War in Ukraine: Russian advance, drones on Kazan, exchanges with the CIA… an update on the situation

Des rencontres régulières entre le président ukrainien et le directeur de la CIA. Capture d'écran X

Tous les jours, Midi Libre fait le point sur la situation en Ukraine. Ce samedi 21 décembre 2024, découvrez les dernières actualités autour de ce conflit.

Nouvelle avancée russe

The Russian army claimed on Saturday the capture of a Ukrainian village near the town of Kurakhove, an area in eastern Ukraine where its soldiers have been advancing in recent months. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that its troops had “liberated” Kostiantynopolské, some eight kilometers southwest of the industrial city of Kurakhové, which Moscow's army seems close to seizing.

This city, which had about 18,000 inhabitants before the conflict, and which is home to a large deposit of lithium, a rare mineral, seems to be a major target for the Russians.

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Drones over Kazan, the closed airport

Earlier, drones launched by Ukraine targeted the city of Kazan, located more than 700 km east of Moscow, whose airport has been temporarily closed, Russian media reported. Russian news agencies said the attack targeted a residential complex, while the Defense Ministry said it occurred between 7:40 and 9:20 a.m. The Russian press, which relies on local authorities, reported no casualties. On Telegram, the mayor of Kazan announced that all rallies planned for this weekend would be canceled.

“If before industrial enterprises were attacked, now the enemy attacks civilians in the morning, right in their homes,” the leader of the republic of Tatarstan where the city is located, Rustam Minnikhanov, said on Telegram.

Zelensky met with the CIA

Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that he had met with CIA Director William Burns in Ukraine, a rare occurrence since the Russian-led invasion. “Bill Burns made his last visit to Ukraine as CIA Director,” Zelensky said in a Telegram message, adding that the two men had “many meetings during this war”, most of which were not disclosed.

“He and I had many meetings during this war, and I am grateful for his help,” the Ukrainian president added. “Usually, such meetings are not made public, and all our meetings – in Ukraine, in other European countries, in America and in other parts of the world – took place without official information,” Zelensky said.

The United States has been Ukraine's largest financial and military supporter in the nearly three years since the Moscow attack, and Washington has also reportedly regularly shared military intelligence with Ukraine to support its defense. Bill Burns is expected to step down as CIA chief following the handover to US President-elect Donald Trump.

The last confirmed meeting between Mr. Zelensky and Burns took place in mid-2023, according to U.S. officials who announced in July 2023 that Mr. Burns had recently made a secret trip to Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Bill Burns in front of a Ukrainian state coat of arms. He did not say when the meeting took place, but said it was the last meeting between the two men before Bill Burns leaves office. The meeting comes at a critical moment in the war, a month before Donald Trump takes office. The Republican has pledged to end the war “in 24 hours,” stoking fears that kyiv will be forced to accept peace on terms favorable to Moscow.