War in Ukraine: Slovakia offers to negotiate, Russia accuses kyiv of assassinating officers… an update on the situation

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Thursday, December 26, 2024, discover the latest news about this conflict.

Russia says it has foiled Ukrainian plans to assassinate Russian officers

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday it had foiled several plots by Ukrainian intelligence to assassinate high-ranking officers and their families in Moscow. Major General Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces, was killed on December 17 in Moscow when a scooter bomb exploded outside his apartment building.

A source in the SBU, Ukraine's security service, claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of his agency. Russia has denounced the attack as Ukraine committed the attack and vowed retaliation. “The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation has foiled a series of attempts to assassinate high-ranking military personnel of the Defense Ministry,”, the FSB said. “Four Russian citizens involved in the preparation of these attacks have been arrested”, he added.

The FSB said the suspects had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence. One of the men had recovered a bomb disguised as an electric battery in Moscow that was to be attached to the car of a Russian Defense Ministry official, according to the FSB. Another man had been tasked with monitoring various Russian defense officials. One of the assassination plans was to have a bomb that looked like a briefcase delivered, the FSB said.

Putin says Slovakia offered to host Ukraine talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Slovakia had offered to be a “platform” for possible peace negotiations on Ukraine, nearly three years after the Russian assault began.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico “said that if there are negotiations, they (the Slovaks, ed.) would be happy to provide the platform for their country,”Vladimir Putin said at a press conference, saying he considered this solution “acceptable”. “We are not against it”, he stressed, praising Slovakia's “neutral position”.

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Robert Fico, one of the few European leaders who have remained close to the Kremlin, met with the Russian president in Moscow on December 22. This visit by a European leader to the Russian capital, a very rare move, went against the policy of isolating Vladimir Putin implemented by the West, which is trying to present a united front in its support for kyiv.

The possibility of peace negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, triggered by the Russian offensive in February 2022, is increasingly being discussed less than a month before Donald Trump returns to the White House. The Republican, who was president from 2017 to 2021, has repeatedly promised to restore peace in Ukraine “within 24 hours” and has called for an “immediate ceasefire” as well as talks.

But the vagueness surrounding his plan is causing concern in Ukraine. In difficulty on the front and highly dependent on Western aid, it fears being forced into an agreement that would be unfavorable to it. Robert Fico, who has been leading the government of Slovakia, a member state of the EU and NATO, since autumn 2023, has decided to stop all military aid to Ukraine and is calling for peace talks.

He also accuses kyiv of jeopardizing his country's supply of Russian gas, on which it is highly dependent. Ukraine announced last summer that it would not renew the contract linking it until the end of the year to Russia to transport Russian gas to Europe via its extensive network of gas pipelines. No credible solution has yet been found.

The Ukrainians “are already punishing Europe by terminating the contract for the supply of our gas”, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. It is impossible to conclude a new contract “in 3-4 days”, he insisted.

The Russian president assured that his country remains ready to supply gas to the EU, suggesting in particular that it be transported through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, a significant section of which passes through Poland. Vladimir Putin affirmed that Russia would achieve “all (its) goals in Ukraine”. “This is the number one task”,he said. In this regard, the Russian president warned that his country was ready to use its latest generation Oreshnik missile again.

“If it proves necessary and if we see that the use of more powerful medium-range weapons is required, of course, we will use them, of course. But we are in no hurry,” he said.

The Russian army used this missile for the first time on November 21 against a Ukrainian city, Putin having presented this attack as a response to the recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil using American and British missiles, while threatening to directly strike the countries that arm kyiv. He has repeatedly threatened to bomb “decision-making centers” in kyiv.

Ukraine: Biden slams Russian Christmas Day attack as “outrageous”

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called the massive Russian attack on Ukraine's Christmas Day power grid “outrageous” after Moscow launched more than 170 missiles and drones, killing one person.

“The goal of this outrageous attack was to cut off the Ukrainian people's access to heat and electricity during the winter and to jeopardize the security of Ukraine. of its network,” Biden said in a statement.