Ukraine’s foreign minister aims for peace talks at ‘end of February’
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Russia’s Vladimir Putin has met with his closest international, Alexander Lukashenko, twice in 24 hours, in meetings in which the Belarusian president said “many issues have been resolved”.
There are fears that Belarus could be actively dragged into the war in Ukraine, after Putin used it as a springboard for his invasion in February. The presidents publicly acknowledged discussing the economy, space missions, the Russian language and “serious matters, including our bilateral relations.”
Meanwhile, Kyiv’s armed forces claimed to have incapacitated 100 Russian soldiers in the Zaporizhzhia region, including 15 FSB officers, in an attack on Christmas Day, as fighting intensified in Bakhmut and Lyman in the front line of Donbas.
It came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted Ukraine should hand over the four regions Putin has tried unsuccessfully to illegally annex, as Kyiv announced hopes of a summit of peace in February, organized at the United Nations. Asked whether Russia would be invited, Ukraine said it would first have to face prosecution for war crimes in an international court.
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Watch: Russian soldiers surrender to Ukrainian soldiers surrounding them
Last night, Volodymyr Zelensky praised the country’s independent 10th Mountain Assault Brigade for capturing Russian troops in Donetsk.
“It is very important. This will allow us to free more Ukrainians,” Zelensky said.
Here’s some footage that purports to show that moment:
Moment when the Russian soldiers surrender to the Ukrainian soldiers surrounding them
Andy Gregory December 27, 2022 11:06 am
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Watch: Ukraine’s foreign minister aims for ‘late February’ peace talks
Ukraine’s foreign minister has said Kyiv wants a peace summit to be held at the end of February, preferably hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Ukraine’s foreign minister aims for peace talks at ‘end of February’
Andy Gregory December 27, 2022 10:31 am
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Ukraine claims to have killed and wounded 15 Russian FSB agents on Christmas Day
Ukraine’s military claims to have incapacitated 100 Russian soldiers, 15 of them FSB agents, in the Zaporizhzhia region on Christmas Day.
“On December 25, our soldiers attacked a concentration of Russian invaders near Novobilozerka, Vasylivsky district, Zaporizhzhia province. The enemy lost up to 100 soldiers killed and wounded. Among them are 15 employees of the Service Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation,” said the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“During the day, the Defense Forces aviation hit the area where the occupiers were concentrated. At the same time, units of missile and artillery troops of the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit four checkpoints and six areas of concentration of the enemy’s manpower.”
Andy Gregory December 27, 2022 9:54 am
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Putin, Lukashenko meet twice in 24 hours to ‘finalize many problems’
Vladimir Putin has met with his closest international ally, Alexander Lukashenko, twice in the past 24 hours, according to Belarusian state media, with the Belarusian president saying “many issues have been resolved”.
The two leaders met for the first time on St. Petersburg Day at an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States and again over breakfast this morning at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the news agency reported belt
“We’ve looked at a few things,” Lukashenko said. “Well, if anyone, as you rightly said, thinks we only drink tea, then I must say that yesterday we talked about many subjects not only over tea, but also at night when we got home.
“Sometimes it takes years for some states to discuss so many things in such a short period of time. In the meantime we put a lot of dots on the ‘i’ in the evening, continuing our Minsk dialogue, as it was mainly about the economy.
“I thank you that many issues were resolved yesterday. Governments will set them up. They shouldn’t have any complaints anymore. We have reached agreements on all the issues that were asked of us”.
Andy Gregory December 27, 2022 9:27 am
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Nine million remain without electricity in Ukraine, says Zelensky
As of last night, some nine million people remained without electricity in parts of Ukraine following Russian bombing of the country’s energy system, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
“But the number and duration of disruptions continue to decrease gradually,” the Ukrainian president said in his evening speech, adding: “I am grateful to each and every one of those who made this result possible.”
Kyiv is making preparations for its energy system for next year, he said. “There are threats that we have to eliminate. There are steps that need to be taken. And the state will definitely take them.”
Andy Gregory December 27, 2022 8:59 am
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Serbia puts its troops on the Kosovo border on combat alert
Serbia has placed its security troops on its border with Kosovo on “full combat readiness”, ignoring NATO pleas to ease tensions in a region where fears of violence have risen since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It was not immediately clear what Belgrade’s order meant on the ground, as Serbian troops have long been on alert along the border with Kosovo. Officials say the alleged harassment of Kosovo Serbs by ethnic Albanians who are the majority in the breakaway province that declared independence in 2008.
Meanwhile, NATO-led peacekeepers said they were investigating a shooting incident on Sunday evening in a tense region of northern Kosovo, calling for calm as Serbia’s top military officials inspected their troops on the border in a show of readiness for combat.
Kosovo remains a potential flashpoint in the Balkans years after the 1998-99 war that ended with NATO intervention. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence and has relied on Russia and China to maintain a claim on its former province.
Andy Gregory December 27, 2022 8:27 am
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Zelensky praises the regiment for the capture of Russian troops in Donetsk
Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked the Ukrainian troops fighting in the Donbas region “[holding] their positions firmly”.
In his late-night speech, the Ukrainian president also praised the country’s independent 10th Mountain Assault Brigade for capturing Russian troops in Donetsk.
“It is very important. This will allow us to free more Ukrainians,” said Zelensky, who also praised the 80th and 95th Airborne Assault Brigades “for the successful destruction of the enemy force in the direction of Lyman.”
(Office of the President of Ukraine)
Andy Gregory December 27, 2022 7:58 am
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Lavrov asks the West to exercise restraint in the “highly sensitive” nuclear sphere.
Russia has no intention of proposing new initiatives on strategic weapons or security guarantees, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
In an interview published by state news agency Tass on Tuesday, Lavrov also called on the West to exercise maximum restraint in the “highly sensitive” nuclear sphere.
Andy Gregory December 27, 2022 7:39 am
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Russia waging small-scale assaults on Donetsk and Luhansk, Defense Ministry says
Britain’s Ministry of Defense has said Russia is continuing smaller-scale attacks in eastern regions facing the battle in Ukraine.
“Over the past 48 hours, fighting has remained centered around the Bakhmut sector of Donetsk Oblast and near Svatove in Luhansk. Russia continues to launch frequent small-scale assaults in these areas, although little territory has changed hands,” the ministry said.
He added: “In the north, elements of Russia’s 1st Guards Tank Army were likely among the newly deployed Russian forces in Belarus.”
This formation is likely to be conducting training before its deployment and is unlikely to have the support units needed to prepare it for combat, the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.
Arpan Rai December 27, 2022 6:45 am
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West and Ukraine want to ‘destroy’ Russia by defeating it in war, PM says
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the US and its NATO allies have joined forces with Ukraine to defeat Moscow “on the battlefield” and “destroy” it.
“The actions of the countries of the collective West and [Volodymyr] Zelensky under his control confirm the global nature of the Ukrainian crisis,” Lavrov said, according to the TASS news agency.
He added: “It is no secret to anyone that the strategic goal of the United States and its NATO allies is to defeat Russia on the battlefield as a mechanism to significantly weaken or even destroy our country.”
The Russian top minister bent down in Washington and said that Russia and the US cannot maintain a normal connection because of Joe Biden’s administration.
“It is objectively impossible to maintain normal communication with the Biden administration, which declares its goal to inflict a strategic defeat on our country,” he said.
“The course of US anti-Russian confrontation is becoming sharper and more global,” he criticized.
Arpan Rai December 27, 2022 6:41 am