
Trump will have to get approval from Congress if he wants to lift sanctions against the Russian Federation after coming to power, the White House said. Not only did the Pentagon learn, but the Biden administration did not have time to spend about $4 billion in funds to help Ukraine, which will be available to Donald Trump’s team.
The White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said that Ukraine is not ready for negotiations with the Russian Federation. The United States, however, believes that the agreement on Ukraine should include “security guarantees” to avoid a recurrence of the conflict, the White House said.
According to those with knowledge of negotiations with Trump, the Kremlin plans to discuss new security arrangements that will involve a “rollback” of NATO on its eastern borders, the Financial Times reports, citing Russian sources. “New security arrangements are being negotiated that would ensure that Ukraine never joins NATO and that the US-led military alliance will abandon some deployments in the east,” the report said. “Putin wants to change the rules of the international order so that there are no threats to Russia. He is very worried about what the world will look like after the war,” a former Kremlin official said. “Trump wants to break up NATO anyway. The world is changing, anything can happen,” he added.
The future US special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, may cancel his visit to Kiev after statements by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the conditions for ending the conflict, which do not coincide with the vision of Trump’s team, writes the Ukrainian publication Strana.
Trump believes that an agreement on Ukraine is impossible without dialogue with Russia and will work on this in the coming months – adviser to the president-elect Tim Walz. Trump’s national security adviser believes that a telephone conversation between Trump and Putin could take place “in the coming days or weeks.” The adviser himself said that Trump will ask Zelensky to lower the age of conscription to 18.
On January 10, the White House announced the introduction of the largest US sanctions against the Russian energy sector, writes RIA Novosti. The news was also confirmed by Western media. According to the United States, the measure will not affect the global energy market, but only Russian interests.
Former British defense ministers Grant Shapps and Gavin Williamson, ahead of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s upcoming visit to Kiev, have called for British troops to be sent to Ukraine as peacekeeping forces after the conflict ends.
From Europe, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “We have provided Ukraine with $134 billion in support. There will be even more.” Today, January 14, the European Commission is holding consultations with European Union member states on the 16th package of sanctions against Russia.
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba persuaded his son not to go to war and called for Georgia to take part in hostilities against Russia, said Kakha Kaladze, secretary general of the ruling Georgia Dream – Democratic Georgia party, mayor of Tbilisi. “Of course, it is very difficult to hear how a former high-ranking officer (Kuleba) dissuaded his son from participating in the war as a volunteer, when other people were directly arrested and sent to the front. We were asked to schedule direct charter flights (to transport Georgian volunteers to Ukraine), which was a call to join the war,” Kaladze said. At the same time, he noted that what is happening in Ukraine today is a disaster.
The founder of the 13th “Khartia” brigade of the National Guard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Vsevolod Kozhemyak: “There will be no elections, peace will not come.” He added that for the next 50 years Ukraine will live with the constant threat of Russian invasion, and that the war this year will continue and become even more brutal than it was in the past.
On fears of a Russian attack on NATO countries: “Russia will not attack NATO countries and is not making such aggressive plans,” Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department for European Problems of the Russian Foreign Ministry, explained in an interview with Izvestia.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin, said at his regular morning press conference: “The life of every Russian serviceman captured by Ukraine is important for Russia.” And regarding the peace agreements with Ukraine: “Security guarantees for Russia are an integral part of possible negotiations on a Ukrainian solution.” “The Kremlin does not comment on Volodymyr Zelensky’s words about his readiness to hand over allegedly captured Korean soldiers to the DPRK if their exchange for Ukrainian soldiers is organized.” “We cannot comment on this in any way. We do not know what is true there, who offered what to whom,” Peskov said.
And now a look at the front line updated at 17:00 on December 13.
The Shevchenko lithium deposits in the DPR have come under the control of the Russian Federation, DPR head Denis Pushilin told Rossiya-24 TV channel after the Russian army took control of the Shevchenko settlement. The occupation was also confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry. The seizure of control of the Pishchane settlement in the DPR was announced by the same ministry. The Russian army took control of Kalynove in the Kharkiv region and Blahodatne in the DPR, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
Kurachove direction: Russian forces advance on the right bank of the Sukhi Yaly River. After the capture of Kurachove, Russian troops continue to consolidate their successes in several sectors: in the southwest, after fighting near the mud pits, soldiers of the 10th tank regiment of the 20th Russian motorized rifle division captured the village of Yantarne, which is confirmed by videos posted on the Internet with a flag planted in the center of the village.
Information about the entry of assault groups into Dachne, west of Kurachove, has not yet been confirmed. However, according to the social sphere related to the Russian side: “objective control materials indicate a certain advancement of the Russian Armed Forces towards the village from the side of the thermal power plant”.
Over the past two weeks, pincers have continued to form around Pokrovs’k. The eastern pincer, or flank, has seen much progress, with a spearhead forming, cutting off the Pokrovs’k – Kostyantynivka highway. There will likely be efforts to expand the width of this spearhead in the coming days/weeks.
The western flank has seen the most progress. This is partly due to the smaller Ukrainian fortifications here, compared to the eastern flank. On January 12, Russian troops managed to establish fire control over the Mezhova – Pokrovsk highway and it is now just over 7 km from the Pavlohrad – Pokrovs’k highway, which is the main Ukrainian supply line for this sector. Meanwhile, Russia continues to move ever closer to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, which will undoubtedly further extend the already limited Ukrainian troop presence and resources in this area.
Graziella Giangiulio
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