War in Ukraine: Slovakia offers negotiations, Russia accuses kyiv of assassinating officers… an update on the situation

Russia says it has foiled Ukrainian plans to assassinate Russian officers

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday it had foiled several plans to assassinate high-ranking officers and their family members in Moscow, hatched by Ukrainian secret services. General Igor Kirillov, commander of the Russian nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces, was killed on December 17 in Moscow by the explosion of a booby-trapped scooter outside his building.

A source within the SBU, Ukraine's security services, claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of his agency. Russia denounced an attack committed by Ukraine and promised reprisals. “The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation has foiled a series of assassination attempts on high-ranking military personnel of the Ministry of Defense”the FSB said. “Four Russian citizens involved in the preparation of these attacks have been arrested”he added.

The FSB specified that these suspects had been recruited by Ukrainian services. One of these men had recovered in Moscow a bomb camouflaged as an electric battery which was to be attached to the car of a Russian Defense Ministry official, according to the FSB. Another man had been responsible for monitoring various Russian defense officials. One of the assassination plans involved delivering a bomb resembling a briefcase, the FSB said.

Putin says Slovakia offered to host Ukraine talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Slovakia had offered to be a “platform” for possible peace negotiations on Ukraine, almost three years after the Russian assault began.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico “said that if there are negotiations, they (the Slovaks, editor's note) would be happy to provide the platform for their country”, declared Vladimir Putin during a press conference, saying he judged this solution “acceptable”. “We are not against”he stressed, praising the “neutral position” of Slovakia.

Robert Fico, one of the few European leaders who remained close to the Kremlin, met the Russian president in Moscow on December 22. This visit by a European leader to the Russian capital, a very rare step, went against the policy of isolation of Vladimir Putin applied by the West, who strive to form a united front in their support for kyiv .

The hypothesis of peace negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, triggered by the Russian offensive in February 2022, is increasingly being mentioned less than a month before Donald Trump returns to the White House. The Republican, already president from 2017 to 2021, has repeatedly promised to restore peace in Ukraine “in 24 hours” and called for a “immediate ceasefire” as well as talks.

But the vagueness surrounding his plan arouses concern in Ukraine. In difficulty on the front and very dependent on Western aid, it fears being forced into an agreement that would be unfavorable to it. Robert Fico, who has again led the government of Slovakia, a member country of the EU and NATO, since the fall of 2023, has decided to stop all military aid to Ukraine and is calling for peace talks.

He also accuses kyiv of endangering his country's supply of Russian gas, on which it is very dependent. Ukraine announced last summer that it would not renew its contract with Russia until the end of the year to transport Russian gas to Europe via its extensive network of gas pipelines. No credible solution has yet been found.

Ukrainians “are already punishing Europe by ending the contract for the supply of our gas”said Vladimir Putin on Thursday. It is impossible to conclude a new contract “in 3-4 days”he insisted.

The Russian president assured that his country remained ready to supply gas to the EU, suggesting in particular that it be transported by the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, a large section of which passes through Poland. Vladimir Putin said Russia would achieve “all (his) objectives in Ukraine”. “That’s job number one,” he said. In this regard, the Russian president warned that his country was ready to once again use its latest generation Orechnik missile.

“If it proves necessary and if we find that the use of more powerful mid-range weapons is required, of course we will use them, of course. But we are in no hurry,” he said.

The Russian army used this missile for the first time on November 21 against a Ukrainian city, Putin having presented this attack as a response to recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil using American and British missiles, while threatening to directly hit the countries that arm kyiv. He repeatedly threatened to bomb “decision centers” in kyiv.

Ukraine: Biden slams “scandalous” Russian attack on Christmas Day

US President Joe Biden called Wednesday “scandalous” the massive Russian attack on Ukraine's power grid on Christmas Day, after Moscow launched more than 170 missiles and drones, killing one person.

“The aim of this scandalous attack was to cut off the Ukrainian people's access to heat and electricity during the winter and to jeopardize the security of their network,” Biden said in a statement.