This is the December 20 live blog, read the latest updates in the Wednesday December 21 live blog | Zelensky is on his way to Washington to meet Biden
This is the most important news
Explosion at gas pipeline to Europe
According to Russian media, an explosion has been observed in a Russian gas pipeline that carries gas to Europe via Ukraine. This would be the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod section in Chuvashia, about 850 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The gas supply was cut off due to the damage.
The governor’s spokesman confirmed the explosion. The accident occurred during planned construction, according to local emergency services. According to Russia’s TASS news agency, three people died in the blast and the fire has since been put out.
The unconfirmed images below would be the fire at the explosion.
Gazprom: gas supply to European customers not in danger
15:24 | According to the state-owned gas company Gazprom, the explosion at the Urengoi-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline will not affect gas deliveries to customers, as parallel pipelines will accommodate the works. The regulatory price of European gas on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange fell 0.8% this afternoon, after a brief spike around 1pm.
Europe is still receiving gas from Russia via Ukraine, despite the Russian encroachment on that Eastern European country. Previously, the Russian Gazprom had closed the submarine gas pipeline to Germany, Nord Stream 1, which was later rendered unusable by a mysterious explosion.
Explosion at gas pipeline to Europe, gas supply stops
2:30 pm | According to Russian media, an explosion has been observed in a Russian gas pipeline that carries gas to Europe via Ukraine. This would be the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod section in Chuvashia, about 850 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The gas supply was cut off due to the damage.
The governor’s spokesman confirmed the explosion. The accident occurred during planned construction, according to local emergency services. According to Russia’s TASS news agency, three people died in the blast and the fire has since been put out.
The unconfirmed images below would be the fire at the explosion.
Zelensky visits the heavily besieged city of Bachmut
12:44 | On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky visited the besieged city of Bachmut. The Russians have been trying to take the city in the Donetsk region for weeks. Zelensky spoke to the soldiers holding out in the largely flattened Bachmut.
After the Russian losses in the Kharkov and Kherson regions, Bachmut is almost the only place where Russia is still on the offensive and trying to seize territory. The mercenaries of the Wagner group in particular would be in the area and attack the city. But military experts are calling a possible Russian conquest a Pyrrhic victory in advance because so little is left of the city.
Most people have left Bachmoet in the last few months. Before the war the city had almost 80,000 inhabitants, now only about 10,000 remain. The city is not of great strategic value in the war, but it would be a step for Russia towards Kramatorsk and Slovyansk and the goal of occupying the entire Donetsk region. However, part of a railway line can no longer be used for Ukrainian supplies.
Putin has problems with Lukashenko
09:00 | During his visit to Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia has no interest in “absorbing” anyone and that anonymous “enemies” want to prevent Russia’s integration with Belarus. “Putin has always had problems with his counterpart Alexandr Lukashenko,” says Russia correspondent Joost Bosman. Read more.
Ukraine removes Russian and Soviet monuments and street names
08:30 | Ukraine is stepping up its efforts to erase the remnants of Soviet and Russian influence in the public space by tearing down monuments and renaming hundreds of streets after its artists, poets, soldiers, pro-independence leaders and others, including the war heroes of this ‘year.
After the invasion of Moscow, which killed or injured untold numbers of civilians and soldiers and destroyed buildings and infrastructure, Ukrainian leaders have turned a campaign to dismantle the communist past into a “de-Russification” campaign, reports l ‘Associated Press.
Sino-Russian fleet exercises are expected to “further deepen” ties
08:00 | Beijing says Sino-Russian naval drills to begin on Wednesday aim to “further deepen” cooperation between the sides, whose unofficial anti-Western alliance has strengthened since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, AP reports.
The exercises will be held off the coast of Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai, until next Tuesday, according to a brief notice released by the Chinese military on Monday.
“This joint exercise is designed to demonstrate the determination and ability of both sides to jointly respond to threats to maritime security… and to further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership for coordination between China and Russia of the new era,” it reads in the message.
Monday 19 December
Putin tightens borders and increases control over mass gatherings
11:15 pm | Russian President Vladimir Putin calls for greater efforts by the Russian security forces in every field. Among other things, he has ordered the tightening of Russian borders and tighter control of mass gatherings.
The security forces must also “protect” the population in the Ukrainian areas that Moscow has annexed. Putin called the inhabitants of the occupied territories “all Russian citizens”.
Furthermore, he ordered the security forces to act more forcefully and decisively against the activities of foreign intelligence services. Traitors, saboteurs and spies must be caught, Putin said.
Putin: good speeches Lukashenko
18:00 | Vladimir Putin has described talks between Russia and Belarus in Minsk as “very productive” following his face-to-face meeting with Alexander Lukashenko, Belarusian state media reported.
In a joint press conference with his Belarusian counterpart, Putin stressed that Russia has no interest in “absorbing” anyone and that anonymous “enemies” want to block Russia’s integration with Belarus.
The future of the Belarusian and Russian peoples “is now decided,” Belarusian state news agency Belta said, citing President Lukashenko. He added:
“Today we can say unequivocally: together we have not only managed to survive, but we have also found opportunities for the development of our economies”.
He said the two leaders’ negotiations with larger government delegations in Minsk had been productive, saying they had discussed “the full range of issues affecting Belarusian-Russian relations,” Belta said.
UN chief believes war in Ukraine ‘continues’
5:30 pm | UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he believed Russia’s war in Ukraine “will continue” and sees no prospect of “serious” peace talks in the foreseeable future.
Speaking at his year-end annual conference in New York, Guterres told reporters that he “will not budge in the pursuit of peace in Ukraine in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter,” referring to the fundamental principle of the United Nations Charter States of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He said he was “not optimistic” about any peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in the near future, adding:
“I believe the military confrontation will continue.” However, he said he “strongly hopes” that peace can be achieved in 2023, citing the “consequences” for the Ukrainian people, Russian society and the global economy if no agreement is reached.
“These are all reasons for us to do everything we can to reach a peace settlement by the end of 2023.” Finally, he said he would focus on improving the efficiency of a UN-brokered deal that would resume Ukrainian shipments of food and fertilizers through the Black Sea, that he would continue to try to limit Russian exports of ammonia through Ukraine, and that will try to expedite the exchange of prisoners of war.
Moldovan intelligence warns of the “very high” risk of a Russian offensive in the insurgent region
4pm | The head of Moldova’s security service, Alexandru Musteata, has warned of a “very high” risk of a new Russian offensive towards his country’s east, echoing recent reports from several Ukrainian military commanders that Moscow is preparing to a new big offensive early next year .
Russia is still pursuing a land corridor through Ukraine to Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria, Musteata told the TVR-Moldova television channel, as reported by Reuters. “The question is not whether the Russian Federation will make a new advance into the territory of Moldova, but when.”
He said his agency believes Moscow is exploring different scenarios to reach Moldova and that an offensive could be launched in January-February or later in March-April. Transnistria, controlled by pro-Russian separatists and permanently home to 1,500 Russian soldiers and a large weapons cache, borders western Ukraine.
Musteata said Russia wants to link its troops to those in Transnistria.