Live blog: Ukraine vows no territorial concession to Russia

Friday, December 30, 2022

Ukraine vows no territorial concession to Russia

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has declared that Kiev will not make any territorial concession to Russia when negotiations between the two countries take place.

“Not a single inch of Ukrainian land will be subject to diplomatic or military concessions,” he stressed, adding that Ukraine’s tough stance in negotiations was “war diplomacy.”

Kuleba also said that he doubts Russia will turn "into a liberal, democratic country.

"They need to be pushed into their borders and locked up."

He said some people in the West still fear the consequences of a Russian defeat in Ukraine.

“Many sincerely support Ukraine, but still cannot imagine Russia’s defeat. I have already started to tell them that the world will not collapse if Russia collapses,” he added.

READ MORE: Putin vows to boost combat readiness of Russia's nuclear forces

Russia extremely concerned by Ukrainian missile downed over Belarus

The Kremlin has said it was extremely concerned about a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that was shot down after flying into the air space of its close ally Belarus.

"This is an incident that causes extreme concern, not only for us, but for our Belarusian partners," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a day after the missile firing incident.

Belarus' defense ministry said on Thursday that its air defence forces had shot down a Ukrainian S-300 surface-to-air missile near the village of Harbacha in the Brest region, some 15 km (9 miles) from the Belarus-Ukraine border.

It happened while Russia was firing dozens of missiles at cities across Ukraine in one of the biggest waves of strikes of the conflict.

Belarus: Ukrainian missile entered airspace unlikely accident

The secretary of Belarus' Security Council said it was "unlikely" that a Ukrainian air defense missile downed on Thursday entered Belarusian airspace by accident, and that most likely there had been some "intention" behind its launch, the Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported, citing an interview he gave to Russian state outlet Sputnik Belarus.

Olympics chief: Russia sanctions must remain in 2023

The sporting sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus over the war in Ukraine must remain firmly in place in 2023, the head of the International Olympic Committee insisted.

IOC president Thomas Bach said Ukrainian athletes had the Olympic Movement's full solidarity and the IOC wanted to see a strong Ukrainian team at the Paris 2024 Games.

"These sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian states and governments must and will remain firmly in place," Bach said in a New Year message.

The IOC sanctioned Moscow and Minsk, with no international sports events being organised or supported in Russia or Belarus, and no national symbols of these countries being displayed at any sports event.

Russia launches "kamikaze" drones into Ukraine

Russia has launched 16 "kamikaze" drones into Ukraine overnight, Kiev's military said, a day after Moscow fired dozens of missiles in its latest barrage against Ukrainian critical infrastructure.

The Ukrainian Air Force said that all 16 drones, which it said were sent from the southeast and north, had been destroyed by air defences.

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on his Telegram channel that seven drones had been aimed at the capital, and that five were destroyed within the city and two before reaching Kiev.

Putin tells Xi he wants to ramp up military cooperation

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has told Chinese President Xi Jinping he was keen to ramp up military cooperation and hailed the two countries' efforts to counter Western influence.

Battered by Western sanctions over Moscow's assault against Ukraine, Putin has hoped to strengthen political and military ties with China. 

Moscow's offensive in Ukraine is a sensitive issue for Beijing.

Ukraine: 15,000 people missing since war began

At least 15,000 people, including civilians, have gone missing in Ukraine since the war began in February, a Ukrainian official said.

Russia has confirmed that it has 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers in captivity, Alyona Verbitskaya, the Ukrainian military ombudswoman, told the Bloomberg news agency.

Communication with Russian officials on the issue of prisoners of war has been “very poor,” she added. 

NATO's Stoltenberg calls for more weapons for Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on NATO member states to supply more weapons to Ukraine, according to an interview published.

"I call on allies to do more. It is in all our security interests to make sure Ukraine prevails and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not win," Stoltenberg told German news agency DPA.

He said it was perhaps even more important that Ukraine receive enough ammunition for the systems already in place, adding that the need for ammunition and spare parts was "enormous."

Gazprom will ship 42.4 mcm of gas to Europe via Ukraine 

Russia's Gazprom has said that it will ship 42.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine, a volume broadly in line with recent days.

Britain sends equipment to help clear minefields in Ukraine

Britain has given Ukraine more than 1,000 metal detectors and 100 kits to deactivate bombs to help clear minefields in the latest instance of military support for the country in the conflict with Russia.

"Russia's use of landmines and targeting of civilian infrastructure underline the shocking cruelty of Putin's invasion," British Defence Minister Ben Wallace said in a statement.

"This latest package of UK support will help Ukraine safely clear land and buildings as it reclaims its rightful territory."

The metal detectors can help troops clear safe routes on roads and paths by helping to remove explosive hazards, the Defence Ministry said, while the kits can de-arm the fuse from unexploded bombs.

Russian strikes cause power outages in most of Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said most regions were without power in freezing temperatures following a barrage of Russian missile attacks all over the country.

"As of this evening, there are power outages in most regions of Ukraine," he said.

"It is especially difficult in Kiev region and the capital, Lviv region, Odessa and the region, Kherson and the region, Vinnytsia region and Transcarpathia."

"With each such missile strike, Russia is only driving itself deeper into a dead end," he added. "Instead, the status of the largest terrorist in the world will have consequences for Russia and its citizens for a long time. And each missile only confirms that all this must end with a tribunal. This is exactly what will happen".

For live updates from Thursday (December 29), click here.