Rare are the admissions of weakness of Vladimir Putin. However, this Friday, December 9, the Russian president acknowledged that an agreement would be “ultimately necessary” to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine. However, he doubts that his interlocutors are “trustworthy”. “How do we find an agreement? And can we agree with someone? And with what guarantees? That is obviously the whole question. But, at the end of the day, we will have to find an agreement. I have already told several times that we were ready for these arrangements, we are open, but it forces us to think about who we are dealing with,” he said on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kyrgyzstan.
- Russia considers adopting the concept of “preventive strike”
Vladimir Poutine declared, this Friday, December 9, that Russia could modify its military doctrine, by introducing “the possibility of a preventive strike to disarm an enemy”. Putin felt that this doctrine was already being used by Washington. “First, the United States has developed the concept of a preemptive strike. Second, it is developing a strike system aimed at disarming the enemy,” the Russian president said. He therefore plans to have his country adopt the “ideas developed by the Americans to ensure their own security”.
He also claimed that Russia’s cruise missiles and hypersonic systems were “more modern and even more efficient” than those of the United States. This Wednesday, he assured that Moscow would not be the first to deploy atomic weapons. “Russia would not use them first under any circumstances,” he said. Before adding: “But if it does not use them first under any circumstances, it will not be the second to use them either, because the chances of using them in the event of a nuclear strike against our territory are very slim. .”
- The United States believes that Russia and Iran help each other…
According to American intelligence, Moscow and Tehran plan to launch joint production of “killer” drones in Russia, said John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council of the American executive, without giving further details on the state. progress of the project. The spokesman also recalled that Iran was considering selling “hundreds” of ballistic missiles to Russia. “Help goes both ways,” said John Kirby.
For its part, Moscow is preparing, according to the United States, to provide Iran with “sophisticated” equipment, helicopters, anti-aircraft defense systems and combat aircraft, added the spokesman. Reporting reports that Iranian pilots had started training in Russia on Su-35s, Russian fighter jets, John Kirby said that “Iran may receive planes next year”, which ” would significantly increase” Tehran’s air capabilities. For its part, Russia has denied receiving any military aid from Iran.
- … And announce new arms deliveries to Ukraine
The United States will provide Ukraine with $275 million in new aid. It “will soon be sent to give Ukraine new capabilities to boost its anti-aircraft defense and allow it to deal with the threat of drones”, said John Kirby, the spokesman for the Pentagon.
- A Russian-American meeting took place in Istanbul
A meeting between Russian and American representatives took place this Friday in Istanbul to discuss “sources of irritation” in bilateral relations, confirmed Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. “In principle, this event is held periodically to discuss so-called sources of irritation in bilateral relations. After a certain period of time, we resumed communication with the Americans on this issue. The expression means that they discuss the technical details of the operation of the American diplomatic missions in Russia and Russian in the United States,” the diplomat said.
- The electrical infrastructure of several Ukrainian cities is “virtually destroyed”
Electrical installations around Kherson, in southern Ukraine, were “virtually destroyed” during the withdrawal of Russian forces, and the situation is also “complicated” in Odessa, a little further west, due to bombardments, lamented this Friday the director of the public company Ukrenergo.
“On Monday, the enemy struck again. It was again the Ukrenergo facilities, the main line substations, especially in southern Ukraine, and the power plants that were damaged,” lamented Volodymyr Kudrytskyi at a press conference. The “good work” of the anti-aircraft defense, however, made it possible to limit the damage, he continued. “More than a thousand missiles and drones” have, according to him, been fired by the Russian army “since October 10”, the date of the first major salvoes in the direction of Ukrainian energy production sites.
Besides Odessa and Kherson, repairs are “complicated” in the Kharkiv and Donetsk oblasts. In the latter, fighting rages around Bakhmout. “Virtually all hydroelectric power stations were also damaged and have limited electricity generation capacity,” he said, assuring that it was “technically possible to import” electricity from other European countries. . “The problem is that European electricity is much more expensive than Ukrainian electricity.”
- New prisoner swaps ‘possible’, Moscow says
After the release of American basketball player Brittney Griner, further exchanges of prisoners between Moscow and Washington are “possible”, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. “Contacts continue at the level of the intelligence services, they had never stopped. Are other exchanges possible? Yes, everything is possible,” he said.
For its part, the American administration hopes to obtain the release of Paul Whelan, who had initially been part of the negotiations. “Even if we failed to secure Paul’s release, we will never give up,” assured Joe Biden. During a call with CNN from his penal colony in Russia, Paul Whelan said he was “strongly disappointed”. “I don’t understand why I’m still here,” he said. In a statement, his family said they were “happy” for Brittney Griner but “still upset” to know Paul Whelan in a Russian prison. Arrested in December 2018 in Russia, he was sentenced to sixteen years in prison for “espionage”, a charge he denounced as fabricated.