War in Ukraine: one dead in a Russian strike, the Slovak Prime Minister accused of wanting to “help Putin”… an update on the situation

Russian missile strike kills one in Kryvyi Rih

One person was killed and 11 others injured in a Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown in central Ukraine, local authorities said Tuesday. A residential building was hit and people could still be trapped in the rubble, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said.

kyiv condemned the attack, which occurred on Christmas Eve. “While other countries around the world celebrate Christmas, Ukrainians continue to face Russian attacks”Ukrainian mediator Dmytro Loubinets said on Telegram.

North Korea's engagement with Moscow 'has not had a significant impact'

The engagement of North Korean soldiers alongside the Russian army in the Russian oblast of Kursk “did not have a significant impact” on the course of the fighting, assured Tuesday to Agence France-Presse , a Ukrainian military intelligence official. According to kyiv, 12,000 North Korean soldiers, including “around 500 officers”were mobilized in this region bordering Ukraine, of which the Ukrainian army has occupied several hundred square kilometers since August. Neither Russia nor North Korea have ever confirmed the presence of this contingent alongside Moscow's troops.

According to this Ukrainian military intelligence official, North Korean troops do not have modern combat experience, particularly in the face of drones that have become omnipresent on the battlefield, and employ “more primitive tactics, from the Second World War or post-World War II”. “But they are also learning. And we cannot underestimate the enemy. And we can see that they are already taking certain things into account in their activities”continued this official.

22 years in prison for a man accused of railway sabotage for Ukraine

A Russian military court announced Tuesday that it had sentenced to twenty-two years in prison a man accused of railway sabotage in 2023 for the benefit of Ukraine in Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Pavel Levchenko was accused of provoking “two explosions during the passage of freight trains”the military court said in a statement. He was planning further sabotage and acting on orders from kyiv, said this court located in Rostov-on-Don, in southwest Russia. He was allegedly trained by the security service of Ukraine and then sent to Crimea to commit “acts of terrorism”.

Since 2022, the Russian authorities have increased arrests for “espionage”, “treason”, “sabotage”, “extremism” or even “discredit of the army”often with very heavy prison sentences. But trials are often held behind closed doors and few details of the cases are made public. Since February 2022, thousands of people have been sanctioned, threatened or imprisoned because of their opposition to the conflict.

Zelensky accuses Slovak Prime Minister of wanting to “help Putin” after his visit to Moscow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday accused Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who visited Moscow the day before, of wanting “help” Vladimir Poutine “to earn money to finance the war with kyiv”.

Faced with the Russian invasion for almost three years, Ukraine announced last summer that it would not renew the contract binding it to Russia until the end of the year to transport Russian gas to Europe via its extensive network of gas pipelines. Robert Fico, whose country is very dependent on this supply, criticizes kyiv for this choice.

But the Slovak Prime Minister does not want to find solutions to replace Russian gas and ensure “energy independence” of Europe, accused Volodymyr Zelensky in an angry message. This suggests that“he wants to help Putin earn money to finance the war and weaken Europe”wrote the Ukrainian president on X. “We are losing people because of the war that Putin started, and we think that such aid to Putin is immoral”he said.

The “but principal” by Robert Fico “is to do business with Russia”and dances by Volodymyr Zelensky. “Why is this leader so dependent on Moscow?”he asked, suggesting that the head of the Slovak government could be “paid”.

Robert Fico, one of the only European leaders to have remained close to Vladimir Putin, has decided to stop all military aid to Ukraine and is calling for peace talks. He explained on Sunday that his surprise visit to Moscow was “in response” to Volodymyr Zelensky's position on gas.