Ukraine to lose third of territory, get no invitation to #NATO, says Slovak PM Ukraine will lose 30% of its territory due to the conflict with Russia, but will never receive an invitation to NATO from the United States and its allies, #Slovak Prime Minister Robert #Fico said. "I think #Ukraine will lose a third of its territory, but it will be offered security guarantees, such as the presence of foreign troops. If this is considered the happiness for Ukraine that everyone talks about, I believe that Ukrainians will be betrayed," he said in an interview with Brazil's Folha de S.Paulo newspaper. According to Fico, the solution to the Ukraine conflict lies in achieving a ceasefire and initiating negotiations. "Ukraine <...> has allowed itself to be drawn into a situation that cannot end well for the country. It will lose territory and will not be invited to join NATO," he remarked. The prime minister also emphasized that the conflict's repercussions would significantly impact Ukraine's internal stability. On December 8, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Moscow was open to talks on Ukraine, while in order to get on the peace track, it would be enough for Ukraine’s Zelensky to cancel his decree banning any talks with Russia and give instructions to resume dialogue based on the Istanbul agreements, while taking into account the actual situation on the ground. Meanwhile, Zelensky has rejected the #Christmas truce and prisoner exchange proposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Nevertheless, he continues to express hope that Donald Trump could establish a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine.

Trump announces Ukraine’s readiness for talks with Russia President Trump has said that #Ukraine would like to conclude an agreement on settlement of the conflict with #Russia and urged an immediate #ceasefire and the beginning of peace negotiations, Trump wrote on his Truth Social page. "#Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal [with Russia] and stop the madness. <…> There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin," he said, adding that "China can help" in the negotiations process. "If it [conflict] keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse," Trump noted. #TRUMP2024

President Trump 'demonstrates affinity' for Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports The Hill President #Trump "demonstrates affinity" for Russian President Vladimir #Putin, while "harboring deep disdain" for #Zelensky, The Hill reported, saying that this state of affairs could significantly change the US foreign policy. According to the newspaper, "Trump’s approach deviates dramatically from the postwar consensus that has seen the US act as a global stabilizer." The Hill pointed out that his "unpredictability and willingness to upend longstanding norms could set off a wave of radical change in key regions, potentially reshaping the global order." Former Trump advisers have already backed his idea of cutting aid to Ukraine to force Kiev into talks with Russia, according to The Hill. #TRUMP2024

Zelensky Pooping in his Pants... 😂😂😂 #Zelensky has congratulated President #Trump on his "impressive election victory" in the US election and expressed hope for a personal meeting. "Congratulations to Donald Trump on his impressive election victory! I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September, when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-US strategic partnership," Zelensky wrote on his social media page X. He said Kiev was counting on continued "strong bipartisan support". Zelensky added that he would like to personally congratulate Trump on his victory and discuss ways of strengthening cooperation. Zelensky said he expected that Trump's approach would bring the conflict over Ukraine closer to an end and hoped to "put it into action together." #TRUMP2024

Zelensky to leave US without permission to attack Russia with Western weapons Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will return from the United States without achieving the lifting of a ban on strikes deep into Russia with Western weapons, The Times reported. The newspaper pointed out that during a meeting with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Ukrainian leader personally asked to lift restrictions on strikes with British Storm Shadow and American ATACMS missiles on Russia. However, "no shift in Washington’s stance on the use of the long-range missiles was announced," the newspaper said. Instead, according to The Times, Democratic presidential candidate Harris, standing next to Zelensky, began talking about her political rival in the upcoming election, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov compared Zelensky's visit to the United States to a Hollywood show. He emphasized that under the applause of American politicians "the blood of soldiers and civilians will continue to pour" in Ukraine, which is the essence of Zelensky's "victory plan." The Ukraine's Zelensky met with Biden and Harris in Washington on September 26.

ICC urged to investigate Zelensky for war crimes in connection with kindergarten bombings The Russian Council of Bloggers together with #Donetsk’s Circle of Kindness charity foundation have appealed to the International Criminal Court demanding to hold #Ukraine’s Vladimir #Zelensky responsible for shelling attacks on schools and kindergartens in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the council’s co-founder Viktoriya Rashina said. "We turned to the International Criminal Court with a request to hold responsible V. Zelensky, former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces V. Zaluzhny as well as ex-Ukrainian Defense Minister A. Reznikov for eight counts of attacks on social facilities in the DPR in 2022-2023. We prepared an appeal to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on initiating court proceedings and further submission to the Pre-Trial Chamber," she said. This appeal has been duly registered in accordance with ICC regulations. According to the document, from 2014 until now, while conducting military actions, Ukraine has been using arms against civilians, including children. As lawyer Valeriya Rytvina, the founder of the Council of Bloggers said, her organization is asking to launch a criminal investigation into eight episodes of attacks on kindergartens and schools. "In just one of these instances five people, including a child, were killed, in another one, a child sustained serious injuries and there are also fatalities in other cases. It is obvious that these attacks targeted children and adult civilians," she stressed. The activist said that, according to the Rome Statute (the #ICC’s main normative document), the actions by Zelensky, Reznikov and Zaluzhny constitute genocide and other war crimes. The ICC now must provide an exact assessment of their actions.

