► Fifteen years in prison for treason in Crimea
A resident of Sevastopol, in annexed Crimea, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for treason for the benefit of Ukraine, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office announced Thursday, December 26 in a press release.
Oksana Senedjouk, chief specialist of the research and design institute in the field of urban planning and architecture of Sevastopol, was found guilty “of high treason” by the municipal court of this port city on the shores of the Black Sea, according to the press release.
► Russia accuses Ukraine of being responsible for arson
Moscow accused the “Ukrainian secret services” to be behind around fifty arson attacks and attacks using explosives targeting administrative buildings in Russia in December. From December 18 to 26, “55 crimes of this type were recorded” and police arrested 44 people on suspicion, according to a press release from the Russian Interior Ministry.
“It is the Ukrainian secret services who are behind the organization of such crimes”assured the ministry, estimating that Russians involved in these crimes were most often retirees, adolescents or students, looking for“easy money”.
► Moscow claims that Paris wanted to establish a “dialogue” without kyiv
The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, affirmed that France had sought to establish with Moscow “a dialogue on the Ukrainian question” without involving kyiv, at a time when the possibility of peace negotiations is increasingly being mentioned.
Western countries, seeking to display a united front in their support for kyiv, have repeatedly said that no decisions can be made on Ukraine behind its back.
“I will not go into details so as not to disappoint anyone, but on several occasions our French colleagues have launched appeals through confidential channels: “Let us help, let's establish a dialogue on the Ukrainian question”. Besides, without Ukraine »Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference. The head of Russian diplomacy did not indicate when these supposed contacts would have taken place.
A French diplomatic source reacted: “The Russian authorities are accustomed to making untimely comments aimed at exploiting a war of aggression for which they bear full responsibility,” adding: “as recalled by France since the start of the war, it is up to Ukraine, an attacked country, to define the moment and the conditions in which they will want to initiate a negotiation process. »
► Biden castigates “scandalous” Russian attack on Christmas Day
US President Joe Biden called Wednesday evening a “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.
The day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky strongly denounced this attack in a message posted on X: “Today Putin consciously chose Christmas for his attack. What could be more inhumane? “.
For the second year in a row, Ukraine celebrated Christmas on December 25 as in the West and no longer on January 7 – corresponding to December 25 of the old Julian calendar still followed by the Russian Orthodox Church for religious holidays.
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