Ukraine updates: Russia fumes after Zelenskyy's US visit

Moscow on Thursday denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington, claiming that it showed Kyiv was "not ready for peace."

Zelenskyy met with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday and addressed Congress in his first official trip outside of Ukraine since Russia launched the war in February. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow regretted that neither Biden nor Zelenskyy said "even a few words that could be perceived as potential readiness to listen to Russia's concerns."    

Biden announced on Wednesday that the US would provide Kyiv with an additional security aid of $1.85 billion (€1.737 billion), including the Patriot air defense system.

Peskov said that this signaled that the US was "continuing its line of de facto fighting an indirect war with Russia to the last Ukrainian," adding that the Patriot missile would not deter Russia from achieving its goals in Ukraine.

In a statement issued by the Russian Embassy in the US on Thursday, Ambassador Anatoly Antonov's described Zelenskyy's visit as a "Hollywood-style trip."

"What was essentially announced [...] was the need to continue the 'proxy war' against our country," Antonov said. 

The Russian envoy said the US supplying weapons to Ukraine was "deeply disturbing."He added that Moscow stressed that "the provocative actions by the US are steadily leading to an escalation, the consequences of which cannot even be imagined."

Here are the other main headlines from the war in Ukraine on Thursday, December 22:

US Senate passes $1.7 trillion bill to fund government and aid Ukraine

US Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion (€1.6 trillion) spending bill that finances federal agencies through September and provides another large round of aid to Ukraine one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's dramatic address to a joint meeting of Congress.

The bill, which runs for 4,155 pages, includes about $772.5 billion for domestic programs and $858 billion for defense and would finance federal agencies through the fiscal year at the end of September.

The measure also provides about $45 billion in military, economic and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine and NATO allies, more than President Joe Biden even requested, raising total assistance so far to more than $100 billion.

The bill passed by a vote of 68-29 and now goes to the House for a final vote before it can be sent to Biden to be signed into law.

Meloni urges Italians to turn off lights in solidarity with Ukraine

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Italians to switch off gas and electricity for an hour a day in solidarity with Ukraine, which has been under Russian attack for 10 months.

"To understand what the Ukrainians are going through, I ask all Italians to switch off all energy sources for one hour a day," Meloni said, during a speech in Rome to a gathering of Italian ambassadors.

Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party often stresses the importance of nationalism and patriotism, paid tribute to Ukrainians "who are defending their freedom and their love for their country."

Meloni has pledged to keep supplying arms to Ukraine, despite friction on the issue within her rightist ruling coalition and a divided public opinion.

Suspected Russian spy arrested in German intelligence agency

Federal prosecutors arrested an employee of Germany's foreign intelligence agency, the BND, on suspicion of treason after an internal investigation revealed that he had allegedly been leaking information to Russia.

In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, the BND said that the employee had been put in custody by prosecutors and that searches at two BND offices had been carried out. Carsten L. is said to have submitted information to a Russian intelligence service earlier this year. He was arrested on Wednesday.

"After the BND became aware of a possible case of treason within its own ranks in the course of its intelligence work, the BND immediately launched extensive internal investigations," BND head Bruno Kahl said in the statement. "When these substantiated the suspicion, the Federal Attorney General was immediately called in."

Kahl added that the BND was working closely with investigators but would not be releasing any further details.

"Restraint and discretion are very important in this particular case," he added. "With Russia, we are dealing with an actor on the opposite side whose unscrupulousness and willingness to use violence we must reckon with. Every detail of this operation that becomes public means an advantage for this adversary in its intention to harm Germany."

North Korea has delivered arms to Russia's Wagner group — US

North Korea has delivered arms to Russia's private military group Wagner, the White House said, calling the group a "rival" for power to the defense and other ministries in the Kremlin.

The US will boost sanctions on the Wagner group following North Korea's sale of rockets and missiles to them last month, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.

"We assess that the amount of material delivered to Wagner will not change battlefield dynamics in Ukraine," Kirby said. "But we're certainly concerned that North Korea is planning to deliver more military equipment."

Kirby also said the US now assesses that Wagner has some 50,000 personnel fighting in Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts that the company has recruited from prisons.

Britain also condemned North Korea after the United States said the nation had supplied arms to the Russian mercenary group Wagner to bolster Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.

"The fact that President Putin is turning to North Korea for help is a sign of Russia’s desperation and isolation," British foreign minister James Cleverly said in a statement. "We will work with our partners to ensure that North Korea pays a high price for supporting Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine." 

US hits Russian naval entities with sanctions

The United States is imposing sanctions on 10 Russian naval entities over Russian operations against Ukrainian ports, the US State Department said.

"In the wake of Russian naval operations against Ukrainian ports, including those that are providing much-needed food and grain to the world, the United States today is imposing sanctions on Russian naval entities," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Since October, Moscow has been targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure with large waves of missile and drone strikes.

Ukraine said its Black Sea port of Odesa did not operate for a day earlier this month and the ports of Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi had operated only partially after a Russian attack on the region's energy system.

The State Department said it designated six of the entities targeted in Thursday's move for operating or having operated in both the defense and related material sector and the marine sector of the Russian economy. Four additional entities were targeted for operating in the marine sector of Russia's economy.

Zelenskyy met Polish president Duda on way back from Washington

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, follwing a landmark visit to the United States. Zelenskyy met Duda on his way home from Washington, DC.

