Ukraine-Russia struggle newest: Putin calls European leaders ‘little pigs’ forward of essential summit in Brussels
Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Ukraine‘s allies to show a united front against Russia at a crucial European Union summit on Moscow’s frozen assets.
The Ukrainian president urged European leaders to secure support for Kyiv and show Russia that continuing its war is “pointless” ahead of the summit in Brussels today.
“The outcome of these meetings, the outcome for Europe, must be such that Russia feels that its desire to continue fighting next year will be pointless, because Ukraine will have support,” Zelensky said in his evening address on Wednesday.
His call comes after Vladimir Putin lashed out at European leaders, amid ongoing US-brokered peace talks.
In a bizarre rant against the West, the Russian president said: “Europe’s little pigs immediately joined in the work of the previous American administration, hoping to profit from the collapse of our country.”
Putin had previously accused Western countries of “hysteria”, adding that claims Russia wanted war with Europe were “a lie”.
Meanwhile, Zelensky ruled out a ceasefire by Christmas, saying Russia is likely to reject a new European-backed peace proposal and that Ukraine must be ready to continue fighting.
Six injured in central Ukraine’s Cherkasy after Russian attack
At least six people have been injured after Russia launched a “massive” drone attack on Ukraine’s central Cherkasy region, officials said.
“A difficult night for our Cherkasy region,” local governor Ihor Taburets said on his Telegram channel.
The attack targeted critical infrastructure and part of the region’s main Cherkasy city was without power, he said. He also reported damage to more than a dozen of private houses.
The military said Russia launched at least 82 drones at Ukraine overnight, and Ukrainian forces destroyed 63 of them.
More attacks were reported in the southern Mykolaiv region by the governor there, who said Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure, leaving settlements in the Voznesensk and Mykolaiv districts without power.
The power supply has been since reportedly restored.
Russia has sharply increased the number and intensity of its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in recent months, targeting gas, energy and distribution facilities and plunging entire cities into darkness.
An attack over the weekend left more than a million households across Ukraine without power.
What to expect at Brussels summit today as European leaders rally for Kyiv
Senior European leaders are expected to press for tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to be used to meet Ukraine’s economic and military needs in Brussels today.
The European Union leaders are gathering in the Belgian capital today for a summit aimed at agreeing on a massive loan to cover Ukraine’s financial needs for the next two years.
A decision to use Russia’s assets to support the nation it is invading would be unprecedented, and comes with legal and financial risks.
The European Central Bank has warned that if Europeans appear willing to grab other countries’ money, it could undermine confidence in the euro.
Some member nations are also concerned about inviting retaliation from Russia.
Belgium, where most of the frozen assets are held at a financial clearing house, is the main opponent of the plan. It fears that Russia will strike back and would prefer that the bloc borrow the money on international markets.
Hungary and Slovakia oppose EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s plan for a “reparations loan”.
Some €90bn ($105bn) would be lent to Ukraine until Russia ends its war and pays for the damage it has caused over almost four years.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says that totals more than €600bn ($700bn).
Paratrooper killed in Ukraine told family to ‘be proud’ of what he died doing
A British paratrooper killed serving in Ukraine said he “went out doing what I trained to do”.
The body of Lance Corporal George Hooley, 28, was repatriated to RAF Brize Norton in west Oxfordshire on Wednesday after his death in what the Ministry of Defence called a “tragic accident” last week.
An extract from a letter written by L/Cpl Hooley to be opened in the event of his death said “don’t remember me with sadness and loss” because he died “doing what I believed in”.
A private, family-only ceremony was held at Brize Norton before L/Cpl Hooley’s body was carried past Carterton Repatriation Memorial Garden.
People paid their respects along the route, some in tears, and members of the armed forces and police also turned out to honour the soldier.
Mourners gathered at the garden, designed by the Oxfordshire community as a space for people to honour fallen military personnel.
Trump administration readies new Russia sanctions if Putin rejects peace deal – report
The US is preparing a further round of sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector to increase pressure on Moscow should it reject a peace deal with Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
“It is the role of agencies to prepare options for the president to execute,” the official said.
