RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

God is with us – Putin

God is with Russia, President Vladimir Putin has said, expressing confidence that Moscow would prevail in its conflict with Ukraine.

Putin spoke with reporters on Thursday after a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (SEEC) in St. Petersburg.

Asked whether he believes that the Ukraine conflict will end in 2025 with a Russian victory, he said: “I believe in God. And God is with us.”

He brushed off reports that the US is planning to propose to “freeze” the conflict along the current front line in exchange for a delay in Ukraine’s membership in NATO.

Putin said that such a delay was first proposed by outgoing President Joe Biden in 2021, adding that the US was told at the time that such a deal would be unacceptable to Moscow.

“We are also striving to end the conflict,” Putin said, stressing that Russia’s “number one goal” for 2025 is achieving victories on the battlefield.

“We believe that we will be successful on the front line and accomplish our objectives in the field of the economy, as well as resolve social issues, the issues of military security, and security in the broadest sense,” the president said. “We will continue moving in accordance with our plans.”

US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine within hours of taking office. While he has declined to discuss any specifics of his proposal, the American media has cited several anonymous sources as saying that it could involve “freezing” the conflict with each side keeping the territory it currently controls. Both Moscow and Kiev have rejected an idea of an unconditional ceasefire.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian drone attack kills two in Ukraine's Donetsk region, several injured in Dnipropetrovsk

Russian drones struck a multi-storey apartment building in the front line town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region of Ukraine on Thursday, killing two people and injuring two, regional prosecutors said.

Chasiv Yar has been under attack by Russian forces for many months in Donetsk region, the focus of Russia's drive westward to capture the Donbas, which also includes Luhansk region. The town lies west of Bakhmut, a regional centre which fell to Russian forces in May 2023 after months of heavy fighting.

Regional officials in Dnipropetrovsk region, further west, said a drone strike on the market in the town of Nikopol injured eight people on Thursday morning.

Seven of those injured were treated in hospital after the strike damaged stalls at the market, Dnipropetrovsk governor Serhiy Lysak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Nikopol, a frequent target of Russian attacks, lies on the opposite bank of a large reservoir from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Russian forces struck an industrial area of the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram. No injuries were reported.

The attacks in Ukraine's east come after Russia's Christmas Day attack on the country's energy system, killing one person in Dnipropetrovsk region.

The Ukrainian military said on Thursday it shot down 20 drones out of 31 launched by Russia overnight.

RT/Reuters