"We summed up the year, which brought historic challenges due to a full-scale war," Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app after meeting Duda.

"We also discussed strategic plans for the future, bilateral relations and interactions at the international level in 2023," he added.

IAEA discusses Ukraine nuclear plant protections with Russia

The head of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi met in Moscow with officials from Russia's military and state atomic energy company as he pursues a long-running drive to set up a protection zone around a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

Russian company Rosatom described the talks on measures needed to safeguard Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the surrounding region as "substantive, useful and frank."

Grossi indicated that more negotiations were needed after "another round of necessary discussions."

"It's key that the zone focuses solely on preventing a nuclear accident," he tweeted. "I am continuing my efforts towards this goal with a sense of utmost urgency."

Zelenskyy invited to Brussels for planned EU-Ukraine summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited to Brussels in February, according to a spokesperson for EU Council President.

He also confirmed that an EU-Ukraine summit was planned for February 3. According to him, but the heads of state and government of the 27 EU states will not be in attendance. It is planned that the European Union will be represented by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel.

Zelenskyy traveled to Washington on Wednesday for his first trip abroad since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine. For appearances on the world political stage - for example at the G7 summit in the Bavarian resort of Elmau - he has so far always been connected online from Ukraine.

Germany's Rheinmetall supplies 26 military trucks to Ukraine

German defense contractor Rheinmetall has supplied military trucks to Ukraine on behalf of the German government, with a total of 26 brand-new HX 8x8 vehicles to be delivered.

The order is worth €12.5 million ($13.3 million). Delivery of the logistics vehicles has already begun.

The manufacturer is the joint venture Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV), which has its headquarters in Munich. Rheinmetall holds a 51% stake in the company, MAN Truck & Bus 49%.

Former head of Russian space agency injured by shelling in Donetsk

The former head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, says he was slightly injured by Ukrainian artillery fire while celebrating in Donetsk.

"I am injured, a 3 by 4-millimetre splinter entered above the right shoulder blade," Rogozin wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday. According to the statement, he will need surgery.

The Russian media reported that the politician, known for his imperialist stance, was celebrating his birthday when the bullets hit a bar in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk.

In addition to the shoulder injury, Rogozin also received shrapnel in his face and buttocks, according to the report.

UK intelligence: Belarus 'likely' training Russian reservists

Britain's Defense Ministry said in its regular intelligence update that Belarus has recently taken on a significant role and was "likely" secretly training newly mobilized Russian soldiers. 

"Although Russia and Belarus have an extensive background of military co-operation, the training of mobilized Russian personnel by Belarusians represents a role reversal," the update said. 

It noted that Moscow had traditionally seen Minsk's forces as "inferior" and that "their employment as trainers is an indication of overstretch within the Russian military system."

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday dismissed what he said were "conspiracy theories" about Minsk deploying its forces at the border with Ukraine. 

Ukrainian officials have raised concerns about Minsk's readiness checks, and a fresh deployment of Russian troops to Belarus was signaling a possibly new attack on Ukraine via Belarusian territory.

Lukashenko said recent military drills were not aimed at Ukraine and claimed that he could not rule out "aggression" against Belarus on the part of unspecified "neighbors."

Ukraine says Russia lost more than 100,000 soldiers

The general staff of Ukraine's military said it "eliminated" 100,400 Russian soldiers. It said the figure included forces who were either killed or were forced to quit military service due to serious injuries. 

The figure could not be independently verified. In September, Russia's Defense Ministry said 5,937 soldiers had died. 

Meanwhile, Kyiv recently said more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.  

Macron maintains position on 'security guarantees' to Russia

French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters he still saw "security guarantees" to Moscow and Kyiv, as well as to neighboring countries, as necessary,

"When I speak of guarantees, I'm talking about all of these countries, for us but also for Russia," Macron said.

The French leader has already sparked a backlash from Ukraine over his talk of offering Moscow security guarantees to end the conflict. 

In his remarks, Macron also said Europe should reduce its security dependence on the US and seek a stronger role within NATO. 

"An alliance isn't something I should depend on. It's something that I should choose, something I work with," Macron said. "We must rethink our strategic autonomy."

German opposition wants Berlin to send Patriot system to Ukraine

Thomas Silberhorn, the transatlantic spokesperson for the German parliament's biggest opposition group CDU/CSU, told DW that Germany and Europe must "step up" their efforts in backing Ukraine. 

Zelenskyy's decision to go to the US as his first foreign trip since the war started was a "mighty demonstration of US leadership. It's not only a strong message for Ukraine, but for the entire free world," Silberhorn said. 

"And we as Europeans and Germans should join in now and even step up our own efforts to support Ukraine."

Berlin recently offered to deploy Patriot missiles to Poland, and Warsaw requested they be sent to Ukraine instead — an offer that Germany rejected. 

"Germany so far decided to send Patriot systems to Poland. But, indeed, this new announcement of President Biden to send [the] Patriot system directly to the Ukraine should be taken for reconsideration. Generally, I am in favor of sending Patriot systems from Germany directly to Ukraine," Silberhorn said. 

"The message from the US Congress is that there is bipartisan support in the United States. This strong determination and unity that the United States Congress shows here also has to be achieved in Europe and in Germany." 

fb/wd (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)