• Kiev: “Russia is also moving to undermine support for Ukraine.”
• Kremlin: Kiev's accession to the EU could destabilize the union.
• Lavrov: EU heads of state and government seek negotiations behind Kiev's back.
• Orban's veto of other European funds for Ukraine.
• Media: “Navalny transferred to a correctional facility.”
9:07 a.m. – Putin: “I was naive towards the West, Western countries wanted the collapse of Russia”
Putin said that in the first years of his term he was “naïve” about the intentions of Western countries aimed at the “disintegration” of Russia, as happened with the USSR. In an interview with the Rossiya-1 television channel, reported by Tass, Putin said that former American national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski had a plan to “split Russia into five parts and exploit its resources.”
8:56 a.m. – Putin: “Russia has no interest in fighting NATO”
“Biden’s statement that Russia intends to attack NATO is nonsense,” claims Russian President Vladimir Putin. – Russia has no interest in attacking NATO. »
8:55 a.m. – Kiev: “One missile and 20 drones shot down in the night”
Ukraine said it shot down a missile and 20 Russian attack drones last night, while Russia said it destroyed 33 Ukrainian drones. “The Russian occupation forces attacked with an Iskander-K cruise missile, a Kh-59 guided missile and 20 Shahed attack drones,” the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement. Ukrainian forces shot down the drones and the Kh-59 missile, while the Iskander-K missed its target, he added, specifying that the missiles were fired from Crimea and the Kherson-occupied region (south). On the Russian side, the Defense Ministry said its forces “intercepted and destroyed” 33 Ukrainian drones in three border regions (Lipetsk, Rostov and Volgograd).
8:45 a.m. – Trump sues Putin and praises Orban
In the speech in which he said that migrants are “poisoning the blood of our nation,” Donald Trump also referred to Vladimir Putin's negative opinion of American democracy and praised Viktor Orban. The former president pointed to Putin's verdict on the dozens of charges the tycoon faces: “This is evidence of the rot of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy,” Trump said, quoting Putin . “They are laughing at us,” Trump added, before praising the Hungarian prime minister, who presents himself as an exemplary leader of an “illiberal” country and takes extreme positions on immigration. A leader who is “maximally respected” for Trump recalls that he was praised by him as “the man who can save the Western world.” Not only. At last night's rally in New Hampshire, Trump called the hundreds of people arrested and charged “hostages” for taking part in the attack on Congress on January 6, 2021 to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's victory . Trump's praise for authoritarian leaders alarms those fearful of the policies the former president might adopt if he wins a second term: “Trump thinks American democracy is a farce and wants to persuade his followers to do the same: Putin hates Western democracy “Values” like democracy and the rule of law, and even Trump hates them,” comments Jennifer Mercieca, a professor at Texas A&M University.
07.45 a.m. – Ukraine, on Tuesday Crosetto will present the weapons package for Kiev at Copasir
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto will be heard by the Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic (Copasir) on Tuesday, December 19, at 3:30 p.m. The topic of the meeting was the content of the eighth military aid package for Ukraine.
05:49 – Ukraine: 33 drones shot down by the Russian air defense system
Thirty-three drones of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were shot down and intercepted over the Lipetsk, Rostov and Volgograd regions. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense, which considers the offensive a “terrorist attack”. “The air defense systems in use – we read in a statement from the ministry published in the media – destroyed and intercepted 33 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.” The governor of the Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, said there were none as a result of the “massive attack”. sacrifice given.