🔗 Share this article

In a year-end speech, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that a possible peace deal was 90% ready. "The deal is 90 percent ready, ten percent is left," he noted. "This is much more than simply numbers."

An Agreement Requires Robust Assurances, Not Fragile Truce

The president made clear that his country desires peace but would not accept it at "any price". "What does our nation desires? Peace? Absolutely. No matter the price? Certainly not," he said. "Our goal is a conclusion to the war but not the destruction of our country."

"Are we weary? Extremely. Does this mean we are ready to surrender? Anyone who believes that is deeply mistaken," Zelenskyy continued.

He expressed skepticism about Moscow's aims, stating that should forces pulled out from the Donbas region, the war would not necessarily end. "Pull out from the Donbas, and it will all be over. This is how a lie sounds," he remarked.

EU Leaders to Discuss Post-War Guarantees

Separately, French leader Emmanuel Macron stated that EU leaders and allies gathering in Paris in early January will establish firm pledges towards protecting the country after any peace deal with Moscow is reached.

Cross-Border Strikes Reported

At the same time, accounts of military strikes persisted. An official from Ukraine's security service said that Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles struck an oil depot in the Russian city of Rybinsk, causing a significant blaze.

In southern Ukraine, a Russian aerial assault struck apartment buildings and energy infrastructure in Odesa, injuring several people, among them minors. Local authorities confirmed multiple apartment buildings were damaged and significant harm was reported to a couple of power facilities.

Disputed Allegations Over Aerial Attack

Concerning previous allegations of a UAV strike aimed at a property of Russia's president, American and European officials agree that Ukraine was not behind the incident. A report stated that US security officials determined the alleged incident "never occurred".

Reacting, The Russian ministry of defense released a video purporting to show fragments of a destroyed Ukrainian drone. An official from Ukraine's foreign ministry ridiculed the evidence as "laughable" and suggested it demonstrated a lack of seriousness in fabricating the story.

EU Official Calls Allegations a "Diversion"

The EU's top diplomat called Moscow's claims "a deliberate distraction". "No one should believe unfounded allegations from the aggressor," she remarked.

Other Updates

• DPRK Involvement: North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, according to state media praised troops serving in an "foreign land" in a new year's address. Intelligence assessments suggest the country has sent a significant number of troops to support Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.
• Sanctions Extension: The US have according to a minister given a short-term exemption from sanctions to a Serbian, largely Russian-controlled energy firm until 23 January. The company operates the country's sole refinery.