Putin says Russia ready for missile ‘duel’ with US
We have some more comments from Putin at the press conference. According to Reuters, he suggested a missile “duel” with the US that would show how innovative Russia is Orasonic Hypersonic ballistic missiles can defeat any American missile defense system. Putin has used the missile, which has nuclear capability, as a way to deter and threaten the West.
Addressing Western skepticism about Oreshnik, the Russian President suggested that both sides select a designated target to be protected by American missiles. “We are ready for such an experiment,” Putin was quoted as saying.
Russia first fired an Oreshnik missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on 21 November, which Putin said was a response to Ukraine’s earlier use of US Atakams ballistic missiles and British Storm Shadows to attack Russian territory with Western permission Was. US and UK sources indicated at the time that they believed the missile fired at Dnipro was an experimental nuclear-capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a theoretical range of 3,420 miles (5,500 km). is less than. It is large enough to reach Europe from where it was fired into southwestern Russia, but not to the Americas.
major events
ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky Today met the President of the European Council, Antonio Costaand European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a two-day summit in Brussels.
“As we approach the start of the New Year, we really need unity among the United States, the European Union, and European countries,” Zelensky wrote in a post on“Only together, the US and Europe can truly stop Putin and save Ukraine,” the Ukrainian leader said. He said the main focus of the discussion was how to best protect Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which has come under intense attack from Russia. Increasing domestic defense production.
Zelensky and von der Leyen discussed Kiev’s accession to the EU and the use of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine fight off invading Russian forces. Zelensky is scheduled to begin a press conference any moment now. We’ll bring you the lines when the conference starts.
Putin suggests Russia should have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine before February 2022
Vladimir Putin During the lengthy press conference it was also suggested that Moscow should have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier, meaning the country was not adequately prepared for a war that would last nearly three years.
Referring to his decision to order troops into Ukraine in February 2022, he said:
If it were possible to look at the situation knowing what is happening now, I would think that the decision that has been taken should have been taken much earlier…
We started the events of 2022 without any preparation… If we had known earlier what would happen, there should have been a systemic preparation.
Earlier this month, Volodymyr Zelensky said 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 370,000 wounded since Russia launched its invasion. He also claimed that 198,000 Russian soldiers were killed and another 550,000 were wounded.
This is the Associated Press’s summary of Putin’s press conferences so far:
President Vladimir Putin has claimed that his military campaign in Ukraine has strengthened Russia and denied that the collapse of a key ally in Syria has dealt a blow to Moscow’s reputation.
The Russian leader tried to show strength and spontaneity. As is typical, he used the closely organized program to consolidate his authority and demonstrate extensive control over everything from consumer prices to military hardware.
He claimed that nearly three years of fighting in Ukraine has strained the Russian economy and the country’s military and praised his troops’ gains there. Russian troops are slowly but steadily advancing into Ukraine. But the Kremlin has also suffered some embarrassing setbacks.
Putin says he is ready for talks with Trump ‘at any time’
Vladimir Putin has said he is ready for talks “at any time” with US President-elect Donald Trump, who has boasted of his ability to seal a Ukraine peace deal within hours of coming into office.
Trump, who will return to the White House in January, has stoked fears in Kiev that he could force Ukraine to accept peace on terms favorable to Moscow.
Holding his annual press conference at the end of the year, the Kremlin leader said his troops held the upper hand on the battlefield, but he was forced to admit he did not know when Russia would recapture the western Kursk region. Lega where Ukrainian troops had infiltrated in August.
Asked about Trump’s proposals regarding a potential peace deal, Putin, 72, said he would welcome a meeting with the visiting Republican.
I don’t know when I will meet him. He is not saying anything about this. I haven’t spoken to him for over four years. Of course, I am ready for it. Any time.
If we ever meet President-elect Trump I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about.
He said Russia was ready for “dialogue and compromise.”
Finland’s Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen has said that even after the war in Ukraine ends, Russia and the countries supporting it will remain a threat to Europe.
Hakkanen said at a press conference:
Russia, together with its allies, will remain a dangerous actor in Europe even after the war in Ukraine and we cannot rule out the possibility of threatening European countries with the use of military force.
