Selenskyj calls for a special tribunal for Russians – the nightly update without photos US wants to sell Finland millions of weapons

Zelenskyj calls for a special tribunal for Russian crimes

The Ukrainian government wants top Russian state and military leaders held legally responsible for the offensive war against Ukraine. As an example of his call for a special tribunal, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the Nuremberg Tribunal, where the Nazis were convicted of their war crimes after World War II. Ukraine is already working with many countries and organizations such as the International Criminal Court “so that every Russian murderer gets the punishment he deserves,” he said in his daily video address on Tuesday night. “Unfortunately, the available international legal instruments for justice are not enough.”

“It is still impossible even for the International Criminal Court to try Russia’s highest political and military leadership for the crime of aggression against our state – for the most important crime,” Zelenskyy said. That is why a special tribunal is needed in addition to the International Criminal Court. “And we are doing everything we can to create such a tribunal.” The Ukrainian head of state had already campaigned for a special tribunal before the UN General Assembly in September.

He recalled that in January 1942, long before the end of World War II, the Allies laid the groundwork for the prosecution of Nazi war crimes in London. The then St. James Declaration paved the way for the later Nuremberg Tribunal.

The current developments in the live ticker:

Ukraine reports numerous Russian air raids on infrastructure

The Russian army fired on numerous civilian infrastructure objects in Ukraine on Tuesday, according to the Ukrainian General Staff. A total of 26 airstrikes and one rocket attack were recorded. “And there is still a risk of the enemy launching missile strikes against critical infrastructure facilities deep in the hinterland.” The General Staff once again criticized the fact that neighboring Belarus continued to support the Russian offensive war and made its territory and airspace available for missiles and air strikes.

“The situation at the front is difficult,” Zelenskyj said in the evening. “Despite extremely heavy Russian losses, the occupiers are still trying to advance into the Donetsk region, gain a foothold in the Luhansk region, advance into the Kharkov region, they are planning something in the south.” Still, the defense stands up. “This year Russia will lose hundreds of thousands of fallen soldiers and God knows how many mercenaries,” the president predicted.

Attacks and blackouts in Kursk Oblast, Russia

In Russia’s Kursk Oblast, which borders Ukraine, several unspecified attacks led to temporary blackouts. A total of 11 attacks were recorded, affecting different power systems, Governor Roman Stavrowojt said on Telegram. There were initially no reports of possible casualties.

IMF boss emphasizes solidarity with Kiev

The director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, underlined her solidarity with Ukraine and called for further financial support for the country. The money must keep flowing so that Ukraine can heal its wounds, the head of the IMF said in an interview with ARD “Tagesthemen” on Tuesday evening. “We have been able to mobilize about $5 billion a month for Ukraine, this money is flowing, it must keep flowing.” Close cooperation with Kiev ensures that the money ends up where it is needed. Ukraine has learned how to keep an economy going despite the war.

Scholz renews anti-aircraft offer to Poland

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz renewed the offer to station German Patriot-type air defense systems in Poland. “Our offer to the Polish government to protect our own country is still not off the table,” Scholz said in Berlin on Tuesday. He also promised Ukraine further support for repelling airstrikes. “We just launched new delivery options for the cheetah,” he said without giving details. Germany has already provided 30 Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine.

After a missile hit Polish territory in mid-November, the German government offered NATO partner Patriot anti-aircraft batteries to secure its airspace. However, Warsaw believes it makes more sense to station it on Ukrainian territory.

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) also confirmed in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” that the federal government would maintain the offer to Poland. When asked, she confirmed that this meant the stationing of German patriots with German occupation on Polish soil.

Bundestag debate on Ukrainian “Holodomor”

A mass murder organized from Moscow in Ukraine 90 years ago occupied the German Bundestag on Wednesday. MEPs want to recognize the deliberate famine in Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union, as genocide. In 1932 and 1933, up to four million people fell victim to the so-called Holodomor (“murder by hunger”). (sda/dpa)