Putin attacks European leaders: 'Piggybacking on Biden'. Zelensky: 'Russia prepares another year of war'

The House of Representatives approved the majority resolution in view of the communications to the EU Council with 177 yes and 123 no. The document aims, among other things, to 'continue every effort to support the peace process for Ukraine, continuing to collaborate with the United States and keeping the European front cohesive'. Another objective is 'to continue to act towards the Russian Federation - using all the instruments of diplomacy including sanctions, without disregarding coordination with the other G7 member states and in the light of solid legal and financial bases'.

The idea of using for the common EU debt the emergency principle that is to be used for the Kiev repair loan was evaluated and already ruled out in the negotiations ahead of the European summit. "It is not just a matter of adopting legislation, which would otherwise be adopted according to normal procedures, and under the conditions set out in Article 122, which deals with the economic crisis. To vote common EU debt with this article 'would interfere with some of the fundamental principles of the treaties, which cannot be changed by secondary legislation. This is the crux of the matter,' Brussels sources told Ansa.

'The pressure on Russia must be increased'. This was said by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking in the Bundestag, regarding the issue of Russian assets that will be under consideration by the European Council. "I will personally commit myself to this tonight as well," he added.

Il cancelliere tedesco Friedrich Merz (R) chiacchiera con il ministro delle Finanze e vicecancelliere Lars Klingbeil dopo aver parlato con i parlamentari al Bundestag (camera bassa del Parlamento) di Berlino, il 17 dicembre 2025, un giorno prima di un vertice dell'UE. (Foto di Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

ECB President Christine Lagarde is reported to have said that if the emergency procedure (Article 122) was used to immobilise Russian assets, then it would be possible to proceed in the same way in the joint debt issue, for which unanimity is required and there is a veto from Budapest. This was said by an EU source on the eve of the summit.

The US is 'preparing a new round of sanctions against Russia's energy sector' in an attempt to put more pressure on the Kremlin to engage in the peace process in Ukraine. Bloomberg writes. The US is considering several options, such as targeting the ships of the so-called Russian shadow fleet, the tankers used to transport Moscow's oil. According to Bloomberg, which cites sources, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already discussed the US plan with European ambassadors and the Kremlin is aware that the US is considering new sanctions.

''Russia hopes for a dialogue with Europe, but this is unlikely to happen with the current political elites''. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with defence ministry officials in Moscow, according to Ria Novosti.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expects Europe to return to dialogue with Russia as Moscow's position on the international stage strengthens and with 'a change of European elites'. The Russian head of state said this at an extended meeting of the Defence Ministry Council. Moscow, Putin noted, quoted by Tass, is ready to negotiate and resolve all issues. "The US administration is showing such readiness. We are in dialogue with them,' the Russian president noted. 'I hope the same will happen with Europe. This is unlikely to be possible with the current political elites. But in any case, it will be inevitable as we continue to strengthen our position. If not with the current politicians, then with a change in the political elites in Europe'.

Vladimir Putin likened the Europeans to 'little pigs' who joined the policies of the previous US administration of Joe Biden in the belief that Russia would collapse and in the hope of profiting from it. This was said by Russian President Vladimir Putin, quoted by Tass. Putin, speaking at the Ministry of Defence, accused the West of having started military operations in Ukraine with the aim of provoking a Russian collapse. "Everyone believed that in a short period of time they would destroy and collapse Russia," the Kremlin leader noted.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has issued a licence to transfer £2.5 billion of frozen funds from Roman Abramovich's sale of Chelsea Football Club to Ukraine. Starmer warned the Russian oligarch that his government is prepared to take legal action to confiscate his British assets if he fails to keep his promise to donate them to Kiev. "My message to Abramovich is: time is running out, honour your commitment and pay up now," Starmer said during Question Time in the Commons. "If you don't, we will be ready to go to court so that every penny reaches those whose lives have been destroyed by Putin's illegal war," he added.

Abramovich sold the football club in 2022 after much pressure from the British government. The proceeds remained frozen in a British bank account after the government imposed sanctions on the Russian for his close ties with Putin.

Negotiations on Ukraine "will not sink into a Christmas lull". This was said by German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius, responding to a journalist in the capital, who asked when Russia will be informed of the outcome of the talks in Belrino on the peace plan for Ukraine. "The talks are continuing," he said. "I cannot give details of which you have to ask the American side," he added, stressing that the situation is marked by "strong dynamism".

The Russian army is repelling attempts by the Ukrainian armed forces to recapture the city of Kupyansk, which is strategic for Kiev, and is now proceeding in the direction of Krasny Liman. This was stated by Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Earlier, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, said that Ukrainian troops had pushed the Russians back from Kupyansk and regained control of almost 90 per cent of the city's territory. "The supply routes for the units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ran through it," the Russian minister added, quoted by Interfax. "This will expand the security zone in the Kharkiv region and reduce the threat of enemy shelling in the northern regions of the Lugansk Republic. Belousov added that a grouping of opposing forces 'encircled on the left bank of the Oskol River east of Kupyansk is currently being eliminated'. The minister went on to say that the Russian army is engaged in the direction of the town of Krasny Liman, the "liberation of which opens the way for the blockade of Slovyansk, a crucial logistical hub for the Ukrainian armed forces"

Russia has 'fully regained its status as a sovereign country' with the war in Ukraine. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking at a meeting of the Defence Ministry leadership.

According to the Kremlin leader, the conflict marked a turning point for Moscow. "The most important thing that happened during the special military operation is that Russia regained its full sovereign status; it became sovereign in every sense of the word," Putin said.

