https://www.dw.com-An international donor conference is taking place in Paris to alleviate civilian suffering in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia’s ally Belarus is conducting a snap inspection of its troops. Follow DW for the latest.
France is organizing a major international conference on Tuesday to coordinate civilian aid for war-ravaged Ukraine.
The aim is to alleviate civilian suffering in a country devastated by incessant bombing from Russia. Specifically, the event is to focus on helping Ukraine meet its needs for water, power, food, health and transport during winter months.
It also aims to put in place a system for the coordination of civilian aid similar to the one Western countries are using to coordinate their military support.
A web-based platform will allow Kyiv to list its civilian aid needs, and allow donors to show what they’ll supply in response.
French President Emmanuel Macron has launched several diplomatic efforts regarding the conflict. The conference comes after his recent comments were slammed by many in Ukraine. During an interview at the start of December, he called for Russia to be offered “security guarantees” at the end of the war, prompting sharp criticism.
But Macron spoke to Zelenskyy over phone on Sunday and seemingly resolved the issue.
Here are the other top stories related to the war in Ukraine on Tuesday, December 13:
Zelenskyy requests €800 million in urgent energy aid
President Zelenskyy told delegates attending the Paris conference on Tuesday that Ukraine needed around €800 million in aid for its energy sector.
“Of course it is a very high amount, but the cost is less than the cost of a potential blackout,” he said, adding: “I hope that decisions will be made accordingly.”
The president pointed out that the war-torn nation needed transformers, equipment to repair damaged high-voltage power lines, as well as generators and gas turbines.
“Generators have become as necessary as armored vehicles and bullet-proof jackets.”
Germany, meanwhile, has pledged another €50 million in winter aid to Ukraine.
“Money alone does not protect against freezing to death and dying of thirst, and that is why very concrete technical assistance is so important,” said German Foreign Minister Baerbock, who is also attending the gathering in Paris.
Belarus starts snap inspection of troops
Russia’s ally Belarus is conducting unannounced combat readiness tests, its defense ministry said on Tuesday.
“The activities will be comprehensive in nature” and include moving equipment and setting up bridge crossings, the authorities added, noting that the drills have been ordered by the country’s longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko.
While Belarus and Russia are formally part of a “union state”, Lukashenko has not ordered his own troops to take part in the Ukraine war. But some observers fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin might use Belarus territory to open a new front.
Ukraine PM says IAEA will ‘secure’ nuclear plants
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA agreed to send permanent teams to the country’s nuclear plants, including the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia.
“The missions are aimed at securing the plants and recording all attempts to externally influence them, in particular shelling by the Russian aggressor,” Shmygal said after meeting IAEA head Rafael Grossi in Paris.
Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko also said Tuesday that the world must “rethink nuclear safety.”
“Nobody expected that someone could capture a nuclear plant,” he said, referring to the Zaporizhzhia plant. “This situation absolutely pushes us to rethink what we should do from the point of view of safety,” he added.
“It’s not only a Ukrainian issue of nuclear safety. It means that any missiles which could fly, let’s say, up to 2,000 kilometers, could reach any nuclear reactor.”
EU strikes deal with Hungary to provide €18 billion aid to Ukraine
The European Union has reached an agreement with Hungary to unblock €18 billion ($19 billion) in financial aid to Ukraine, in exchange for the bloc cutting the amount of funding it froze to Budapest.
Hungary had been blocking the aid and a host of other key EU initiatives, in an attempt to pressure Brussels over its funding row.
Ukraine needs extra gas and weapons, Zelenskyy tells G7
President Zelenskyy urged the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies to provide extra gas and weapons to help Ukraine through the winter.
Millions of people in the country have been enduring freezing temperatures amid harsh winter weather and Russia’s targeting of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Vast swathes of the country have been left without power or heating as a result.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs “about two billion cubic meters” of additional gas to get through the winter.
He also urged the G7 to send more arms to Ukraine, including modern tanks, artillery and “more long-range missiles.”
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