Ukraine’s war briefing: Nato condemns possible sabotage of cables in the Baltic Sea | Ukraine

Nato has offered its support to Finland and Estonia as it investigates possible sabotage of cables in the Baltic Sea. Mark Rutte, the head of the alliance, said on Thursday: “Have spoken to (Estonian Prime Minister) Kristen Michal about reported possible sabotage of cables in the Baltic Sea. Nato stands in solidarity with allies and condemns any attack on critical infrastructure. We are following investigations from Estonia and Finland , and we stand ready to provide further support.” Finnish authorities have seized a ship carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea on suspicion that it caused the outage of an undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia a day earlier and also damaged or snapped four internet lines. A Finnish coast guard crew boarded the Cook Islands-registered vessel, named by authorities as Eagle S, on Thursday. Twelve Western countries said on December 16 that they had agreed measures to “disrupt and deter” Russia’s shadow fleet to prevent sanctions violations and increase the cost to Moscow of the war in Ukraine. On Thursday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on X: “We must be able to prevent the risks posed by ships belonging to the Russian shadow fleet.”

Russia and Kazakhstan have tried to play down speculation about an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, as a US official said there were early indications that a Russian anti-aircraft missile system may have hit the plane. Earlier, a Ukrainian national security official and several sources in Azerbaijan claimed that the crash that killed 38 people on Christmas Day was caused by Russian air defense fire. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the investigation into the cause of the crash was ongoing, adding that it would be “wrong”. to speculate before the investigation is concluded.

Slovakia has offered to be a “platform” for possible peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. on Thursday. Putin told a televised press conference that Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, “said that if there are any negotiations, they would be happy to give their country as a platform”. He added that Russia was “not against it” and praised Slovakia’s “neutral position”. Slovakia, an EU and Nato member, has suspended military aid to Ukraine for more than a year under Fico’s government and called for peace talks. Fico, one of the few European leaders to maintain ties with the Kremlin, met the Russian president in Moscow on December 22 despite Western efforts to isolate Putin and present a united front in support of Kiev. Fico has accused Kiev of jeopardizing his country’s supply of Russian natural gas, on which the country is heavily dependent. The prospect of peace talks to end the conflict Ukraine which began in February 2022, has grown since the re-election of Donald Trump to the White House. Trump has vowed to push for a quick deal to end the fighting when he takes office in January, raising fears in Kiev and Europe that Ukraine could be pressured into making concessions to Moscow.

Putin also claimed that in 2021 US President Joe Biden offered to “push back” Ukraine’s entry into Nato. “In 2021, current President Biden offered exactly that: push back Ukraines Nato membership by 10 to 15 years because it was not yet ready,” he claimed at a press conference on Thursday. “I answered reasonably that ‘Yes, today it is not ready. But you will prepare for it and you will accept it.'” But for Russia, “What’s the difference — today, tomorrow or 10 years from now?” Ukraine has quickly sought a NATO invitation before the end of the Biden administration, but Putin considers NATO membership for Ukraine an unacceptable threat.

Russian drones hit a multi-story apartment building in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar, killing two people and wounded two in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Thursday, regional prosecutors said. Chasiv Yar has been under attack by Russian forces for many months as part of Russia’s westward move to capture the Donbas region. The city lies west of Bakhmut, a regional center which fell to Russian forces in May 2023 after months of fierce fighting.

Moldova’s parliament has approved a 10-year defense strategy that calls for increased defense spending as part of a plan to join the EU. The chamber’s pro-Russian opposition derided the document — which aims to increase defense spending to 1% of gross domestic product by 2030 — as pointlessly targeting Moscow in light of Moldova’s small land mass and armed forces. The document mentions risks of the Ukraine conflict spreading, particularly around the Black Sea port of Odesa close to the Moldovan border. Western President Maia Sandu, who was re-elected for a second term last month, has accused Russia of trying to oust her government. The former Soviet state is one of Europe’s poorest countries, located between Ukraine and EU member Romania.