Russian raids on Ukraine continue unabated after almost ten months of hostilities, while the defense forces counterattack in the southeast. And there seems to be no trace of dialogue between the parties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during an interview with David Letterman on his Netflix show, unequivocally answered the host who asked him if the war would have continued in the event of Putin’s death: for Zelensky in that case “there would be no war”.
The Ukrainian leader then received the renewed support of the G7 leaders, who met virtually. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has evoked a new Marshall Plan and renewed his appeal to Putin to “withdraw his troops” and return to “international law”. Instead, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, sent a letter of invitation to the 27 heads of state and government at the Asean-EU summit on 14 December and at the European Council on 15, where he reiterated that «Ukraine is, as always at the center of our concerns. “Beyond the immediate needs of the country – added Michel -, a substantial debate is also needed on how to guarantee the sustainability of our military and financial support to Ukraine”.
Yesterday the Kremlin announced that Vladimir Putin’s traditional press conference at the end of the year will not take place, for the first time in ten years. “The big press conference won’t happen before the end of the year,” spokesman Dmytry Peskov said. Normally Putin holds a big press conference at the end of the year during which he answers journalists’ questions for hours: this year the Kremlin leader probably doesn’t want to face media questions about the war in Ukraine and internal repression.
The Ukrainian T-64BV against the Russian T-72: the battle between tanks in the open field is at the last shot
Updates hour by hour
23.05 – Michel to the leaders: Ukraine, economy and migrants at the summit
“The European Council on Thursday 15 December will be a one-day meeting. We will focus on strategic issues on which our unity will be fundamental”. The Prime Minister, Charles Michel, writes it in the letter of invitation sent to the 27 leaders of State and Government of the Union. On the agenda: Ukraine, the economy, energy, relations with the USA, relations with the neighborhood and therefore migration. «Ukraine is, as always, at the center of our concerns. Russia’s massive military escalation since October 10, with its repeated attacks on Ukraine’s critical facilities and energy infrastructure, has caused massive damage to Ukraine’s electricity grid. Millions of civilians are left without electricity, heating and running water. The situation, exacerbated with the onset of snow and sub-zero temperatures, requires an adequate response on our part, also in terms of humanitarian preparation and assistance,” Michel premised. “Beyond the country’s immediate needs, a substantive debate on how to ensure the sustainability of our military and financial support to Ukraine is also needed,” he adds.
22.42 – EU: agreement on Hungarian funds, Ukrainian loans and global tax
The ambassadors to the EU reached a “mega agreement”. «They approved in principle the 18 billion euro package in support of Ukraine, the 15% minimum taxation for large companies, the green light to the Hungarian Pnrr and the conditionality mechanism for blocking Hungary’s funds ». The Czech presidency of the EU made it known in a tweet.
12.22 – Kiev: Russians move troops and panic in Melitopol
Ivan Fedorov, exiled mayor of Melitopol, said in an interview with Ukrainian TV that Russian troops in the city they occupied are “redeploying” and are now “panicized” by Ukrainian attacks on the city during the end week. He brings it back there Cnn. The Russians “are busy moving their military groups to other places to try to hide them,” Fedorov said, without however providing evidence of such claims. Fedorov also provided an update on the number of wounded and dead as a result of the rocket attacks. “There are dozens of Russo-fascists killed, and there are wounded, who were taken to hospitals and to Crimea: about 200 Russo-fascists ended up in hospitals.” The Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine saw heavy shelling over the weekend, Russian and Ukrainian sources said, but there were conflicting tolls on injuries and deaths.