Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 12-01-2024

In this week’s edition of TVP World’s Ukraine This Week two experts who are regular contributors to Kyiv Post, and its editor Bohdan Nahaylo, share their thoughts on the latest developments.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• In Donetsk oblast, Russian forces have made rapid advances towards the eastern flank of Velyka Novosilka. The town has been situated on the front line since 2022 and has acted as a lynchpin of Ukraine's defensive line. Ukraine regained some territory south of the town as part of its 2023 counter offensive.
• Velyka Novosilka is now vulnerable to Russian attacks due to the loss of Vuhledar, 30km to the east, in early October 2024. This enabled increased Russian advances into less well-defended areas in western Donetsk oblast. Russian forces are attacking behind established Ukrainian defences and threatening

With neither side willing to negotiate there can be no settlement; Ukraine, will keep fighting for its survival while the Kremlin seeks to maximize territorial gains as Western aid for Ukraine fades.

Negotiations are unlikely

Discussions on the possibility of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia continue and now some believe that when President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Kyiv would be more willing to seek negotiations with Moscow as Western aid dwindles and Trump’s team speak about a potential peace plan.

Romanians hold parliamentary election against background of political turmoil.

Romanians returned to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament, with the far right tipped to win, potentially heralding a shift in the foreign policy of the NATO country bordering Ukraine.

The parliamentary poll comes at a time of political turmoil, sparked when a top court ordered a recount of the first round of the separate presidential election on November 24.

Alisher Usmanov, a Russian oligarch close to Putin, was re-elected president of the International Fencing Federation, despite Western sanctions. His return has sparked outrage in Ukraine.

Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who stepped down as president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was re-elected to the post on Saturday.

Usmanov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, won 120 votes to 26 for the other candidate, former Olympian Otto Drakenberg of Sweden, at the FIE's congress in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.

Russian forces are suffering heavy losses in Syria, leading Moscow to replace General Sergey Kiselyov. Ukrainian intelligence reports hundreds of Russian troops missing after intense battles.

Russian forces are facing significant losses during battles in Syria, prompting Moscow to replace the commander of its troops in the country, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported on Sunday, Dec 1. The Kremlin dismissed General Sergey Kiselyov, who had been leading the group in Syria.

Previously, Sergey Kiselyov faced criticism for his failures during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which led to his dismissal and subsequent assignment to Syria. In his place, the Kremlin appointed General Alexander Chayko, who had already commanded Russian forces in Syria from 2017 to 2019.

Zelensky is not capitulating, quite the opposite. But he has the people in mind first and foremost, as he should.

President Zelensky stated in an interview for Sky News that he would be prepared to end the “hot” war in exchange for NATO membership, even if the Russian Federation did not immediately return our captured territories”

This sent a shock wave throughout the pro-Ukrainian camp: – “Oh no, is he capitulating?”

On Dec. 1, Russia launched 78 drones at Ukraine, hitting several regions, with air defense downing 32 drones and 45 others were lost in different locations.

Russia launched 78 drones against Ukraine overnight on Dec. 1 from the Russian cities of Kursk, Orel, and Bryansk, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

The airstrike was intercepted by anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units, and mobile fire teams of Ukraine's Air Force.

Although Trump did not appoint the pro-Ukraine Mike Pompeo or Nikki Haley to positions within his administration there are Republicans who share their views and are not afraid to voice them.

My previous, rather gloomy, column nevertheless ended on an optimistic note.

Although President-elect Donald Trump did not appoint Mike Pompeo or Nikki Haley to positions within his administration, he cannot remove recently elected Republicans in both chambers of Congress who, on the whole, share their pro-Ukraine views rather than Trump’s and, particularly, JD Vance's pro-Russia sentiments.

On Dec. 1, drone attacks hit Kaluga and Bryansk regions, damaging buildings and killing one, including a child, according to Russian officials.

In the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 1, drones attacked Russian territory, with local residents reportingexplosions in the Kaluga and Bryansk regions.

The first explosions were heard around 2 a.m. in Kaluga, located southwest of Moscow, and about 500 kilometers (311 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Lord Ashcroft met the secretive genius behind the embattled country’s state-of-the-art “sea drones” that have decimated Russia’s Black Sea fleet and humiliated Vladimir Putin.

“Q” is the mastermind behind deadly gadgets and hidden firepower from countless James Bond films. I met his real life equivalent at a secret location in Ukraine, and he did not disappoint. His face and head were hidden behind a military cap and ski mask while his eyes were covered by black wrap-around sunglasses. Not an inch of his skin was revealed because he was also wearing a dark green cardigan, faded jeans and camouflage-patterned gloves.

In a second-floor office block on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, one of Russia’s biggest wartime targets was seated behind a large wooden table as I entered the room. He looked like a highly trained assassin, and, in military terms, he is exactly that.

The EU’s new top diplomats, Kaja Kallas and Antonio Costa, visited Kyiv to show support for Ukraine on their first day in office.

The EU's new top diplomat Kaja Kallas and head of the European Council Antonio Costa arrived in Kyiv Sunday in a symbolic show of support for Ukraine on their first day in office. 

"We came to give a clear message that we stand with Ukraine, and we continue to give our full support," Costa told media outlets including AFP accompanying them on the trip.

The current push against Syrian government forces in Aleppo has been conducted by a disparate opposition groups whose only connection seems to be a hatred of the Assad regime and its Russian backers.

The offensive thrust into Syria’s Aleppo governate that began on Nov. 27, is being carried out by a coalition of Islamist militant groups led by the Turkish backed former Al Qaeda affiliated group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

According to reports on some Islamist social media sites, the rebel groups based in the Idlib region – which is said to include members of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) – had received operational training from special forces troops from the Khimik group of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR). The training team focused on tactics developed during the war in Ukraine, including on the use of drones.

In an exclusive interview Natiia Pantsulaia, one of Ukraine’s biggest stars, speaks about the challenges facing women’s football and its triumphs despite the war.

For the third year in a row, Ukrainian football competitions have been held amid the full-scale war. Despite a myriad of severe challenges, Ukrainian women's football is gaining popularity and bringing some sense of normalcy amid the daily tragedies Ukraine faces. Before each match, the players take to the field with Ukrainian flags and a minute’s silence, to honor those fallen heroes thanks to whom football is alive in the country.

One of the biggest stars of Ukrainian football, is Natiia Pantsulaia, a key player for the national women's team, Kharkiv’s Metalist 1925 FC and is an ambassador for the Ukrainian sportswear brand SGK1 UA.

A rescue operation is currently underway in the Dnipro region after the missile strike

A Russian missile strike on a town in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region on Saturday killed at least four people, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

More than a dozen others were wounded, including a child, while a residential building and shop were damaged, according to officials.