Waiting for the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House, Volodymyr Zelensky takes a new step forward to imagine the end of the conflict. The Ukrainian leader opens to a freezing of the conflict with «the unoccupied part of Ukraine immediately under the umbrella of NATO», while we will then think about the territories occupied by the Russians: «We can bring them back in a diplomatic way», he hypothesizes in an interview with Sky News.
Zelensky – who today, under the pressure of the Russian advance in the east of the country, torpedoed the commander of the ground troops Oleksandr Pavliukin office for only nine months, appointing in his place Mykhailo Drapatyi – also renews his desire for dialogue with Trump: «I want to work directly with him because there are different voices in the people around him. And this is why we must not (allow) anyone to destroy our communication.”
Strengthening the Russia-North Korea axis
If the Ukrainian president works to hold on to his main ally, the Russia confirms the strengthening of the military axis with the North Korea after the alarms raised by Western countries and by Seoul due to the presence of North Korean troops in Russian territory. Moscow and Pyongyang are expanding their relations «in all sectors, including military collaboration», declared the Russian Defense Minister, Andrei Belousovon a surprise visit to Pyongyang.
Meeting his North Korean counterpart, No Kwang CholBelousov underlined the importance of the strategic cooperation treaty signed this year between the two countries, which among other things, he said, will favor «a new system of Eurasian security». A confirmation, if any were still needed, of the fact that the regionIndo-Pacific it is linked to the European continent, and with the conflict in Ukraine, as a global challenge between the West and the front of the countries that denounce its claims of hegemony.
The Russian-Chinese exercises and the British accusations
As proof of this there was an exercise for the Russian-Chinese strategic air patrol – the ninth since the beginning of the year – on Sea of Japanwhich saw five aircraft involved Beijing and you are from Moscow and who induced the South Korea to put its fighter jets on alert.
Moving to Europe, Richard Moorethe head ofMI6the British foreign intelligence service, accused Moscow of planning “an incredibly audacious campaign of sabotage in Europe».
The bombings and the Russian advance
After the massifs bombings with missiles and drones over Ukraine in recent days, in response to the use of American and British missiles to hit Russian territory, the Ministry of Defense today claimed the conquest of another village, Vorovskoyein the region of Donetsk. Two other settlements had been occupied by the Russians in the same region and one in that of Karkhiv during the week. The head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyvisited the towns of Pokrovsk And Kurakhhovein Donetsk, threatened by the Russian advance. “We continue to contain the enemy and inflict heavy losses on him,” Syrsky assured.
Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory
However, Ukrainian forces appear capable of continuing to inflict heavy blows on energy plants on Russian territory. The General Staff said that for the second time in a year the oil depot was bombed Atlas in the region of Rostov. According to the same source, another attack would have destroyed a radar station of the Russian anti-aircraft missile system Buk-M3located in the occupied territory of the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia.
The exchange of bodies between Ukraine and Russia
The Ukrainian authorities have meanwhile announced that Russia has handed over the bodies of 502 soldiers killed to the front, without specifying whether it is an exchange or not. This is the second repatriation of this type this month: Kiev had recovered the bodies of 563 soldiers at the beginning of November.