In an apparent attempt to exert some military might at home in 2025 and sway US-US peace negotiations, Russia is doubling down on its claims to Ukraine.
In a press conference held on Friday for the year-end, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow’s forces had taken control of Siversk in Donetsk’s eastern region and Vovchansk in the northern Kharkiv region.
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Additionally, Putin asserted that Russian forces were in charge of Hulyaipole in southern Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Kostiantynivka, both of which are front-line towns.
Ukraine’s observers pleaded for a different opinion. According to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), satellite and open-source visual evidence disprove Putin.
In 7.3 percent of Hulyaipole and 2.9 percent of Lyman, the company wrote, “ISW has observed no evidence to support any of these claimed seizures or extensive advances, and has only observed evidence indicating a Russian presence [either through infiltration missions or assaults].”
The ISW also estimated that only 5% of Kostiantynivka was held by Russian advances.
According to the ISW, “even Russian military reporters’ claimed advances do not support many of Putin’s claims,” with milbloggers claiming that “Russian forces have seized a maximum” of about 7% of Lyman and 1% of Kostiantynivka.
Additionally, the Kremlin asserts that it has all of Kupiansk’s in Kharkiv and Pokrovsk’s in Donetsk. No more than 7.2 percent of Kharkiv’s population, according to the ISW, and the commander-in-chief of Ukraine has claimed that Ukrainian forces have pushed Russia out of Pokrovsk’s 16 square kilometers (6. 61 square miles).
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov claimed a week earlier that Russia had seized 6, 300 sq km (2, 432sq miles) of Ukraine in a report that was released on December 18 to foreign military officials.
Instead of the 300 settlements that Russian officials have claimed, the ISW estimated that Russia has seized no more than 4, 984 square kilometers (1, 900 square miles) of land.
Putin did, however, make one accurate claim about Siversk, which is in eastern Russia.
Zelenskyy applauds “cooperation” with the US despite disagreements.
The false Russian claims came during US and Ukrainian negotiators’ intensive negotiations on a peace plan, which ended on Monday following three days of discussions in Florida.
In a Tuesday evening address to his people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “We sense that America wants to reach a final agreement, and from our side, there is full cooperation.”
However, the US and Ukraine had no agreement on the most delicate territory issue, despite the 20-point plan he made public on Wednesday morning.
Along with Crimea, Russia has demanded that Ukraine formally cede the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson.
Ukraine rejects. Following a full ceasefire, Europe has suggested allowing for territorial discussion.
Zelenskyy demanded a summit with US President Donald Trump to agree on a joint position on territorial adjustments.
Importantly, the US consented to security guarantees of the kind offered by NATO to Ukraine, which could trigger a military conflict if Russia attacked it again.
Separately, the European Union has stated that it will soon declare Ukraine a full member, which would also grant it access to bloc members’ collective defense, the majority of whom are NATO members.
The plan, which Moscow had demanded and the US had included in its original proposal, also allows Ukraine to maintain its military at full strength and doesn’t require it to recognize occupied territory as de facto Russian.
The 20-point document was hacked out by Washington and Kyiv, according to the Kremlin.
Russian President Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated to reporters on Wednesday that it would “formulate” its position and “continue our contacts in the very near future through the existing channels that are currently working.
Long-range bombings
Russia and Ukraine engaged in long-range missile and drone strikes as the conflict raged on the ground.
Russia fired 1, 227 drones and 41 missiles at Ukraine during the week of December 18 to December 24. At least four civilians were killed in strikes on Saturday and Tuesday, including a young child, despite Ukraine’s ability to intercept 80% of the drones and 83 percent of the missiles.
On December 20, the Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) reported that it struck two Russian Su-27 fighter jets at a Belbek airbase close to Sevastopol in Crimea. Ukraine had hit a MiG-31 interceptor aircraft two days prior because of weak air defense systems at the base.
Additionally, Ukraine claimed to have struck one of Lukoil’s drilling platforms and struck a Russian oil rig in the Caspian Sea.
This year, Ukraine has targeted Russian refineries, power plants, and other energy infrastructure in an effort to stymie Moscow’s export revenues and fuel supply.
Ukraine began using surface drones to attack Russian tankers in November. Ukrainian aerial drones flew over the Qendil in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, marking the first time Ukraine has launched tankers so far away from its shores.
The head of the Russian General Staff’s operational training department, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, was shot dead on Monday by Ukrainian military intelligence using a car bomb.
European assistance
Trump made the announcement shortly after taking office that he would no longer provide military support to Ukraine and instead agreed to sell weapons to Kyiv, which are now being funded by the European Union, Canada, Australia, and Japan.
A 90-billion-euro ($106bn) loan to Ukraine was approved by the European Council of government leaders on Friday, marking a significant milestone in the process.
Over the next two years, Ukraine will receive at least 45 billion dollars ($53 billion). After the decision, Zelenskyy informed Ukrainians that only Russian funds can be used to repay these funds. After Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and Belgium blocked a plan to use the money as collateral for a reparations loan to Ukraine, Europe pointedly denied any connection between the 210 billion euros in Russian state assets that were immobilized in European banks and the loan.
After everything Putin has been destroyed, and all the difficult choices Europe had to make as a result of his war, no one will ever be able to explain to European leaders why Europe should give him $200 billion.
The US-Ukrainian 20-point plan promises to raise $800 billion to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Source: Aljazeera
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