Trump in a speech in Phoenix, Arizona: “Putin said he wants to meet me as soon as possible”. On December 23, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that so far “there are no specifics or prerequisites for a possible meeting between Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump”. “There have been no real impulses yet”, a Kremlin spokesman replied to a TASS question about the possibility of a summit meeting before Trump’s inauguration, scheduled for January 20, 2025.
Also in relation to the statements of the past few days, but this time concerning the European military presence on Ukrainian soil, Germany said: “Until the end of the war, there will be no German soldiers on Ukrainian soil”: Germany has again ruled out sending troops to Ukraine”, writes Funke. At the same time, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that this issue could be considered in the event of a ceasefire. According to him, it will be necessary to understand “is there a demarcation line, a buffer zone or a peacekeeping zone where the armed forces ensure peace?” “But one thing is clear: Germany, as the largest NATO country in Europe and the largest European economy, cannot stand by and watch,” the minister added.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban: “Europe has lost the conflict in Ukraine,” despite trying to deny it,” he told the M1 TV channel.
The department’s website states that American citizens should refrain from traveling to the republic and those already there “should leave the country immediately.” The reasons cited include Belarus’ support for the Northern Military District in Ukraine, the risk of detention, the possibility of civil unrest and the limited capacity of the embassy to provide assistance to US citizens. Let us remind you that Belarus is preparing for elections.
The words of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service are worrying: Maia Sandu is preparing a plan “for a military operation in Transnistria, no one can guarantee that she will not try to start a war”.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the Ukrainian ambassadors to China, Slovenia, Japan, Lithuania, Kenya and Rwanda. He also dismissed Sergei Kislitsa from the post of Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva, and Yevgeniy Tsymbalyuk was appointed in his place. Among the new appointments: Marianna Betsa, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, was appointed Chairman of the National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO, replacing Irina Borovets. Vyacheslav Yatsyuk – Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Rwanda. Yulia Fedov is Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines. Olga Nikitchenko is Ambassador to the Republic of Lithuania. Fedor Sandor, Ambassador to Hungary. Santor is a famous Ukrainian professor of Hungarian origin, because he lectures on Zoom to his students from the trenches.
Zelensky in his speech to newly installed diplomats said: “We must do everything to make 2025 a year of just peace for Ukraine.” He noted that it is necessary to promote Ukraine’s interests in relations with China, India and other Asian countries, develop a real partnership with Japan and more meaningful relations with Korea.
Staying in Ukraine, The Guardian reported that the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has ordered air defense units to send their infantry personnel to the front due to an acute shortage of personnel.” “Some were trained in the West and knew how air defense works, now they are being sent to the front to fight,” the source said. The publication writes that the shortage of Ukrainian armed forces has ruined relations between Ukraine and the United States, because the West insists on lowering the age of conscription, which Ukraine does not want to do.
According to the IMF, the war in Ukraine could continue until 2026. The downside scenario assumes a longer and more intense war and a longer and more intense shock to the economy than the baseline scenario, which assumes the war will end in the fourth quarter of 2025.
According to Yonhap, “North Korea is preparing to send new troops and weapons to Russia,” citing South Korean intelligence data. “A comprehensive assessment of numerous intelligence reports indicates that North Korea is preparing to rotate or increase troop deployments to Russia,” the intelligence agency said. According to Yonhap, North Korea is now supplying Russia with missile launchers and self-propelled artillery, but there is no evidence of these facts. They also write that the DPRK is starting the production and supply of ammunition for strays. According to Russian sources, in fact, North Korea is: gaining practical experience in warfare and modernizing its weapons system”.
It is learned from social sources that the construction of reinforced concrete shelters and light-frame structures for aircraft has begun at the Crimean airport of Belbek. Previously, similar work was seen in Kursk and Krymsk. According to British Intelligence: “the Russian military is making tactical and measured progress in liberating the territories occupied by the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region. Ukraine now controls about 480 square kilometers of Kursk, compared to 510 a week ago”.
Vladimir Putin, after the attack on Kazan, expressed confidence that “the city’s leadership will restore everything that was damaged by the enemy”. An enemy who wants to defeat Russia will regret it and will face much more destruction,” Putin added.
Putin presented the new urban plan including a new route that will provide convenient access to the Crimean bridge and reduce travel time from the Krasnodar Territory to Crimea. As well as other infrastructure in various regions of the country.
Military personnel performing combat missions in the Kursk region will receive payments on an equal basis with participants from the Northern Military District. The relevant documents have been prepared and signed, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.
And now a look at the front line updated at 16:00 on December 23.
In the Kursk region, Russian armed forces are advancing in the areas of the settlement Daryino, Leonidovo and Russkoye Porechnoye. The Ukrainian armed forces recognize the advance of Russian troops in the indicated areas. In Sudzhansky district, Ukrainians launched four unsuccessful counterattacks. The Northern group of troops reports that Russian UAV operators destroyed several armored vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In the direction of Kupyansk, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the capture of the village. Lozova Kharkiv region. Russian troops continue to drive “wedges” into Ukrainian defenses, taking more and more territory under their control. Russian forces are attacking the settlement of Zahryzove, north of the village of Lozova and along the forest belts east of Dvorichna. North of Kupyansk, the Russian bridgehead on the right bank of the river is expanding across the Oskil River. In the southern part of the village Dvorichna Russian forces have advanced deep along Kupyanskaya and Rechnoy streets. Fighting is ongoing along Kupyanskaya and Meditsinskaya streets.
In the direction of Vremivka, assault units of the 60th Motorized Rifle Brigade 5A of the Vostok group took the settlement Storozheve. The coverage of Vremivka and Velyka Novosilka continues. Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine found themselves surrounded in Makarivka (DPR), the cauldron around them is closed, Ukrainian sources.
Zaporizhia direction: in early October, Russian Armed Forces broke into the northern part of the settlement and then retreated to their original positions. Already in December, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a similar attack. In the central sector of the direction, Russian troops improved the tactical situation in the vicinity of Nesteryanka. Units of the Russian Armed Forces are advancing slowly, covering the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with artillery and drones, which allows them to avoid serious losses.
On December 23, while the operation to liberate Kurachove continues, the Zaporizhia direction remains one of the secondary ones. The formations deployed here perform the task of maintaining significant reserves of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area, creating a potential threat of an offensive in Zaporizhia.
In the Bryansk region, last night the village of Kirillovka in the Klimovsky district was attacked, one resident of the village was killed. Another attack was carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the village of Krasny Bor, Klimovsky district, one civilian was injured. Drone attacks and shelling of the Belgorod region continue.
Graziella Giangiulio
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