Tag: russia

The fog of war is thick in Eastern Europe, where Russia has accused Ukraine of sending a swarm of kamikaze drones to strike one of President Vladimir Putin’s houses. The Russians say they thwarted the attack.

So far, it’s been difficult to verify whether the Russians are telling the truth. But whatever it is, any slight chance there may have been at a peace agreement seems to have further diminished.

The “Attack”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov decried the alleged attack. On Monday, he said, “The Kiev regime has fully switched to state terrorism policies, and Moscow will review its negotiating position accordingly.” He emphasized that although the Kremlin won’t completely abandon negotiations, “Russia’s negotiating position will be revised.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the attack never happened. He says Russia is making it up to serve as an excuse for torpedoing the working peace negotiations and to keep charging ahead into Ukraine. “Russia must stop inventing ways to wage war and start thinking about how to restore security,” he said in a social media post.

President Donald Trump answered questions on Monday about the supposed attack. “I don’t like it. It’s not good,” he said, adding that he heard about it from Putin himself and conceding that it might not be true. He then said that he made the right decision in refusing to give the Ukrainians long-range Tomahawk missiles. “It’s a delicate period of time,” he noted, adding:

It’s one thing to be offensive, because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that. … I was very angry about it.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has newly claimed that US President Donald Trump is considering the possibility of deploying American troops to Ukraine as negotiations toward peace with Moscow stall. This is presumably connected with promises of future ‘security guarantees’.

This is somewhat of a surprise, as the White House has made no indication of this in any statement whether public or based on anonymous officials. Throughout the nearly four-long war the question of Western ‘boots on the ground’ has been raised at various times. 

But the US – whether under Biden or Trump – has always denied that sending American troops into Ukraine is a solution. Instead, it’s well understood that this could escalate things between Washington and Russia toward full-scale war.

Zelensky made the remarks during a WhatsApp conversation with journalists, according to Reuters national security correspondent Idress Ali, who then revealed his words on social media.

But the outlet has still stressed that Zelensky understands that the final decision rests with Trump.

“To be honest, this can only be confirmed by the President of the United States of America. These are US troops, and therefore it is America that makes such decisions. Of course, we are discussing this both with President Trump and with representatives of the Coalition [of the Willing],” Zelensky was quoted as saying.

And just like that, boots on the ground as a talking point is being echoed among EU leaders…

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The United Arab Emirates and Nicaragua have strongly condemned the attempted Ukrainian kamikaze drone attack targeting the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kiev launched 91 long-range strike drones at Putin’s state residence in Novgorod Region on the night of December 28-29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. Russian officials said all the drones were intercepted, with no casualties or damage reported.

In a statement released on Monday evening, the UAE Foreign Ministry expressed solidarity with President Putin and the people of Russia, reaffirming Abu Dhabi’s “unwavering rejection of all forms of violence.”

“The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned the attempt to target the residence of His Excellency Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and denounced this deplorable attack and the threat it poses to security and stability,” the ministry said.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear to both his citizens and to the world that the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine will continue on until all goals are achieved, and that his forces are advancing ‘confidently’.

He chaired a televised meeting with the country’s top military officials, focused on a status update regarding Ukraine, and crucially coming the day after Presidents Trump and Zelensky met in Florida in a failed effort to reach breakthrough on the proposed peace deal. Moscow is pressing ahead with its goal of fully capturing and pacifying the four Ukrainian regions it declared part of the Russian Federation in fall of 2022 via a ‘popular referendum’.

“The goal of liberating the Donbas, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions is being carried out in stages, in accordance with the plan of the special military operation,” Putin described before underscoring, “The troops are confidently advancing.“

At the meeting it was also announced that Russian troops have made more gains in the last 24 hours, especially the capture of Dibrova village in Donetsk region.

According to an update of the meeting via RT translation, battlefield gains of the past month are significant:

In December, Russian forces liberated over 700 square kilometers of territory, taking some 32 settlements under control, Gerasimov said at the meeting. This month, the military has shown the highest rate of progress in the entire outgoing year, he noted, adding that troops are advancing “along virtually the entire frontline.”

“The adversary is not undertaking any active offensive actions. They have concentrated their main efforts on strengthening their defenses and are attempting to slow the pace of our advance by conducting counterattacks in isolated areas and using drones en masse,” Gerasimov said.

The Kremlin has at the same time reiterated that it is not interested in a ‘Plan B or Plan C’ in terms of a peace deal, but that it only seeks lasting political settlement. This will of course include international recognition of its territories in the Donbass.

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The Kremlin has claimed that Ukraine attempted to attack Vladimir Putin‘s residence in a long-range drone attack hours after Donald Trump hailed progress in peace talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ​said on ​Monday ​that ⁠Kyiv had attempted ​to ‍attack President ​Putin’s remote retreat in ‍the ‍Novgorod region and so ⁠Moscow‘s negotiating position ⁠would change, Interfax reported.

‘Such reckless actions will not ⁠go unanswered,’ Lavrov was quoted as saying, adding that the attack involved 91 long-range drones. 

Zelensky has denied the claims, calling them ‘lies’. 

It was ⁠not immediately clear if Putin was in the residence at the time. ‍

The attempted attack comes as the warring countries edge closer to signing a peace deal after almost four years of conflict. 

Trump on Sunday celebrated the success of his highly anticipated peace talks with Zelensky, revealing they are ‘very close’ to striking an agreement on all but ‘one or two thorny issues’.

The President had earlier welcomed the Ukrainian leader to his Mar-a-Lago estate with open arms when he arrived in Florida to discuss a 20-point plan aimed at ending the war with Russia.

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