What has happened in the last few hours
On the 301st day of the war against Ukraine started by Russia, these are the key data at 12:50 this Wednesday, December 21st:
Zelenski travels to the US to meet with Biden and give a speech in Congress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in Washington on Wednesday for his first trip abroad since the Russian invasion began last February. The President of Ukraine confirmed in a tweet this morning that he is on his way to the United States to meet with his American counterpart Joe Biden and deliver a speech in the plenary session of the country’s congress.
Biden will announce delivery of Patriot surface-to-air missiles to Kyiv on Wednesday. US President Joe Biden will announce the delivery of Patriot surface-to-air missiles to Kyiv during Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington on Wednesday, according to US diplomats, according to US diplomats. The US will also commit to training Ukrainian military in a third country.
Moscow, before Zelenski’s visit to the USA: “The new delivery of arms aggravates the conflict”. “A new delivery of weapons is exacerbating the conflict,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington. Peskov also rules out a move from Kyiv to the peace talks. “The delivery of weapons continues and the range of delivered weapons is expanding. All this, of course, leads to an aggravation of the conflict. It doesn’t bode well for Ukraine,” he said.
The director of the UN nuclear agency will travel to Russia on Thursday to discuss establishing a security zone at the Zaporizhia plant. Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will travel to Russia tomorrow, Thursday, to discuss the creation of a safety zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
Putin postpones his annual speech to parliament until 2023 despite being bound by the constitution. The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, will not deliver the annual speech to the two chambers of parliament in 2022, despite the constitution requiring presidents to issue “annual messages” to a forum called the Federal Assembly.
Xi Jinping calls for “restraint” in Ukraine at a meeting with former Russian President Medvedev. Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Beijing on Wednesday, during which he called for “moderation” and “dialogue” in the Ukraine conflict, according to the Xinhua news agency. Medvedev came to China at the invitation of the Communist Party as leader of the United Russia party.
In the picture, Andriy Andriyenko (AP photo)a man plays with a dog in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.