That’s the end of our live updates for today, but if you’re just checking in, here are all the key developments so far.
Airbase strike: Ukraine posted footage of multiple explosions it claimed to be a strike on a Crimean airbase. Russia appeared to deny the incident occurred, saying it shot down 20 missiles launched at the peninsula.
‘PoW’ plane: Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of using missiles fired from a US Patriot air defence system to shoot down an Il-76 transport plane and killing 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board.
World Court: The International Court of Justice found that Russia had violated anti-terrorism and anti-discrimination treaties in Ukraine.
Stop swearing: A Ukrainian government watchdog has asked officials to avoid using foul language when communicating with the public, in “critical” situations.
Chelsea – disbelief: In the UK, a parliamentary committee has expressed disbelief that the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea football club have still not been used to help those affected by the war in Ukraine, almost two years later.
Target missed: The EU will fall far short of its target of sending one million artillery shells to Ukraine by March, its top diplomat Josep Borrell said, with 48% not arriving until the end of the year.
“By discrediting the military, other people may simply be imprisoned or face criminal prosecution. But without their assets being confiscated, a user may simply have stored their belongings for years or decades,” said Nikita, who gave only his first name. . .
Sofia Malygina, another resident, said the crime had caused “moral damage” and recommended that prominent critics of the military be banned from appearing in public, but that their property be banned.
Their views were shared through the small space of the Russian parliament, which this morning subsidized Law 377-0.
“Why isn’t there a law that punishes criminals who stab our fighters and officials in the back?Many of them. . . But how can we influence them?” said State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
Answering his own question before the bill passed: “Confiscation of property.”
The law still wants to be approved by the upper space of parliament and by Vladimir Putin.
This followed court cases over insulting officials on social media or making public appearances, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption said.
The NACP and the Civil Service Agency of Ukraine issued a joint statement urging civil servants to adhere to officially explained codes of conduct.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had thwarted a 20-missile attack on Crimea, even though Ukrainian images appeared to show explosions at an air base.
The ministry said 17 missiles were shot down over the Black Sea and 3 over the peninsula, after Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk announced a successful strike on the Belbek airbase.
Fragments of Ukrainian missiles landed on the territory of an army unit in Lyubimovka, the Russian ministry said, near the Belbek base.
But the video released through Oleshchuk purported to show explosions at the airfield, located at the southwestern tip of the peninsula near Russia’s main naval base in Sevastopol.
The incident caused damage to “aircraft equipment,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade in Sevastopol carried out an attack on the Belbek airfield, which the unit used as a base during Russia’s annexation of the peninsula, Mykola Oleshchuk said.
Thanking the army for exhausting the operation, he said: “The Ukrainian airmen will return home, to their home airfield. “
The commander posted a video of what he said was the attack, showing explosions and thick smoke rising into the air.
A parliamentary watchdog has expressed disbelief that the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea football club have still not been used to support Ukrainian war victims nearly two years later.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich sold the club for £2. 5 billion after being sanctioned by the UK government and pledged to pay the cash “for the benefit of all those suffering from the war in Ukraine”.
But the budget is still frozen in a bank account because of an obvious war of words with the government over how and where it will be spent.
“We are all baffled and frustrated that it has taken so long,” said Lord Peter Ricketts, chairman of the House of Lords European Affairs Committee.
“We don’t understand why neither Abramovich nor the British government ensured that the initial commitment was clearer, which would avoid discussions about who exactly in Ukraine would get this money. “
What is the problem?
Mr Abramovich has said he would transfer the funds to a foundation – which is yet to be created – but he requires a licence from the government to unfreeze the funds first.
Politicians heard testimony suggesting that Abramovich “may have foreseen that it would also be used in Russian-controlled spaces in Ukraine” as well as those controlled through the Ukrainian government, said Lord Ricketts, who opposes it through the United Kingdom.
The proceedings “are at an impasse, and neither the government nor those responsible for creating the base take responsibility for moving the matter forward,” the commission of inquiry said.
Important consequences
An agreement between Mr Abramovich and the government could set “a precedent for others to be able to donate, in a voluntary way for humanitarian good in Ukraine.”
Only a fraction of the promised ammunition will reach Ukraine before the deadline, the bloc’s most sensible diplomat, Josep Borrell, said.
It will take until the end of the year to deliver the remaining 48%.
The war is one of attrition and Ukraine wants 155mm artillery shells for this purpose.
Joe Biden has asked Congress for about 97,000 million euros to fund border security plans with Ukraine, Israel and the United States, but Republicans, in the House of Representatives, have rejected the proposal.
The EU plans to send at least €21bn in military aid to Ukraine this year, its top diplomat Josep Borrell says.
The announcement comes ahead of an EU assembly tomorrow, where EU members will seek to agree on a desire to spend billions more on economic aid.
The huge sums of money promised to Ukraine make headlines, and it can be difficult to deduce their magnitude.
The two key players are the EU and the US, Ukraine has yet to get help from either of them this year.
As of December, the EU and its countries had pledged €133 billion in support, followed by the United States with €71 billion for the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
The rest of the world donated only €37 billion.
Most of the U. S. aid is for military support, while the EU has presented most of its aid in the form of monetary support.
Ukraine’s spending
A single day of fighting costs about 125 million euros, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said.
The government expects a budget deficit of around €40 billion this year and hopes to get €38 billion in foreign aid to cover it.
EU support
Kyiv expects €18 billion to come from the EU Facility for Ukraine, a €50 billion package announced through the European Commission and to be implemented until 2027.
But that requires the bloc’s members to agree on how to provide the aid, and Hungary vetoed it in December.
EU leaders will try again to reach an agreement at their summit tomorrow.
What about U. S. aid?
Kiev needs 7. 8 billion euros to help cover its budget deficit, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak said.
Joe Biden has asked Congress for about $97 billion to fund plans to protect the borders with Ukraine, Israel and the United States, but House Republicans rejected the proposal in October.
The rest of the world
Ukraine expects to receive €5 billion in IMF loans this year, which are related to some reforms by Ukraine.
Another €1.4bn is expected from other international financial institutions, including the World Bank.
Financial measures are also expected from the United Kingdom and Japan, while negotiations are ongoing in Canada, Norway and South Korea.
The World Court has issued another ruling since we reported that it had concluded that Russia had violated an anti-terrorism treaty in Ukraine (see our 2:45 p. m. article).
The court has ruled Russia violated a UN anti-discrimination treaty by failing to protect education in the Ukrainian language in Crimea.
Enrolment in Ukrainian-language education plummeted after Russia said it annexed Crimea in 2014, the UN’s most sensible court said.
The court granted Ukraine the reimbursement it had requested from Russia and rejected other allegations of discrimination against Tatars and Ukrainians following the annexation.
A lawyer for Ukraine, Harold Koh, had accused Russia of seeking “to replace the multi-ethnic community that had characterised Crimea before Russia’s intervention with discriminatory Russian nationalism”.