The Ukrainian city of Kherson was blasted overnight, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that air defense systems supplied by Germany and the U.S. were “very effective.”
Zelenskyy highlighted the IRIS-T and Patriot drones in his nightly address Sunday, and thanked all allies who had contributed resources to Ukraine’s defenses.
More than 40 countries came together over the weekend in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss a possible formula for bringing a peaceful conclusion to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Delegations from the United States, China and India were present for the talks, which senior Ukrainian government official Andriy Yermak described as “productive.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s deputy foreign minister said the West’s efforts to mobilize the international community to support a peace deal are “doomed to failure,” according to state-owned media agency Tass.
Russia says a peace settlement only possible if Kyiv lays down its arms
Russia says a peace settlement in Ukraine is only possible if Kyiv lays down its arms, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
A solution to the conflict will only be found if the “the Kiev regime puts an end to military activities and terrorist attacks, while its Western sponsors stop pumping the Ukrainian armed forces with weapons,” Zakharova was quoted as saying by state news agency Tass, using the Russian transliterated spelling of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.
“The original foundations of Ukraine’s sovereignty should be reaffirmed, that is, its neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-weapon-free status,” she said.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which has since killed tens of thousands of people, turned several million into refugees, and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage to the country’s infrastructure, environment and industries.
— Natasha Turak
Top Ukrainian presidential adviser says there can be no compromise with Russia
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said there can be no compromise measures with Russia as those could give it more time to entrench its forces’ positions in occupied territories.
“There can be no compromise positions such as ‘immediate ceasefires’ and ‘negotiations here and now’ that give Russia time to stay in the occupied territories,” Podolyak wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Only the withdrawal of Russian troops to the 1991 border.”
He added that any compromise agreement would lead to prolonged war in the future. Some neutral countries have called for a compromise settlement between the warring parties that would see Ukraine cede a portion of territory to Russia; Kyiv has wholeheartedly rejected that, saying there will be no peace until Moscow withdraws from internationally-recognized Ukrainian land.
Ukraine says 22 soldiers return in latest prisoner swap with Russia
Russia and Ukraine carried out the latest in a series of prisoner exchanges on Monday, with 22 Ukrainian soldiers returning home, a senior Ukrainian official said.
Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, said the released servicemen included two officers, sergeants and privates who fought in different parts of the front. Some of them were wounded.
A video posted on Telegram showed soldiers wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags posing for pictures and shouting “Glory to Ukraine.”
— Reuters
Russia says it gained two miles of territory in northern Ukraine
Russia’s defense ministry says its forces advanced three kilometers (two miles) into Ukraine’s defenses over the last three days in northern Ukraine.
“Over the past three days, the advance of Russian troops … amounted to 11 kilometers along the front and more than three kilometers deep into the enemy’s defense,” the ministry said in a statement. It added that its positions along the front line had “improved.”
CNBC could not verify details on the ground. Russian forces are focusing their assault on areas like Kharkiv, which Ukraine had liberated from their occupation in September.
— Natasha Turak
Western microchips used to power smartphones and laptops are continuing to enter Russia and fuel its military arsenal, new analysis shows.
Trade data and manifests analyzed by CNBC show that Moscow has been sourcing an increased number of semiconductors and other advanced Western technologies through intermediary countries such as China.
In 2022, Russia imported $2.5 billion worth of semiconductor technologies, up from $1.8 billion in 2021.
— Karen Gilchrist
Source: CNBC