• 11:56 am: Armenia refuses to host Russian military exercises in 2023

Armenia has announced that it will refuse to host military maneuvers by a Russian-led alliance in 2023, against a backdrop of dissatisfaction with Moscow because of the blocking of a vital axis for the supply of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. .

This announcement comes as Armenia has multiplied the signs of irritation towards its Russian ally, whom it accuses of not acting in the face of Azerbaijan's "provocations" around Nagorno-Karabakh - where Moscow, currently entangled in its offensive in Ukraine, has yet deployed a peacekeeping force.

"Armenia does not consider it expedient to conduct Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) exercises this year...These exercises will not take place," Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said during a briefing. a press conference.

  • 11:41 am: NATO must further strengthen its support for Ukraine, according to Jens Stoltenberg

NATO must further strengthen its support for Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference.

"We are determined to take the partnership between NATO and the EU to the next level," said Jens Stoltenberg, who added that Vladimir Putin had "failed" in his attempts to divide Western allies over the issue. war in Ukraine.

  • 11:13 am: Kremlin says Ukraine and West reacted 'cynically' to Christmas ceasefire

The Kremlin said Ukraine and the West reacted "cynically" to a 36-hour ceasefire proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to mark Orthodox Christmas.

“We encountered a cynical reaction from Kyiv and a number of Western leaders,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a daily press briefing.

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Russia says the truce was announced for humanitarian purposes so Orthodox Christians could celebrate Christmas, but Ukraine says Russian troops shelled dozens of positions and settlements along the frontline on Saturday, when the truce was supposed to be in effect.

  • 10:35 a.m.: “Very tough and bloody fighting” takes place in Soledar, says militia leader Wagner

Fierce fighting is underway in the suburbs of Soledar, a town in eastern Ukraine close to that of Bakhmout, the hottest point on the front, said the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.

"Let's be honest (...) The Ukrainian army is fighting bravely for Bakhmout and Soledar. Very hard and bloody fighting is underway in the western suburbs of Soledar," said Yevgeny Prigojine, quoted on Telegram by his service of hurry.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces honorably defend the territory of Soledar. Claims of mass desertions from its ranks do not correspond to reality."

The town of Soledar, located about ten kilometers northeast of Bakhmout, is close to Bakhmoutské, a village which the pro-Russian separatists claimed to have conquered.

Denis Pushilin, the leader of the separatists in the Donetsk region, whose annexation Moscow claims, also said on Russian television on Tuesday that Soledar was "very close to liberation".

  • 9:11 a.m.: West trying to divide Russia, Vladimir Putin ally says

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said the West was trying to dismember Russia and aimed to wipe it off the political map of the world.

"In the face of emerging military threats, it is important for us to have such armed forces and special services so that Russia's adversaries do not even think they can fight us," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper.

  • 7:51 a.m.: Russian warship conducts drills in the Norwegian Sea

A Russian warship armed with hypersonic cruise weapons has been carrying out drills in the Norwegian Sea, the Norwegian Defense Ministry said.

"The crew of the frigate 'Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov' carried out an air defense exercise in the Norwegian Sea," the ministry said.

Last week, President Vladimir Putin sent the frigate into the Atlantic Ocean, armed with next-generation hypersonic cruise missiles, a signal to the West that Russia will not back down on the war in Ukraine.

With AFP and Reuters

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