Calls for the withdrawal of Russian forces from internationally recognized territories

The Kremlin rejects the Ukrainian peace plan...and adheres to 4 regions annexed by Russia

Elements of the Ukrainian army during the confrontations on the Bakhmut front.

Reuters

Yesterday, the Kremlin announced its rejection of a 10-point peace plan drawn up by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which calls for the withdrawal of Russian forces from internationally recognized lands, saying that “proposals to end the conflict in Ukraine must take into account today’s realities regarding the four Ukrainian regions.” which Russia announced its annexation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “There can be no peace plan in Ukraine that does not take into account today's realities regarding the Russian territories with four regions joining Russia.

Plans that do not take these facts into account cannot be peaceful.”

Russia announced the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia last September, after referendums rejected by Ukraine and Western countries, and Russia does not impose its full control over any of the four regions.

Zelensky is promoting the peace plan he first announced last November, discussed it with US President Joe Biden and others, and urged world leaders to hold a global peace summit based on that plan.

The plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian forces from internationally recognized Ukrainian lands, which means Russia's abandonment of the four regions that it announced its annexation along with the Crimean peninsula that Moscow seized in 2014.

In addition, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights documented 6,884 deaths and 10,947 civilians injured in Ukraine since the start of the war at the end of last February until December 26.

The Office of the High Commissioner stated that the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects, such as shelling with heavy artillery, multiple rocket launcher systems, rockets and airstrikes, causes most of these civilian casualties.

For its part, Ukraine announced that its armed forces had killed about 103,770 Russian soldiers, including 550 soldiers, since the start of the war, the day before yesterday.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the losses of the Russian forces rose to 3,017 Russian tanks, 6,037 armored fighting vehicles, 1,991 artillery systems, 418 multiple-launch missile systems, and 212 air defense systems, and 283 warplanes, 267 helicopters, 4,660 motor vehicles, and 16 boats were destroyed. war, 1,707 drones, 179 special equipment units, and a total of 653 cruise missiles were shot down.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the next year will be decisive for his country, noting that Ukraine continues to prepare its defense and security forces, and discussed during a meeting with the General Staff the situation in Donbass, eastern Ukraine, especially around the two small towns of Kremina and Bakhmut.

The industrial town of Pakhmut in the north of the Donetsk region has been witnessing fierce fighting for months and the situation has finally reached its climax.

In addition, the deputy head of the Kyiv city administration, Petro Panteleev, said that residents of the Ukrainian capital will have to expect frequent sudden power outages until the end of winter, in light of the significant disruption of energy supplies due to Russian missile attacks.

He added that technicians are working around the clock to fix faults, but the situation is still difficult, warning that the capacities are insufficient, especially when there is an increase in electricity consumption.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal had earlier stated that Ukraine could go through New Year's Eve without an emergency power cut if there were no more bombings, however he also stressed that there was a high risk that the Russian military would again target Ukraine's energy supplies.

• The United Nations: 6884 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war.

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