Russia has given its first response to Donald Trump’s ultimatum calling on Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks or see his Ukraine invasion end “the hard way”.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to MAKE A DEAL.”
The US president said he would be forced to put “high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions” on anything sold by Russia if Putin refused to negotiate an end to his war.
Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Moscow will have to see what Mr. Trump thinks a “deal” to end the war in Ukraine means, and that the Kremlin sees it as a “question of addressing the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis”.
Vladimir Putin believes key war goals in the “special military operation” in Ukraine have already been met, sources aware of the matter inside the Kremlin said.
These key war goals, Putin said, include the control of land that connects mainland Russia to Crimea, and weakening Ukraine’s military, reported Reuters.
Last year, Russia made its most significant territorial gains since the early days of the war, and it now controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine.
Putin has said that Russia can fight on as long as it takes and that Moscow will never bow before another power over key national interests.
On the frontline, Moscow and Kyiv are seeking battlefield gains to strengthen their negotiating positions ahead of any prospective talks to end the three-year-old war.
One dead, 25 injured in Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia
At least one person was killed and 25 others wounded in a Russian drone and missile attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, regional officials said Thursday.
More than 20,000 residents were also left without power and another 17,000 without heating as a result of the overnight attack, according to governor Ivan Fedorov, who said an energy facility had been destroyed.
Russia has carried out regular air strikes on Ukrainian towns and cities behind the frontline of its three-year-old invasion, targeting the country’s weakened energy grid in particular.
Around 1,000 North Koreans killed in Kursk fighting Ukraine, officials say
North Korea has suffered nearly 40% casualties among its forces fighting alongside Russia in the western Kursk region, Western officials told the BBC.
Out of the estimated 11,000 troops sent from North Korea, 4,000 were battle casualties in just three months of fighting – including those killed, wounded, missing or captured – the officials said on condition of anonymity.
Of these 4,000 losses, nearly 1,000 are believed to have been killed by mid-January.
Ukrainian officials are yet to release their own tally. North Korea has not issued any comment on the presence of its troops inside Russia.
Kyiv will not agree to Russian demands to cut military – Zelensky
Ukraine will not agree to Russian demands that it drastically reduces the size of its military in a future peace agreement, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelensky warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin would demand that Ukraine reduce its military five-fold.
“This is what he wants. We will not allow this to happen,” Zelensky said.
Drones attack city near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, officials say
Russia-installed officials in Ukraine’s partly-occupied Zaporizhzhia region said Ukrainian drones attacked Enerhodar, a city serving the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“This is a terrorist act,” Russia-installed acting mayor Maksim Pukha told Russia’s RIA news agency, saying civil infrastructure and residential areas had been targeted. “Peaceful residents should in no way be targets of such an attack.”
Each side has accused the other of risking a nuclear catastrophe by attacking the station. Monitors from the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, are permanently stationed at the plant.
Russian media quoted the city’s authorities as saying at least four drones had attacked Enerhodar. It said there were no casualties, and no details on damage were provided.
The governor of the part of Zaporizhzhia region held by Ukraine, Ivan Fedorov, said five drones had attacked the city of Zaporizhzhia, located about 60km (35 miles) northwest of the plant, across a large reservoir on the Dnipro River.
He posted a picture on Telegram of a large fire he said had been triggered by the attack.
Vladimir Rogov, a senior Russia-appointed official in Zaporizhzhia region, said the attack had disrupted power and water supplies in the city.
Compiled by Ana Dumbadze
