Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Slovakian Prime Minister Roberto Fico at the Kremlin on Sunday, making an unusual visit to Moscow for a European Union leader. As the deadline for the contract allowing Russian gas to pass through Ukraine approaches. Slovakia, which relies on gas transiting through neighboring Ukraine, has stepped up efforts to maintain gas supplies from 2025, while criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for refusing to extend a contract that expires at the end of the year. are. Under a five-year agreement signed before the war, Russian natural gas still flows through Ukraine to some European countries, including Slovakia. “Russian President Putin has confirmed that (the Russian Federation) is ready to continue gas supplies to the West and Slovakia, but given the position of the President of Ukraine, there will be virtually no supply after January 1, 2025. “It's possible,” Fico said. Last month, Slovakia signed a short-term pilot contract to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan, and earlier this year signed a deal to import U.S. liquefied natural gas through a pipeline from Poland. The country can also receive gas through the Austrian, Hungarian and Czech networks, allowing imports from Germany, among other potential suppliers.
Russia has captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine, the latest territorial gains for advancing Moscow forces. The Defense Ministry announced in a telegram on Sunday that its forces had “liberated” the village of Rozova, northeast of Kharkiv, and the Ukrainian village of Krasnoye, called Sontsivka. The latter is close to the Russian-almost-besieged resource hub of Krahov and would be an important prize in Moscow's attempts to seize the entire Donetsk region. Russia has accelerated its expansion into eastern Ukraine in recent months, seeking to secure as much territory as possible before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. Moscow's forces have claimed to have captured more than 190 Ukrainian settlements this year, and Kiev is struggling to hold its front in the face of shortages of manpower and ammunition.
President Zelensky told Ukrainian diplomats on Sunday that the country must fight to persuade allies to admit it into NATO.But it says this goal is “achievable” as it seeks security protections from Russia. Kiev said membership in the Transatlantic Military Alliance, or an equivalent form of security, would be critical to any peace plan to prevent Russia from attacking again. NATO has said Ukraine will join at some point, but has not said when it will join or if it will issue an invitation.
Dmytro Rubinets, head of the human rights committee in Ukraine's parliament, claimed on Sunday that Russian forces had executed five Ukrainian prisoners of war.Hi. Rubinets claimed in a Telegram message that Russian forces captured five unarmed soldiers and shot them dead, without providing further details. “Russian war criminals who shot and killed Ukrainian prisoners of war should be brought before an international tribunal and punished with the harshest penalties provided by law,” Rubinets said. Russia did not immediately comment on the incident, but has previously denied any war crimes.
video called Russia's capture of an Australian man fighting for Ukraine on the eastern front of the war shows the Australian government conducting an urgent investigation.. In a video circulating on Telegram, a man identified as Oscar Jenkins is seen being punched several times and being roughly interrogated in Russian. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has noted that the Russian military sometimes spreads misinformation, said on Monday that the news was “alarming” and that the government, in reviewing the facts, said: “This gentleman “We are striving to provide support, including support,” he said.
On Sunday, Ukrainian drones attacked a major Russian fuel depot for the second time in just over a week.A senior Russian regional official said the attack was part of a “large-scale” cross-border attack on fuel and energy facilities that Kiev supplies to Moscow's military. The airstrike came days after Russia launched a sweeping assault on Ukraine's already battered energy grid. Thousands of families are feared to be plunged into darkness as winter tightens its grip on the region, marking the third anniversary of Russia's all-out invasion of its neighbour.
