Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 23:21 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that Beijing will "deepen strategic mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation" with Russia, and "with regard to the Ukrainian crisis, we consistently adhere to the fundamental principles of objectivity and impartiality, without giving preference to either one or the other side and without adding fuel to the fire, much less seeking to profit from the situation.
21:39 Kuleba is convinced that Ukraine will eventually receive all the weapons it needs from its partners: "If we sum up all the behind-the-scenes conversations, not only in Washington, but also in other countries, the conclusion is this: there will be all the necessary weapons, it's only a matter of time. "Why can't it be provided right away? Because there are psychological, logistical and political reasons. But all these reasons need to be worked on, and we will work. This is not only a matter of unwillingness. The supply of any weapon is a very complex technical and logistical operation, we are working together with colleagues from other departments with all these details."
The Foreign Minister also noted that Ukraine insists on receiving weapons from partners in connection with their obligations under the Budapest Memorandum: "We say a very simple thing to our partners: if, frankly, in collusion with the Russians, you took away nuclear weapons from us as a deterrent to Russia , and Russia attacked us, now, please, give us all the non-nuclear weapons we need so that we can defend ourselves against Russia. That's how we put the question."
21:06 Zelensky, in an evening video message, urged to be ready for another Russian strike in the coming days: "There are a few days left this year. We must be aware that our enemy will try to make this time dark and difficult for us. Russia has lost everything it could, this year. But he is trying to compensate for his losses with the gloating of his propagandists after the missile attacks on our country, on our energy. Please, these days, listen to air alerts. Look again and remember where the nearest Point of Indestructibility is located. "
20:24 The curfew in Ukraine on New Year's Eve is not canceled, spokeswoman for the head of the National Police Maryana Reva said: "People should understand that no matter what day we have - a holiday or a non-holiday, there are certain curfew requirements. The police will people will be checked, their documents will be checked, they will be taken to police units for identification or for verification.
20:11 Kazakhstan handed over 41 generators to Ukrainian hospitals, Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said. They will be sent to the regions that suffer the most from shelling - Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Dnepropetrovsk regions.
20:03 Iranian Chief of Staff General Mohammad Bagheri said about the effectiveness of Iranian drones in response to accusations of supplying them to Russia: "Besides the fact that many of these statements may be erroneous, this, in fact, indicates the effectiveness, importance and high level of the Islamic Republic in regard to drones."
18:25 The other day, in the Zabarino region of the Kherson region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the headquarters of the occupiers, where a meeting of officers of the Southern Military District of the RF Armed Forces was held. As a result, about 70 servicemen were injured, the number of dead is being specified, the General Staff said in an evening summary.
17:04 In Belarus, at the airfield in Machulishchi, one of the MiG-31K of the Russian Aerospace Forces was on fire - the carrier of the Daggers. According to the monitoring group Belaruska Gayun, the engine caught fire. The plane is disabled and will not be able to fly in the near future.
15:55 Israeli media report, citing intelligence, that Russia will soon supply Iran with advanced Su-35 multipurpose fighters. Initially, a batch of 24 fighters was intended for Egypt, but the US persuaded Cairo to abandon the deal. As a result, Russia agreed with Iran to exchange the Su-35 for kamikaze drones.
15:16 The Russians have not released residents of the occupied territories of Zaporozhye, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions through Vasilyevka towards Zaporozhye for ten days. As Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov said, for ten months the occupiers intensified terror and complicated the evacuation - in particular, they artificially created thousands of queues at checkpoints, introduced a complex system of special passes, and a month ago they stopped letting out men fit for military service. And now even children, women and the elderly have ceased to be released. People who still try to pass are told to leave their car and go to Zaporozhye on foot. According to the invaders themselves, the passage was closed until January 15.
15:03 The Russians want to launch an offensive in the Limansky direction in addition to attacks near Bakhmut and Avdeevka, said Sergey Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, the east of Ukraine remains the main theater of military operations, where the enemy has concentrated most of the armed formations, equipment, and artillery. But the Armed Forces of Ukraine are fighting back - in fact, the enemy is losing a battalion every day.
13:05 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that the Russian security forces have launched an information campaign to nationalize the property of the oligarchs to finance the war. In particular, analysts cite Prigozhin's statement about the need to confiscate property and fortune from members of the elite who ignore or do not support the war against Ukraine.