Earlier today, Finland published its first defense policy review since joining NATO.
Here are some of the latest images from Russia and Ukraine:
We’ve got more from Putin’s press conference, where he was asked about the recent assassination of a senior general in Moscow.
Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian military’s chemical weapons unit, was assassinated by a bomb planted on a scooter in Moscow on Tuesday, the most daring assassination carried out by Kiev since the beginning of the conflict.
Putin said the killing was a Russian security failure:
These hits are not present in our special services. They missed this hit.
This means that we need to improve this work. We should not allow such serious mistakes to be made.
Summary of the day so far…
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Vladimir Putin Holding its annual press conference in Moscow today. In it the Russian President suggests a missile “duel” with the US that would show how innovative Russia is Orasonic Hypersonic ballistic missile can defeat any American missile defense system. He also said the Russian economy could grow 4% this year but acknowledged inflation was a worrying sign. Putin also said that relations between Russia and China have reached a level never seen before, adding that the two countries are coordinating their actions on the international stage and will continue to do so.
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At least 100 North Koreans deployed to support Russia’s war effort In South Korean lawmaker says people have been killed in Ukraine since entering the war in December Lee Seong-kwan Told reporters this morning. Another 1,000 Pyongyang soldiers have been wounded, he said.
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Ukraine attacked Russian territory with at least 13 missiles and 84 drones, causing fires Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery in the south Rostov region Russian officials said Thursday that it burned for hours. Ukraine later claimed responsibility for the attack, which the country’s military said started a fire at the refinery, which was used to supply Russian armed forces.
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According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian air defenses shot down 84 drones over Russian territories, including 36 drones in the Rostov region.
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The Russian army has captured the villages of novi komar And botanical garden in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the Interfax news agency reported.
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British troops could be sent to Ukraine to train troops in the war against Russia, Britain’s Defense Secretary said. John HealyHas suggested.
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Today the summit of European Union leaders is taking place in Brussels.
Reuters is presenting some full quotes from Vladimir Putin’s press conference in Moscow (see post at 10.06 for more details) regarding the situation on the front line in Ukraine. The Russian President said:
I must say that the situation (at the front) is changing dramatically… The entire front line is in turmoil. Every day…
And as you said, we are moving towards solving our primary tasks, which we outlined at the beginning of the special military operation…
Everyone is fighting valiantly indeed. And they are fighting right now.
Let us wish all those who are fighting in the Kursk region (of Russia) and those who are fighting on the entire front line, all the best, victory and return home.
As we mentioned in the initial summary, South Korean legislators Lee Seong-kwan At least 100 North Koreans deployed to support Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine have been killed since they entered the war in December, a press conference this morning said.
He also said that “numerous North Korean casualties” had already been attributed to Ukrainian missile and drone attacks and training accidents, with the highest ranking “at least at a general level”.
South Korea’s spy agency said North Korea’s high number of casualties could be attributed to “the unfamiliar battlefield environment, where North Korean forces are being used as expendable frontline assault units, and their ability to counter drone attacks.” can be attributed to “lack of”, Li said.
North Korea has pledged to support Moscow until it achieves a “great victory” in Ukraine, as my colleague Luke Harding puts it And Alessio Mamo writes in this story about Pyongyang’s involvement in the war.
With ammunition and missiles, thousands of North Korean soldiers are fighting in Russia Kursk According to the Kyiv Independent, the area would have to be ousted by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine launched a surprise offensive in the Kursk region in August, but has since lost more than 40% of the territory it captured as Russian forces launched counter-attacks.
Putin says Russia-China relations have reached a level never seen before
In his press conference, Vladimir Putin said that relations between Russia and China have reached a level never seen before, adding that the two countries are coordinating their actions on the international stage and will continue to do so .
China and Russia announced a “no borders” partnership in February 2022, when Putin visited Beijing less than three weeks before his military launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The US says China is supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine by supplying so-called dual-use goods, including microelectronics, that could help it make weapons, a charge Beijing denies.