The US was considering options including targeting vessels in what is known as Russia’s shadow fleet of tankers used to transport exported oil, as well as traders who facilitate such transactions, according to an earlier report by Bloomberg.
The new measures could be announced as early as this week, the report said, adding that treasury secretary Scott Bessent discussed the move with a group of European ambassadors this week.
“It is explicitly false to conclude any decisions have been made regarding future sanctions against Russia. As we have said for months, all options remain on the table in support of President Trump’s tireless efforts to stop the senseless killing, and to achieving a lasting, durable peace,” a US Treasury Department spokesperson said.
A White House official told Reuters that US president Donald Trump had made no new decisions regarding Russian sanctions.
Putin claims speculation of war with the West is ‘hysteria’after threatening Europe
Vladimir Putin dismissed fears of conflict with Europe as “hysteria” stoked by Ukraine’s allies on Wednesday – just two weeks after issuing his own threats against the West.
In a rambling speech, the Russian president claimed that Europeans had been “indoctrinated with fears about an inevitable clash with Russia” despite Moscow escalating its campaign of hybrid attacks in recent months.
“I have repeatedly stated: this is a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense about some imaginary Russian threat to European countries. But this is being done quite deliberately,” he said.
EU faces crunch decision at high-stakes Brussels summit today
At a summit starting today in Brussels, many of the leaders will press for tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets held in Europe to be used to meet Ukraine’s economic and military needs for the next two years.
The crunch decision comes at a critical time as Ukraine is on the verge of bankruptcy.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that it will require a total of €137bn ($160 billion) in 2026 and 2027. It must get the money by spring. The EU has pledged to come up with the funds, one way or another.
“One thing is very, very clear,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers yesterday. “We have to take the decision to fund Ukraine for the next two years in this European Council.”
European Council president António Costa, who will chair the summit, has vowed to keep the leaders negotiating until an agreement is reached, even if it takes days.
Putin calls European leaders ‘little pigs’ amid ongoing peace talks
Russian president Vladimir Putin has lashed out at European leaders calling them “little pigs” amid ongoing US-brokered peace talks.
Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago and have gradually seized around 19 per cent of the country, suffering huge numbers of casualties in the process.
Yet in a bizarre rant yesterday, Putin blamed the Joe Biden administration in the US for the war, saying it had “deliberately steered the situation towards an armed conflict”.
He claimed that Washington believed Russia could be weakened or even destroyed in a short period of time and European leaders joined in the Biden administration on this.
“Europe’s little pigs immediately joined in the work of the previous American administration, hoping to profit from the collapse of our country,” Putin said in a bizarre rant.
He added that Russia would “liberate its historical lands on the battlefield” or through diplomacy but would achieve its territorial aims in the end.
Putin had previously accused Western countries of “hysteria” adding that claims Russia wanted war with Europe were “a lie”.
Watch: Zelensky says Russia is preparing for ‘year of war’
US and Russian officials to hold talks in Miami this weekend on Ukraine war
US and Russian officials are expected to hold talks in Miami, Florida, this weekend about a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
US envoy Steve Witkoff and president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to be part of the US delegation, according to Politico.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, will be part of the Russian delegation.
Ukrainian drones hit tanker in Russia’s Rostov port
An unspecified number of people have been killed and injured after Ukrainian drones hit a tanker in the southern Russian port of Rostov-on-Don, the city’s mayor said.
“Emergency teams are extinguishing the fire on the tanker that was struck while docked in a drone attack,” Russian news agencies quoted Skriabin as saying.
“A leak of oil products was avoided. Unfortunately, there are dead and injured,” he said.
Regional governor Yuri Slyusar had initially reported the Ukrainian strike on the vessel in the port and the casualties among the ship’s crew.
Slyusar also said parts of a high-rise apartment block under construction were damaged in the city and two private homes burned down in a nearby town.
Source: independent.co.uk