In addition, on December 22, Putin also indirectly spoke out against the Russian oligarchs, saying that Russians who are pumping money out of the Russian Federation abroad and who have no connection with the country "represent a danger." It is possible that Putin is trying to use Prigogine's threat of nationalization to coerce the elites into supporting the war and its financing, ISW concludes.
12:13 Yermak recalled that exactly 31 years ago, on December 25, 1991, the United States officially recognized Ukraine as an independent state: "Today we can safely say that the United States and Ukraine are strategic partners. Such cooperation, trust and mutual understanding, as today, have not been seen before was".
11:46 Putin, answering the question whether Russia is approaching a dangerous line in connection with the situation in Ukraine, said that he does not consider it "so dangerous," and the Russian Federation is acting in the interests of citizens: "We are ready to negotiate with everyone with participants in this process about some acceptable outcomes, but this is their business - we are not refusing to negotiate, but they are."
09:59 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy on the morning of December 25.
- personnel - about 102,050 (+620) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3011 (+5),
- armored combat vehicles - 6010 (+16),
- artillery systems - 1991 (+3),
- MLRS - 418 (+0),
- air defense systems - 212 (+0),
- aircraft - 283 (+0),
- helicopters - 267 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 1706 (+0),
- cruise missiles - 653 (+0),
- ships/boats - 16 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 4635 (+8),
- special equipment - 178 (+0).
09:21 In the Kharkiv region over the past day, as a result of enemy shelling, one person was killed in the village of Podoli, Kupyansky district, another was wounded, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said.
09:18 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, seven civilians were injured, the head of the OVA Pavel Kirilenko said.
09:14 Over the past day in the Kherson region, 13 people were killed by Russian shelling, three more employees of the State Emergency Service died during mine clearing of territories in the Berislav region. Another 64 people were injured , said the head of the OVA, Yaroslav Yanushevich.
08:42 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that the advance of Russian troops in the Bakhmut region has slowed down, while it is too early to judge whether the offensive has reached a climax. According to the ISW, the Russian forces will most likely not be able to maintain the pace of the offensive and may try to initiate a tactical or operational pause. In particular, heavy losses in the ranks of Wagner PMCs have affected the current operational capabilities of the invaders.
08:13 The enemy is concentrating its efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky and Avdeevsky directions. He does not leave attempts to improve the tactical situation in the Kupyansk direction, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in the morning summary . The Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled the attacks of the invaders in the areas of the settlements of Liman Pervy of the Kharkiv region, Stelmakhivka, Novoselovskoe, Ploshchanka, Chervonopopovka in the Luhansk region and Yakovlevka, Soledar, Bakhmutskoe, Bakhmut, Kleschievka, Kurdyumovka, Severnoye, Krasnohorovka, Vesele and Maryinka of the Donetsk region.
The occupiers continue to strengthen the regime and administrative measures in the territory of the Zaporozhye region. In Vasilievka, they imposed a curfew from December 28 to January 4. Emergency workers are issued special passes, and other residents are prohibited from leaving their homes and moving around the village.
04:15 Over the past week, Germany has already handed over the 13th Bergepanzer 2 armored recovery vehicle to Ukraine, the German government said. In total, Ukraine has already received 13 Bergerpanzer 2 and 78 border service vehicles from Germany. In addition, Berlin donated one ambulance (35 in total) and two forklifts (six in total) to Ukraine and is preparing to transfer 50 field heaters and 26 forklift replacement systems.
02:26 The UAE announced the shipment of about 2,500 household power generators to Ukraine, of which about 1,200 have already been sent through Poland, the rest should be delivered by January, the state news agency WAM reported.
01:17 Putin is in the same position as Hitler in 1943, when he had already lost the war, but it was still far from over, said European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans: "Russia is now a complete pariah in the international arena. Sanctions bite hard. War costs a lot of money. And Putin has already lost. He was wrong about the resilience of the Ukrainians. Also, no one dares to tell him the full truth anymore, including about the state of his army, which was ruined by corrupt officers."
At the same time, according to a European official, Putin "could create a lot of chaos for a very long time," including continuing to bomb Ukraine's energy infrastructure with the intent to drive people into such poverty that millions would migrate to Europe. According to Timmermans, the only thing that can change Russia's course is "the realization that the West will not surrender, no matter what happens on the battlefield."
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