Ukraine will ask the United States to increase pressure through sanctions against Russia and to provide more weapons, including long-range ones, if Moscow rejects diplomatic efforts to end the war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated.
Kiev supports the idea of a ceasefire, especially in attacks on energy infrastructure, during the Christmas period, the president told journalists in a WhatsApp chat.
On Tuesday, Russian air defense units destroyed a drone flying towards Moscow, according to the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained to Ukrainian media early this morning that the main obstacle to peace is the Russian demand for Ukrainians to hand over the entire Donbas region, including the territories of this eastern Ukrainian region formed by the administrative units of Luhansk and Donetsk that Moscow has not been able to conquer by force.
Zelenski also mentioned that Americans propose creating a free economic zone in these territories.
"Our position is pragmatic, realistic, and fair, and we stick to it. We do not want to give up our Donbas. Americans seek a compromise, proposing to create a free economic zone. I emphasize once again, 'free economic zone' does not mean under the control of the Russian Federation," Zelenski said. The Ukrainian president stated that "there is still no consensus" with the Americans on establishing a common position to present to the Russian side.
Russia Rules Out Territorial Concessions in Peace Talks on Ukraine
Russia is not willing to make any territorial concessions in the talks to end the war in Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov cited the state news agency TASS on Tuesday.
According to TASS, Ryabkov referred to Donbas, Crimea, and the territory strip that Moscow calls "Novorossiya".
Russia Does Not Understand Berlin Agreements on Ukraine
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated that Moscow still does not understand the agreements reached by the United States, Ukraine, and the European Union in Berlin, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday.
Leaders of ten European countries, as well as the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met in Berlin on Monday to support talks between the United States and Ukraine.
Poczobut's Circle Urges Not to Forget About Political Prisoners in Belarus
The "Polish Community" association, which aims to strengthen Poland's ties with its diaspora and minorities, attends this Tuesday to receive the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for one of their own, journalist Andrzej Poczobut, with the goal of "not stopping talking" about him and the rest of the Russian political prisoners in Belarus.
Although his daughter Jana will receive the award on his behalf, she will be accompanied by Anna Kietliska, the president of one of the sections of this association where Poczobut was a leader before being sentenced to eight years in prison after more than a dozen arrests by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk.
"We have to talk about them, be persistent, talk about them loudly and clearly. We try to do it in Poland, but with the current political climate, everything that is happening in Europe and in the world, with the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza or in Georgia, it is very easy for us to forget," Kietliska warns in an interview with EFE in Strasbourg (France).
Georgian Journalism Warns: "We Are What Stands in Russia's Path to Europe"
Georgian journalist Irma Dimitradze, who receives the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on behalf of her imprisoned colleague Mzia Amaglobeli this Tuesday, goes to the European Parliament with a message to the EU: what happens in Ukraine, Belarus, or Georgia "is not so far" from what can happen in the heart of Europe.
"If you had asked me a year and a half ago if I thought this would happen in Georgia, I would have said no. We said that Georgia was not Belarus or Russia, and it is not, but the reality is that losing democracy and human rights legislation is much easier and faster than building them," Dimitradze said in an interview with EFE from Strasbourg (France).
According to the journalist, Georgia's ruling party, Georgian Dream, shifted from the country's European aspirations to pro-Russian positions, thinking that Vladimir Putin would succeed in his invasion of Ukraine, but she assured that the population "demands to return to the path towards the EU" and called for "courage" from the Twenty-Seven.
"We believe in the EU and bet on your strength and victory. We want you to believe in yourselves in the same way and fight for your freedom, which is now threatened in the countries on your borders. What happens in Georgia, Ukraine, and Belarus is not so far from what will happen in the heart of Europe: we are simply in Russia's path to Europe," she warned.
Russia Insists on Maintaining Control of Kupyansk Despite Ukrainian Counteroffensive
Russia continues to control the city of Kupyansk, an important Ukrainian stronghold in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, despite the Ukrainian counteroffensive announced last Friday by President Volodymyr Zelenski, as reported by a Russian military spokesperson today.
"The units of the Western military group continue to carry out their combat missions in the area of the special military operation. The city of Kupyansk is under the control of the Sixth Army," stated the spokesperson for this force, Leonid Zharov, to the Russian news agency TASS. He mentioned that "the enemy tries every day to infiltrate small groups into the town through the city's cemetery but suffers heavy losses in personnel and combat vehicles."
"The units of the group repel the enemy's attacks on the towns of Tishchenkivka, Moskivka, and Sobolivka (adjacent to Kupyansk) and maintain control of these, attacking from a distance with artillery fire and assault drones, preventing their advance towards Kupyansk," he added.
Russia Shoots Down 83 Ukrainian Drones over Six Russian Regions
Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot down 83 Ukrainian drones over six Russian regions during the past night, less than half compared to the previous day, as reported today on Telegram by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
"During the past night, the anti-aircraft defense systems annihilated 83 fixed-wing drones," stated the Russian military command. According to Defense, most of the attacks took place in the Bryansk region, where 64 drones were shot down. In the Kaluga region, nine drones were neutralized, and five in Smolensk.
Kaluga Governor, Vladislav Shapsha, confirmed the downing of the nine drones in four municipalities of the region, noting that there were no casualties or material damage, similar to his counterpart in Smolensk, Vitaly Anojin, who also mentioned that the nighttime attack did not cause any harm.
Pakistan Seeks Oil Agreement with Russia
Russia and Pakistan are in talks about a possible agreement in the oil sector, stated Pakistan's Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, to the RIA news agency, as published on Tuesday.
"All these areas are Russia's strong points. And we would be very pleased if Russia accepted an agreement in this sector with Pakistan," Aurangzeb told RIA in an interview when asked about broader cooperation in exploration, production, and refining between the two countries. "At the moment, the issue is being discussed by the Energy Ministries of both parties," he added.