Russian President Vladimir Putin has held talks in the Kremlin with those responsible for the military campaign in Ukraine. “I would like to hear your proposals on actions to be taken in the short and medium term,” Putin said during the meeting. Meanwhile, on the ground, Russian forces have resumed attacks against Ukraine using Iranian kamikaze drones, according to Andrii Yusov of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. According to the official, Iran has shipped a new batch of Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 drones to Russian forces, specifying that it is a relatively small batch without however providing details on the quantity of the devices shipped. The pounding by Russian forces continued in the towns of Nikopol, Marhanets and Chervonohryhorivka, which lie across the Dnipro River from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The installation of a protective dome over the spent fuel storage area has begun at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Russian private militia Wagner group killed ten mercenaries who refused to fight in Ukraine, reports the independent Russian media The Insider. Moscow intervenes on the EU sanctions: “They will have the effect of aggravating the socio-economic problems in the EU itself,” said the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Zakarova.
The analysis – Putin’s catastrophe
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00.30 – Nyt: US tried to prevent Kiev from killing Gerasimov
The US tried to prevent Ukraine from killing the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov. The supports it New York Times according to which American officials had learned that the general had decided to visit Russian troops at the front and did not share the information with Kiev for fear of an attack on him that would then lead to a war between the US and Russia. However, Kiev learned of the visit and decided to launch an attack, despite the Biden administration’s request not to do so. “Dozens of Russian soldiers were killed on that occasion, Gerasimov was not one of them.”
00.01 – Zelensky: electricity restored for 6 million people in 24 hours
Electricity has been restored to nearly 6 million Ukrainians in Ukraine in the last 24 hours, following a series of Russian missile attacks that targeted various energy infrastructures on Friday. This was stated by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in his daily evening speech. “Repair work continues unabated after yesterday’s terrorist attack,” Zelensky said.
The news and insights of yesterday 17 December
The Wagner Mi-8 helicopter hit by the missile tries to save itself but is devoured by flames
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