War in Ukraine: Russia is still moving forward, Putin's threats, the call to strengthen Europe's defense… Update on the situation

A new Russian advance

Russia is accelerating its advance into eastern Ukraine, seeking to gain as much territory as possible before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, which could reshuffle the conflict cards in the event of forced negotiations. This Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense indicated that troops seized two new villages: Lozova, in the Kharkiv oblast, and Krasnoye, very close to the industrial town of Kurakhove, in the Donetsk oblast. . According to Moscow, nearly 200 Ukrainian localities, including almost the entire Donestk oblast, have fallen this year.

Vladimir Putin's threats

And the president is still putting more pressure. After a drone attack the day before against buildings in Kazan, a city in central Russia very far from the front, Vladimir Putin promised this Sunday even more destruction in Ukraine. “Anyone who attempts to destroy anything in our country, no matter how small, will face much greater destruction in their own country and will regret what they tried to do to our country.” he declared during an official ceremony. kyiv, however, has not yet claimed responsibility for this attack.

Russia, “a permanent threat”

Still far from the front, while the Russian President welcomed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, one of the rare European leaders with whom he remained close, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo affirmed that Russia represents a “permanent threat” for the European Union, and stressed the need to increase defense spending and continue support for Ukraine. As part of a summit on security and immigration, in the presence of the head of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas and the Prime Ministers of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, Italy, Giorgia Meloni and Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he declared: “Europe's defense must be strengthened by all possible means, we must explore all financial options“.