Russian President Vladimir Putin considered that his country is once again being challenged, and his forces confirmed that planes were shot down and hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the Donetsk axis (east), while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that nearly 100,000 Russian soldiers were killed during the war, and that he is preparing to visit Washington today.

During an event to award medals to officers, soldiers and their families on Tuesday, Putin said, "Our country has faced trials again and again and defended its sovereignty. Today Russia faces the same challenge again, and on the front line of the special military operation, soldiers, officers and volunteers show exceptional examples of courage and self-sacrifice."

He added that he awarded the highest award - the title of Hero of Russia - to soldiers who showed courage in the course of carrying out military tasks.

The Russian President directed his speech to the honorees, saying, "We are proud of each of you, and we admire the steadfastness and courage of the people who, at a difficult moment for the Motherland, rose to defend it, performed their military duty in the area of ​​military operations, and helped establish life in our new lands."

Putin is scheduled to hold an expanded meeting of the Ministry of Defense today, Wednesday, to define the army's tasks for the next year and to present the results of its activities in 2022, according to the Kremlin.

Zelensky visits Washington

On the other hand, US media reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Washington today, Wednesday, and is expected to deliver a speech in Congress.

The Ukrainian presidency said that Zelensky visited the city of Bakhmut, on the front line in the Donetsk region of the Donbass region.

"Our main task now is that next year global support for Ukraine will be at the highest level," Zelensky said during the visit. "Bakhmut is still the hottest place on the entire front line, and battles are taking place on a 1,300-kilometer line."

He added that the Russian forces have been trying since last May to enter Bakhmut, but time passes and Ukrainian forces are inflicting losses on the Russian army, as he described it.

Zelensky confirmed that Russia has lost about 99,000 of its soldiers in Ukraine, and that the number will soon reach 100,000, considering that no one in Moscow has an answer to the question "Why?"

Germany and France

On the diplomatic front, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping - in a phone call - to use his influence over Russia to help end the war in Ukraine, according to an official statement from Berlin.

On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron said - in a television interview broadcast on Tuesday evening - that his country had recently delivered missile launchers and "Cruel" missile batteries to Ukraine, explaining that the government is preparing to deliver weapons and ammunition that will help the Ukrainians to confront the bombing in the first quarter of next year. .

Among the weapons to be delivered are new "Caesar" guns, and Macron did not provide figures on the quantity of weapons in the next batches, saying only that "it depends on the discussions" underway with Denmark.

Since the outbreak of the war last February, France has provided Ukraine with 18 "Caesar" cannons with a caliber of 155 mm and a range of 40 km, as well as anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles and armored personnel carriers.

During the same interview, the French president reiterated his position on granting Russia security "guarantees" if peace negotiations were held at the end of the war, but made it clear that peace first requires guarantees of Ukraine's territorial integrity and long-term security.

Macron warned that "what those who refuse to prepare for this matter and work on it are proposing is an all-out war that will include the entire continent," stressing his rejection of this option.

This December, Macron faced criticism from Ukraine and some Eastern European countries, as some voices accused him of being overly open to Russia.

field developments

On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the downing of 3 Ukrainian planes and two helicopters during the confrontations in the Donetsk axis in eastern Ukraine.

The ministry's spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said, "During the last day, Russian forces managed to eliminate 30 Ukrainian soldiers on the Kobyansk axis, and about 50 Ukrainians on the Liman axis, and the Russian forces continue to advance on the Donetsk axis, where 170 Ukrainian soldiers were eliminated during the last day and the center was destroyed Command, ammunition depot and dozens of vehicles and armored vehicles.

And the governor of the Russian province of Bryansk, bordering Ukraine, announced that Ukrainian forces had bombed the border town of Suzymki, causing a partial blackout.

The governor of Bryansk added that the railway lines in the region had been damaged as a result of the Ukrainian bombing, but without recording any casualties.

On the other hand, Yuriy Ignat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said that his country's forces shot down 67 Iranian-made Shahed suicide drones in December, adding, "We believe that the drones are among the new batch that Russia received from Iran."

The Ukrainian official indicated that 127 Shahed drones and 300 cruise missiles were launched to attack Ukraine last November and this December.