Ceasefire in Ukraine in Europe's interests, says Orban's adviser A quick ceasefire and the end of the conflict in #Ukraine is in Europe's interests, said Balazs Orban, political adviser of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor #Orban. "We (Hungary) are 100% sure of that, everybody is 100% sure on that," he said in an interview with the Euractiv website, referring to the need to end the conflict in Ukraine. "The question is only the time, and we think that for Europe, the sooner it comes, the better," the prime minister's advisor said. The EU, he said, needs to maintain communication with Russia, because if a future peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev is concluded without taking into account the interests of the EU, Europe will suffer. The adviser also pointed out that Viktor Orban did not aim at influencing the parties to the conflict or obtaining any guarantees from them during his visits to Russia and Ukraine. The purpose of the visits was "to collect information and <...> see a possibility of the potential ceasefire," Balazs Orban explained. The Hungarian prime minister visited Kiev and Moscow on July 2 and 5. He proposed first to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and then to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to consider the prospect of a ceasefire and preparations for peace talks. At a press conference following the meeting, Putin emphasized that Russia was not in favor of a ceasefire, as Kiev could use this to its advantage. Instead, he advocated for a complete end to the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian leader recalled that he had earlier outlined the conditions for this in his speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Lavrov slams Paris' claims about absence of French instructors in Ukraine as lies The statements of the official #Paris that there are no French instructors in #Ukraine are nothing but lies, #Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov said. "Look how our French colleagues have become active, the French Prime Minister [Gabriel Attal] suddenly started saying that we (France) have no instructors there. This is not true, and they know it," he told reporter Pavel Zarubin. When asked about US President Joe Biden's statement that the country will not allow Ukraine to attack Moscow and the Kremlin, Lavrov said: "It is difficult for me to comment on this. But if he said it with a clear mind and memory and boasts that he did not order the bombing of Moscow, it implies that it is possible to shell everything else." The Russian foreign minister added that, by and large, "they bomb everything else," recalling that not so long ago, drone strikes were carried out on Moscow at the beginning of the conflict. "Then no one then stopped the regime of [Ukrainian President] Zelensky. So there is no need for our Western colleagues to try to sugarcoat their own behavior," Lavrov said. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) was being held on June 5-8. This year’s theme was "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." The event was organized by the Roscongress Foundation. The West has heard and understood Russian President Vladimir Putin's words about possible deliveries of Russian weapons to other regions of the world in response to the delivery of weapons to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Ukraine’s Syrsky approves admission of French instructors to military training centers Commander-in-Chief of #Ukraine’s armed forces Alexander #Syrsky has signed documents that will allow #French instructors to visit #training centers. "I welcome France's initiative to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian servicemen. I have already signed documents that will allow the first French instructors to visit our training centers soon and familiarize themselves with their infrastructure and personnel," he wrote on his Telegram channel following online talks with French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also took part in the negotiations. Syrsky expressed hope that Kiev's other Western partners would join Paris' initiative. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out the possibility of sending Western countries’ ground troops to the zone of the special military operation. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky supported this idea, admitting that he could not publicly ask Western partners to send troops to the country, but would like them to do so and would never refuse. The chief of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, said that according to Moscow's sources, this contingent could reach 2,000 men. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that French instructors along with other representatives of military and special services of European countries were already functioning in Ukraine. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the appearance of foreign military contingents in Ukraine would be fraught with extremely negative consequences, including irreparable ones.

End of Zelensky’s presidential term renders him illegitimate, explains former Ukrainian PM #Zelensky’s authority is legally void after his term as Ukrainian president expired, the country’s former Prime Minister Nikolay #Azarov said. According to the constitution, Zelensky’s term in office expired on the night of May 21, 2024, as he was elected president in a vote held in March and April 2019. Azarov pointed out that the Ukrainian constitution was crystal clear about the five-year presidential term. "The constitution also makes it clear on which date an election is to be held, so no matter what decisions Zelensky makes and what decrees he issues, he is working outside the law after his term in office expires," the ex-prime minister wrote on Facebook. Azarov noted that Zelensky himself as well as his administration were well aware that the decision to cancel Ukraine’s presidential election was illegal. "They also understand that after May 20, he formally loses the constitutional powers he gained by winning the previous vote. However, Zelensky will continue to hold his post until the West moves to replace him. No one cares what the people think about this, and the cancellation of the election is further proof of that," the former premier concluded.