Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Between the strong declarations, the advances on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the essential part of this Sunday, December 15, 2024, the 1,026th day of the war.
Fact of the day
Russia claimed on Sunday to have conquered villages in two strategic sectors of the front in eastern Ukraine, approaching in particular Pokrovsk, an important city for the logistics of the Ukrainian army.
Moscow forces “liberated” the village of Vesely Gai, south of the industrial town of Kurakhové, and that of Pushkin, south of Pokrovsk, both in the Donetsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Ukrainian force grouping in Khortytsia on Sunday reported “exhausting confrontations” underway in the surrounding area and in the town of Kurakhové, as well as further north in the stormed hill town of Chasiv Yar.
“The situation is complex and changing. Our troops are currently organizing themselves to improve the tactical situation,” commented this military group on the Telegram network.
Today's statement
« NATO is not currently a defense alliance. A defense community must accept and respect the interests of all European countries, including the interests of Russia »
Co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) Tino Chrupalla said Germany would have to reconsider its NATO membership if the US-dominated alliance did not take into account the interests of European countries, “including the interests of Russia”. “Europe was forced to implement the interests of the United States. We reject this,” Tino Chrupalla told German daily Welt.
“NATO is not currently a defense alliance. A defense community must accept and respect the interests of all European countries, including the interests of Russia,” added Chrupalla. “If NATO is not able to ensure this, Germany must ask itself to what extent this alliance is still useful to us,” added the AfD co-leader.
The trend
Part of the Russian diplomatic staff in Damascus was repatriated from Syria to Russia on Sunday, Kremlin diplomacy announced, a week after the fall of its ally Bashar al-Assad.
“On December 15, the withdrawal of part of the personnel of the Russian (diplomatic) representation in Damascus was carried out during a special flight of the Russian Air Force […] departed from the Hmeimim air base” in Syria, the crisis situations department of the Russian Foreign Ministry said. It specifies that the flight arrived at Chkalovsky airport, near Moscow, but does not indicate how many people were repatriated. “The Russian Embassy in Damascus continues to operate,” concludes the statement published on Telegram.
The fate of the two Russian military bases in Syria, the Tartus naval base and the Hmeimim military airfield, is now in question. This is key infrastructure for Russia to maintain its influence in the Middle East, the Mediterranean basin and as far as Africa.
