Vladimir Putin and Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, December 22, 2024

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Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1622 GMT:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has bluntly rejected a reported proposal from the team of Donald Trump, who is returning to the White House in January.

The Wall Street Journal wrote that Trump’s advsiors are considering a plan to delay Ukraine’s NATO membership by at least 20 years. In return, Kyiv would continue to receive Western arms supplies, and European peacekeepers would monitor a ceasefire.

Lavrov said, “We are certainly not satisfied with the proposals…on behalf of representatives of the President-elect’s team.”

He declared that the plan was “freezing hostilities along the current line of contact and transferring the responsibility of confronting Russia to Europe,” as he rejected any European forces in Ukraine.

UPDATE 1241 GMT:

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has told State TV that Russia is responsible for the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane, killing 38 of 62 passengers and five crew, on Christmas Day.

Aliyev echoed the findings of a preliminary investigation by Azerbaijani officials.

Of course, the final version will be known after the black boxes are opened. But the initial versions are also well-founded and based on facts.

And the facts are that the Azerbaijani civilian aircraft was damaged from the outside, over Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and practically lost control.

We also know that our aircraft was rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.

UPDATE 1027 GMT:

Two civilians have been killed and 14 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

The fatalities were in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions.

The Russians launched 10 drones from occupied Crimea and six S-300/S-400 missiles from the Belgorod region in western Russia.

Air defenses downed nine of the UAVs.

UPDATE 1017 GMT:

Pointing to a shift in Kyiv’s position, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UN Andrii Melnyk says strong security guarantees have priority over accession to NATO.

The Foreign Ministry said earlier this month that the guarantees would not substitute for NATO membership.

But Melnyk told Berliner Morgenpost, “Our partners should carefully write down what military means they will use to defend Ukraine if Russia attacks again.”

He emphasized the need for guarantees beyond “purely political promises”. They could take the form of bilateral or multilateral agreements with the European Union and NATO countries and might also become part of a broader peace treaty with Russia.

Kyiv’s quest for an invitation to join NATO was deferred by the 32-nation bloc in early December. Germany, Slovakia, and Hungary have resisted the initiative. The Biden Administration also held back, and the incoming Trump Administration has opposed any Ukrainian accession.

See also Ukraine War, Day 1,016: No Invitation to Kyiv From NATO Summit

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stood up to the threat by Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico to cut electricity to Ukraine.

Fico — a long-time sympathizer with the Kremlin — issued his threat on Friday. He said Slovakia, a member of the European Union and NATO, was acting because Ukraine is refusing to allow the transit of Russian gas to Europe. He declared this is “an extremely costly gesture” for which the entire EU would pay.

Kyiv says it is ending the contract for transit by Russia’s State company Gazprom because of Moscow’s ongoing invasion. Officials have noted that other European countries, which had used the Russia gas, have made arrangements for other supplies.

Fico’s declaration came five days after he met Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Zelensky posted on Telegram:

It seems that Putin has instructed Fico to open a second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of Slovakia’s interests. This is the only thing Fico’s threats to cut off Ukraine’s emergency electricity supplies in the winter in the face of Russian strikes can mean.

He added that support of “criminal Russian aggression is absolutely immoral”. Fico’s “short-sighted policy” would leave the people of Slovakia without compensation for the loss of Russian gas, and possibly without the annual $200 million that Ukraine pays for electricity imports.

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky assured, “Fico won’t cut off our imports.” Ukraine will work with other EU members to cover the 19% of electricity that it takes from Slovakia.

“Whatever Putin may have told Fico during his visit to the Kremlin, European rules must prevail over the ties of any individual with Moscow,” he explained.