Russia claims to have seized more than 5,100 square km of Ukraine in 2025

Russia is doubling down connected its claims connected Ukraine, successful an evident effort to show immoderate subject accomplishment successful 2025 astatine location and to power bid talks with the United States.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters past Friday successful a year-end quality league that Moscow’s forces had seized Siversk successful the eastbound portion of Donetsk and Vovchansk successful the bluish Kharkiv region.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Photos: Ukraine deploys low-cost drones to antagonistic Russia’s aerial attacks
• list 2 of 4Three people, including officers, killed successful detonation successful Russia’s Moscow
• list 3 of 4Russian forces prehend embattled Siversk municipality arsenic Ukrainian troops withdraw
• list 4 of 4Zelenskyy unveils details of caller bid plan, seeks Trump talks connected territory

Putin besides claimed Russian forces held astatine slightest fractional of Lyman and Kostiantynivka successful Donetsk, and Hulyaipole successful the confederate Zaporizhia portion – each front-line towns.

Ukraine observers begged to differ. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based deliberation tank, said outer and open-source ocular grounds contradict Putin.

“ISW has observed nary grounds to corroborate immoderate of these claimed seizures oregon extended advances and has lone observed grounds indicating a Russian beingness [either done infiltration missions oregon assaults] successful 7.3 percent of Hulyaipole and 2.9 percent of Lyman,” it wrote.

(Al Jazeera)

The ISW besides estimated Russian advances had claimed nary much than 5 percent of Kostiantynivka.

“Even Russian milbloggers’ [military reporters’] claimed advances bash not enactment galore of Putin’s claims,” the ISW said, with milbloggers claiming that “Russian forces person seized a maximum” of astir 7 percent of Lyman and 11 percent of Kostiantynivka.

The Kremlin has besides claimed to beryllium successful implicit possession of Kupiansk successful Kharkiv and Pokrovsk successful Donetsk. The ISW estimated Russia possesses nary much than 7.2 percent of Kharkiv, and Ukraine’s commander-in-chief has said Ukrainian forces had pushed Russia retired of 16 quadrate kilometres (6.1 quadrate miles) of Pokrovsk.

On December 18, Russian commander-in-chief Valery Gerasimov gave an end-of-year study to overseas subject officials, claiming Russia seized 6,300sq km (2,432sq miles) of Ukraine this year, somewhat much than the 6,000sq km (2,300sq miles) Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov had claimed a week earlier.

But the ISW estimated Russia had seized nary much than 4,984sq km (1,900sq miles) containing 196 settlements, alternatively than the 300 that Russian officials person claimed.

Putin did marque 1 truthful assertion to person seized the eastbound municipality of Siversk.

Zelenskyy welcomes ‘cooperation’ with US contempt disagreements

The spurious Russian assertions person travel implicit a two-week play erstwhile US and Ukrainian negotiators person intensified talks connected a bid plan, a process that ended connected Monday aft 3 days of talks successful Florida.

“We consciousness that America wants to scope a last agreement, and from our side, determination is afloat cooperation,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy successful a Tuesday evening code to his people.

Yet the 20-point plan helium made nationalist connected Wednesday greeting revealed that connected the astir delicate contented of territory, determination was nary statement betwixt the US and Ukraine.

Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson successful full, successful summation to Crimea.

Ukraine refuses. Europe has suggested leaving a territorial treatment for aft a afloat ceasefire.

(Al Jazeera)

Zelenskyy called for a acme with US President Donald Trump to hammer retired a associated presumption connected territorial adjustments.

Significantly, the US agreed to NATO-level information guarantees for Ukraine – a communal defence clause that could bring NATO into a warfare connected Ukraine’s broadside if Russia should again onslaught it.

Separately, the European Union has said it volition marque Ukraine a afloat subordinate successful the adjacent future, which would besides entitle it to communal defence from members of the bloc, astir of whom are NATO members.

Equally important, the program allows Ukraine to support its subject astatine afloat spot and does not telephone connected it to recognise occupied territory arsenic de facto Russian – points connected which Moscow had insisted, and the US had included successful its archetypal proposal.

The Kremlin said it was alert of the 20-point papers thrashed retired by Washington and Kyiv.

Russia volition “formulate” its presumption and “continue our contacts successful the precise adjacent aboriginal done the existing channels that are presently working”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters connected Wednesday.

Long-range strikes

As the warfare raged connected the ground, Russia and Ukraine traded long-range strikes with drones and missiles.

During the week of December 18-24, Russia launched 1,227 drones and 41 missiles astatine Ukraine. Ukraine intercepted 80 percent of the drones and 83 percent of the missiles, but strikes connected Saturday and Tuesday killed astatine slightest 4 civilians, including a child.

Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) said it struck 2 Russian Su-27 combatant jets astatine the Belbek airbase adjacent occupied Sevastopol successful Crimea connected December 20. Two days earlier, Ukraine had weakened aerial defence systems astatine the basal and deed a MiG-31 interceptor aircraft.

Ukraine besides said it had struck a Russian lipid rig successful the Caspian Sea belonging to Lukoil and damaged 1 of its drilling platforms.

(Al Jazeera)

Ukraine has targeted Russian refineries, powerfulness plants and different vigor infrastructure this year, aiming to disrupt Moscow’s revenues from exports and the Russian army’s substance supply.

In November, Ukraine besides began to people tankers belonging to Russia with aboveground drones. On Friday, Ukrainian aerial drones struck the Qendil successful the Mediterranean Sea, the archetypal clip Ukraine has ranged its tanker strikes that acold from its shores.

On Monday, Ukrainian subject quality utilized a car bomb to assassinate Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, the main of the Russian General Staff’s operational grooming department.

European help

Trump announced helium would nary longer beryllium sending subject assistance to Ukraine soon aft assuming office, but agreed to merchantability weapons to Kyiv, paid for by the European Union, Canada, Australia and Japan, who are present bankrolling the warfare effort.

That process reached an important milestone connected Friday, erstwhile the European Council of authorities leaders approved a 90-billion-euro ($106bn) indebtedness to Ukraine implicit 2 years.

“Ukraine volition person astatine slightest 45bn ($53bn) annually implicit the adjacent 2 years. And these funds tin beryllium repaid lone from Russian funds,” Zelenskyy told Ukrainians aft the decision. But Europe pointedly refused to gully immoderate transportation betwixt 210 cardinal euros successful Russian authorities assets immobilised successful European banks and the loan, aft Italy, Bulgaria, Malta and Belgium vetoed a program to usage the wealth arsenic collateral for a reparations indebtedness to Ukraine.

“No 1 volition ever beryllium capable to explicate to European voters wherefore Europe should springiness 200bn [$235bn] backmost to Putin – aft everything he’s destroyed, and aft each the hard choices Europe had to marque due to the fact that of his war,” Zelenskyy told European leaders connected December 18.

The US-Ukrainian 20-point program pledges to mobilise $800bn for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

(Al Jazeera)