Russian invasion

Peace talks

Slovakia confirms: Inviting Russia and Ukraine

Slovakia confirms that it wants to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, AFP reports.

This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin said an invitation was on the table.

Experts interviewed by the Slovak newspaper Dennik N call the arrangement unlikely: “Why would the Ukrainians agree to this?”

Zelensky has repeatedly criticized Slovakia for its close ties with Russia. Slovak President Peter Pellegrini recently said that the two countries should immediately start negotiations and that Ukraine “will be forced to make territorial concessions,” according to the Ukrainian public service channel Suspilne Novini.

Slovakia is against EU military support for Ukraine, and Prime Minister Roberto Fico recently visited Russia.

 

Putin: Slovakia wants to host peace talks

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has suggested to Vladimir Putin that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine could be organized in the country, Reuters reports. The Slovak leader, who is an outspoken opponent of EU military support for Ukraine, recently visited Russia.

In a statement, Putin claims that the Kremlin could consider peace talks there.

“We are not against it, if that were to happen. Why not? Slovakia has taken a neutral position,” Putin said, according to the news agency.

The Russian president has previously said that Russia wants to see negotiations, but stressed that the country will achieve all its goals in Ukraine.

The world's response
Reports: Biden rushes new Ukraine package

The United States will soon present a new aid package for Ukraine worth $1.25 billion, equivalent to around SEK 13.8 billion, according to government sources to the AP.

Joe Biden's administration is now trying to send Kyiv as much help as possible before Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, according to the sources.

The aid package, which is expected to be announced on Monday, will include air defense systems, Stinger missiles and artillery shells.

The fighting
US sources: Ukraine could soon be driven out of Kursk

Ukraine risks losing all the ground it has taken in Russian Kursk within a few months, US officials told Bloomberg.

So far, it has lost half of the ground it gained after the offensive in August. As Russian forces – with the support of North Koreans – have now escalated their counter-offensive, the Ukrainian soldiers risk being forced to retreat this spring to avoid the risk of being surrounded, according to the sources.

This would mean that Kyiv loses a potentially important bargaining chip in its attempts to regain the land Russia occupies in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukraine has not commented on the reports. 

Russian reactions
Russia does not rule out new nuclear tests

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov does not rule out the possibility of the country conducting new nuclear tests. In an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant, he accuses the United States and President-elect Donald Trump of being hostile to Russia.

Ryabkov says there are no exceptions when it comes to Russian measures to “ensure security.”

In 2020, the Washington Post reported that Trump and his administration were discussing nuclear weapons testing. The country has not tested nuclear weapons since the fall of the Soviet Union. The last time the United States conducted a nuclear test was in 1992.