Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,402

On Saturday, December 27, 2018, this is how things are going.

Fighting

• According to reports, air defenses were in use early on Saturday and the military issued a warning about the imminent deployment of missiles in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Witnesses claimed that the city’s air defenses were in use. Russian cruise and ballistic missiles were being used to attack the city, according to a military Telegram channel.
• The Ukrainian village of Kosivtseve in the southeast of Zaporizhia was taken over by Russia’s Ministry of Defense, according to the country’s defense ministry, adding that the village had been secured by more than 23 square kilometers (9 miles) of territory.
• A group of just three infiltrating Russian soldiers deceived Ukrainian forces into abandoning a post in Kosivtseve, prompting an apology from the Ukrainian military for one of its units.
• Ukrainian deputy prime minister Oleksii Kuleba said in a statement on Telegram that Russian drone attacks have damaged vessels under the flags of Slovakia, Palau, and Liberia in Ukrainian ports in Odesa and Mykolaiv regions. According to Kuleba, the attacks didn’t cause any casualties.
• A separate drone attack at the northwestern Kovel railway station, which is located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Polish border, also caused damage to a locomotive and a freight car, Kuleba added.
• A local task force reported that a Ukrainian drone attack at Russia’s Azov Sea port of Temryuk had set off a fire. LPG, oil, petrochemicals, grain, and other bulk food items are handled at Timryuk port.
• According to Russian news outlets, the Defense Ministry claimed that seven Storm Shadow missiles made by the country were detonated by Russian forces last week.
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has accused Russia of attacking Ukrainian targets by attacking Ukrainian targets with ordinary apartment blocks on Belarus’s soil. Zelenskyy criticized Belarus for reneging on its sovereignty in favor of Russia’s aggressive goals.
• Diffusion of aerial objects, thought to be balloons used by smugglers, approached its airspace from Belarus overnight, with Poland deploying fighter jets to intercept a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near its airspace over the Baltic Sea.

Regional security

• According to the American researchers, the Planet Labs imagery revealed a labored construction project that occurred between August 4 and August 12, and that the images featured features that were consistent with those of a Russian strategic missile base, according to the report.
• According to Interfax news agency, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov reported that Russia was “somewhat” halting the export of Russian-made military equipment to prioritize deliveries to its own armed forces.

Peace talks

• As negotiations for a 20-point peace framework and a security guarantee deal nearing a close, President Zelenskyy said he wants to talk with US President Donald Trump about territorial issues, the main stumbling block in the war’s resolution.
• Zelenskyy claimed in a separate interview with the Axios news site that Kyiv desired a longer-term agreement while the US offered a 15-year security guarantee deal that could be renewed.
• Axios also quoted Zelenskyy as saying that if he is unable to persuade the US to support Ukraine’s “strong” position on the land issue in the peace proposal, he will support putting the 20-point plan in a referendum as long as Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire in order to allow Ukraine to get ready for and hold the election.

• According to Interfax-Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov claimed Kyiv’s 20-point plan was radically different from what Russia and the US have been talking about.
• Additionally, Ryabkov charged Ukraine with trying to “torpedo” the talks, adding that Moscow’s success will depend “on our own work and the other party’s political will.”
• Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, reportedly told some of its top businessmen that he might be willing to sell some of the Ukrainian government-controlled territory in exchange for the entire Donbass.

diplomacy and politics

• Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, addressed President Vladimir Putin’s New Year’s greetings, claiming that his country and Russia “blooded the Ukraine war with blood, life, and death.” In order to combat Ukraine, Pyongyang has sent countless troops to Russia.