggression.
According to the United Nations, Belarus allows Ukrainian grain to be transported through its territory so that it can be exported from Lithuanian ports. Minsk allows this without any preconditions, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York after a meeting with Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Ambrazevich. At the same time, Ambrazevich repeated his government's request to be able to export fertilizers that are currently subject to sanctions.
Putin is disappointed in Merkel
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his disappointment with former Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent comments on Ukraine. Russia interpreted Merkel's statements in an interview with "Zeit online" to mean that the Minsk peace plan was only concluded to give Ukraine time to arm itself and prepare for a war with Russia. "To be honest, that was totally unexpected for me. That's disappointing. To be honest, I didn't expect to hear something like that from the former chancellor," Putin said in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.
London: Russia wants to buy more weapons from Iran
According to information from Great Britain, Russia wants to buy more weapons from Iran in return for military aid. "Russia is now trying to acquire more weapons, including hundreds of ballistic missiles. In return, Russia is offering Iran an unprecedented level of military and technical assistance," British Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward said in New York on Friday. The German Press Agency, citing UN diplomatic circles, reported on Wednesday that Moscow had again ordered hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles in Tehran to secure its military supplies.
Woodward said Britain feared Russia could provide Iran with more advanced military equipment that could increase the regional power's clout. "Iran's arms proliferation poses a real and significant threat to the entire international community far beyond the region." Information according to which Russia has probably recently attacked targets in Ukraine again with the help of Iranian drones could indicate that supplies have already arrived in Russia.
Report: US plans further sanctions against Russia
According to a media report, the United States wants to impose further sanctions on Russia. The measures were taken, among other things, because of the use of Iranian drones, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing government circles familiar with the matter. Sanctions against China would also be expanded for other reasons. According to the WSJ, the measures are aimed at high-ranking members of government, the military and business, whom the USA accuses of human rights violations and corruption.
Nobel laureate: Russia must not get away with it
One of this year's Nobel Peace Prize winners is calling for Putin and his allies to be brought before an international tribunal for war crimes. "All of these atrocities that we are now facing in our country are the result of direct impunity that Russia has enjoyed for decades," said Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties head Olexandra Matviychuk at a press conference for this year's Nobel Peace Prize winners in Oslo. For decades, the Russian military has committed war crimes in many countries and has never been punished for it, Matviychuk said. "We need to break this cycle of impunity now."
The Czech Republic lets Ukraine refugees move
Just before the start of the winter sports season, a group of Ukrainian refugees have to leave a rest home of the Czech Parliament. The decision drew criticism from the general public. Around two dozen people have been housed in the building complex of the House of Representatives in Harrachov in the Giant Mountains since spring. The background is the desire of several MPs to use the facility near the border with Poland for their winter holidays.
Alternative accommodation has now been found in town for the refugees, a spokeswoman for the administrative region of Liberec said on Friday of the German Press Agency. "I'm glad they can stay where they have jobs and where their children go to school," said regional president Martin Puta.
In addition to the opposition, Prime Minister Petr Fiala also criticized the behavior of the parliamentary administration. The Ukrainians "should have stayed there, it shouldn't have happened," the liberal-conservative politician told CNN Prima News. The leader of the Chamber of Deputies, Marketa Adamova Pekarova, dismissed the criticism as a "storm in a teacup".
Electricity problems in Ukraine will remain all winter
Problems with Ukraine's power supply caused by Russian missile attacks will continue throughout the winter, officials said. "It (the deficit) can be partly compensated for with certain measures such as electricity imports, but not completely," said Volodymyr Kudryzkyj, head of the state electricity grid operator Ukrenerho, at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday. Because the frost is currently weakening, the situation is improving a little. The output of the power plants will be increased and gradually more electricity will be available.
"I think that in a few days we will reach a threshold where we can have clear timetables for power cuts in the areas," emphasized the 36-year-old. Unscheduled hour-long power outages are currently occurring in many areas. In addition to eastern Ukraine and the area around the capital Kyiv, the southern Ukrainian region of Odessa is currently particularly affected.
