Russian invasion

Negotiations
Russian Foreign Ministry: “It is moving slowly but surely forward”

For the first time, positive tones are being heard about the peace negotiations from the Russian side.

– It is moving slowly but surely forward, says Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova according to Reuters.

Special envoy Kirill Dmitriyev has received a peace proposal from the US that is being analyzed by Russia.

– We hope that Trump’s pragmatism and rationality will contribute to finding a solution within the framework of international law, says Maria Zakharova.

A source close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg yesterday that Putin will probably say no to several parts of the proposal. 

Zelenskyj's advisor: Russia wants to play the US off

Russia is exploiting the peace negotiations to undermine the US's global leading role and credibility as a peace broker. This is claimed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj's advisor Mykhaylo Podoliak in a post on X.

"Russia is once again showing a total lack of respect for all agreements and continues to play a blatant game to undermine the US's global leadership," he writes.

The move comes after a Russian statement about progress after a round of negotiations with the US based on the 20-point plan proposed by Donald Trump, according to Reuters.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has not commented on the negotiations on Thursday.

“Not even on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day has Russia stopped its brutal attacks on Ukraine,” he writes on X.

Security in Europe
Russian reconnaissance aircraft spotted over the Baltic Sea on Christmas Day

A Russian reconnaissance aircraft was spotted over the Baltic Sea near the border with Polish airspace on Christmas Day, Reuters reports.

On X, the Polish Armed Forces write that the Russian plane was identified, intercepted and escorted away by Polish fighter jets.

During the night, objects were also observed entering airspace from Belarus, and Poland temporarily closed airspace locally over the Podlaskie region.

“After a thorough analysis, it was determined that they were probably smuggling balloons moving in the direction and speed of the wind,” reads the statement from the Armed Forces.

Russian bombers flew over the Norwegian Sea

Russian long-range strategic bombers of the Tu-95ms model have carried out a planned flight over the Arctic Ocean north of Norway. This is stated in a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry, writes Reuters.

The aircraft were over neutral waters and passed through the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea, according to Russia.

“During some stages of the flight, the bombers were accompanied by fighter jets from other countries,” the statement continues.