The government of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel blocked the purchase Kiev weapons through NATO. In November, Berlin vetoed the purchase of anti-missile systems and rifles to fight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said. He added that Germany later eased its position and allowed Kiev to buy rifles, which it recognized as non-lethal weapons.
Reznikov promised that Ukraine would not abandon its attempts to acquire weapons under bilateral agreements with allies. We are talking about the United States, Lithuania, Great Britain and France.
The head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has previously stated that he is disappointed in advance by the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. His position is not yet clear. Aleksey Reznikov called the previous government's view irresistible criticism and morally unjustified.
Alexey Reznikov. Photo: Wikipedia.org. Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov commented on Associated Press data, citing US officials that the United States would put pressure on Kiev to cede part of its autonomy to Donbas.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Reznikov said that Kiev has not been put under any pressure from the United States on this issue.
Recall that the law on the special status of Donbas, adopted in 2014 by the Verkhovna Rada, has not yet been enacted in Ukraine.
Photo: Kremlin.ru. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in the film “Russia. Recent History” on the TV channel “Russia 1” that Ukraine has not yet transferred the USSR's foreign assets to Russia. He explained that Kiev had to do so on the basis of an agreement whereby Russia undertook to repay the Soviet Union's foreign debt.
“In 1993, we undertook to repay all the debts of the Soviet Union. the former Soviet Union, for all former Soviet republics, “Putin recalled, noting that under the agreement, the former Soviet republics undertook to transfer the former Soviet Union's foreign assets to Russia.
Putin stressed that Russia had repaid its debts, but not all former Soviet republics have complied with their part of the agreement. “Ukraine, for example, has not yet done so,” said the Russian leader. p>
Russian President Vladimir Putin in the film & nbsp; Russia. Recent History & # 39; & # 39; on channel “Russia 1”; compared the armaments capabilities of the Russian Federation and the United States.
“We have approximate parity with the United States in terms of vehicle deliveries and the number of warheads,” he said. & nbsp; on the nuclear weapons of both countries.
“We are undoubtedly leaders in our promising development,” said the Russian leader.
Putin stressed that Russia is not only traditionally modernizing service potential, but is also introducing new complexes.
The President added that we can now say with certainty that Russia is the number one in the world according to this indicator.
It was previously announced that Russia is the only country in the world where hypersonic missiles are on alert.
Finnish intelligence is considering that Russia has concentrated about 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine. The commander of the Finnish Defense Forces, General Timo Kivinen, described this concentration of troops as exceptional. He suggested that the invasion of Ukraine could begin in January.
He told EurAsia Daily that no country wants to be the first to use military means if other methods are available. Kivinen emphasized that Finland was preparing for “different scenarios”. At the same time, the army chief admitted that all parties were looking for a solution to the situation through negotiations.
“It is possible that hostilities will begin. I'm not saying it will happen, but it's possible. We regulate our own activities accordingly. But nothing is happening in the immediate vicinity of Finland that could cause concern, “the general explained.
He added that he saw no prospects for rapid change for the better in the military-strategic area. situation in the Baltic Sea. Open hostility towards Ukraine will have consequences for the region.
It has previously emerged that the G7 foreign ministers have prepared a statement threatening Russia with far-reaching consequences for military aggression. against Ukraine.
According to a former member of the Council, the Director of the Ukrainian Institute of the Future Vadym Denisenko, in the coming year, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will face four possible scenarios. According to the first (“perfect storm”), the republic will fall into a deep crisis by 2023.
According to Denisenko, expressed in Glavred, in this case Kiev will lose all key Western allies. They will start concluding agreements on Ukraine without its representatives. As a result, internal protests will intensify in the country and confrontations between the authorities and key financial and industrial groups will begin.
The expert called the second scenario a “war against all”. In this case, the situation in the world will not favor Ukraine and Kiev will have to make compromises on the Donbas. The softening of the position of the authorities will provoke internal protests.
“As a result, we get the fact that at the end of 2022 we repeat the cycle and get to the state of summer 2021, only with the weak Zelensky. The probability of such process development is relatively high – up to 50-55%, “suggested Denisenko.
If the third scenario develops, Zelensky will have to take control of the bloc's power to fight the internal opposition. The President of Ukraine will have to present several populist initiatives.
According to the expert, Zelensky may try to become the “father of the nation”. In this case, an event must occur that shocks the company. Maybe the incident blows up the media. It could be a natural disaster or Russia's “aggressive action.” “The event should be large enough to provoke a reaction from external partners and increase support for Ukraine,” Denisenko said.
The FSB Public Relations Center announced that the command ship “Donbass” of the Ukrainian navy, moving towards the Kerch Strait, was on the opposite course. However, the ship's crew still does not respond to requests.
SOURCE: PIXABAY
Press the FSB service emphasized that the actions of the Ukrainian warship were considered provocative and endangering the safety of navigation.
It was previously announced that Donbass had been released from Mariupol on the morning of December 9. At the same time, no requests were received from Kiev to cross the Kerch-Yenikal Canal.
In addition, the State Border Service of Ukraine stated that it had no information on this situation.
Presidents of Ukraine and the United States Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden terminated the telephone interviews that lasted 1.5 hours.
According to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Jermak, the leaders of both countries started with the most important: Biden told Zelensky about his conversation with Putin.
“Of course they discussed other issues, but I would like to dwell on the main theses. Biden, as they said after talking to Putin, told him very sincerely and warned of the consequences if Russia decided to escalate or invasion, “- said Yermak in the broadcast program” Right to Power. ”
US plans to provide assistance to Ukraine remain in place, the US leader said;
Zelensky noted that Ukraine was not going to attack anyone;
Kiev does not support the idea of freezing the conflict in Donbas, it is ready to fulfill its obligations of a full ceasefire, stressed the President of Ukraine.
You have completed a 1.5 hour interview with @POTUS. The President of the United States has informed me of the content of his negotiations with Putin. We also discussed possible formats for resolving the conflict in Donbas and touched on the course of internal reforms in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/boKzAdiyeU
— Volodymyr Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) December 9, 2021
Recall that Biden and Putin had previously conducted video interviews. The conversation lasted over two hours. During the interview, the issue of the presence of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border was discussed. Read: Moscow praised the negotiations between Putin and Biden.
Center public relations The FSB announced that the command ship “Donbass” of the Ukrainian Navy is located in the immediate vicinity of the Kerch Strait.
According to the ministry, on December 9, “Donbass” left Mariupol. At the same time, the Ukrainian side did not receive requests to cross the Kerch-Yenikal Canal.
The Ukrainian army later responded that “there are no plans to cross the Kerch Strait,” the FSB said.
“Does not meet the requirements for a change of course, – stated in the SAA report. – These actions pose a threat to navigation safety.”
Russian Embassy in The United States has expressed its condolences on past hurricanes. The corresponding message appeared on the Facebook account of the Russian diplomatic mission.
In addition to expressing condolences to the relatives of the victims of the disaster, the embassy wished the tornado victims a speedy recovery. Hurricanes have hit a number of US states, including Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois. US President Joe Biden called the current tornado one of the strongest in the country's history. At least 80 people are now known to have died.