The European Parliament supported 500 votes in favour, 120 against and 32 abstentions the agreement with the EU countries on the phasing-out of gas and LNG imports from Russia. The regulation provides for a total ban from the end of 2026 for liquefied natural gas and from autumn 2027 for pipeline gas. The ban will take effect six weeks after the entry into force of the regulation, with a phased approach for existing contracts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if Ukraine and its Western allies "refuse to engage in concrete discussions" as part of peace talks, Moscow will conquer "by military means" Ukrainian territories it considers its own. "If the enemy and its Western sponsors refuse to engage in concrete talks, Russia will achieve by military means the liberation of its historic lands," Putin said, quoted by Tass, in a speech at the Ministry of Defence

It is important to 'keep up the pressure on Russia', which, contrary to propaganda, 'is mired in a very hard position war at the cost of enormous sacrifices. This difficulty is the only thing that can force Moscow into an agreement'.

This was said by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Chamber of Deputies in her statement ahead of the European Council on 18 and 19 December. She added: "Let us remain clear that we do not intend to abandon Ukraine in its most delicate phase in recent years.

From our correspondent, Kiev

'Nonsensical'. In the eyes of Alina Frolova, former Deputy Minister of Defence under President Volodymyr Zelensky, now Vice-President of the Centre for Defence Strategies, one of the most authoritative think tanks on defence and geopolitics, abandoning the part of the Donbass still under Ukrainian control is a kind of gift to Putin. Although negotiations for an agreement appear to be well advanced, the analyst remains sceptical about their success.

'We are on the side of peace, we want Ukraine to have a just and lasting peace, we will still support it as long as it is necessary, until the war ends' and 'we will work to ensure its security, which is also the security of Europe once the war is over. This is going in the right direction because the Italian proposal to create a sort of Article 5 of NATO with an American presence is becoming the position of Ukraine, Europe and the United States. We hope that the Russians can accept this and push for the agreement as soon as possible'. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said this on the sidelines of the National Conference on Export and Internationalisation of Enterprises in Milan, responding to a question whether Zakharova's latest words could create friction.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he had instructed the finance minister and central bank governor to draw up plans to move the country's foreign exchange reserves out of Belgium in the event of an EU go-ahead for a reparation loan for Ukraine based on stranded Russian assets. "If this decision is made, they will immediately have to submit a proposal to the government on how we should think about the safe placement of Hungarian currency reserves in such circumstances," he told reporters flying to Brussels for the summit. Belgium's Euroclear holds many frozen Russian assets.

From our reporter, Kiev

Think peace, prepare for war. To continue it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is well aware that the road to a peace agreement with Russia, strongly sponsored by Donald Trump, is all uphill. The ongoing negotiations do not seem to be producing the desired results. The positions remain distant. Without saying so openly, but with full knowledge - his and his collaborators' - Zelensky knows that the probability of failure outweighs the probability of a ceasefire, even a partial one. So much for Trump's ostentatious optimism.

The Fitch agency has warned Euroclear of a possible downgrade of its current AA rating due to the EU's plans to use frozen Russian Central Bank capital for a repair loan to Ukraine. On its website, the agency explains that the move reflects fears of 'potentially increased liquidity and legal risks' if plans to use Russian funds deposited with Euroclear for Ukraine go ahead.

"Trump administration officials have pressured European governments, at least those they consider friendliest, to reject the plan to use Russian assets to finance Ukraine." This is what Politico.eu writes, citing four European officials. In the article, entitled, 'The EU's problem is not Belgium, it's Trump'. The US 'wants us weak', one European official explained to the headline, according to which 'US officials circumvented Brussels and communicated confidentially with the capitals led Italy, Bulgaria, Malta and the Czech Republic to join the dissenters'.

The United States, together with its allies, has prepared a security assurance plan for Ukraine that includes a significant reinforcement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the deployment of European troops in the country, and increased use of American intelligence. This was written by the New York Times, which officials with knowledge of the draft documents.

China opposes any unilateral action that violates international law. This was stated by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, commenting on the situation of Russian assets frozen in the European Union.

"China has always opposed unilateral sanctions that violate international law and are not authorised by the UN Security Council," Guo told reporters.

The Russian Defence Ministry reported that last night air defence systems 'intercepted and destroyed 94 Ukrainian drones' over Russian regions, the waters of the Azov and Black Seas. Two people were injured by falling debris from the downed drones in the Slavyansk district of Krasnodar territory. Damage to private buildings was reported in the Voronezh region. On its Telegram channel, the Ministry of Defence specifies that 31 drones were shot down over Krasnodar territory, 22 over the Rostov region, 10 over the Voronezh region, 8 over the Saratov region and the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea respectively, 4 over the Volgograd region and 3 over the Bryansk region.

Ukrainian anti-aircraft defences last night shot down 37 Russian drones out of at least 69 launched, at least 40 of which were Shahed attack drones, while 29 drones struck in 12 locations. This was written by the Ukrainian Air Force quoted by Ukrinform. The air attack was repelled by aircraft, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare assets, unmanned systems units and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defence Forces. The attack is still ongoing, as several Russian drones remain in Ukrainian airspace, Ukrinform writes

"Last week we agreed on the prolonged immobilisation of Russian assets. It is a decisive step that sends a strong political message, that Russian assets will remain immobilised until we decide otherwise, until Russia ends the war and duly compensates Ukraine for all the damage it has caused". Thus Ursula von der Leyen in plenary ahead of the EU Council . "This decision is a real turning point for Ukraine and for Europe".

"There is no more important European defence act than supporting the defence of Ukraine. The coming days will be crucial in securing this goal. It is up to us to choose how to finance Ukraine's fight. We know the urgency. It is acute. We all feel it. We all see it. Because just as the peace negotiations are intensifying, so is the barrage of Russian attacks'. This was stated by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, addressing the plenary of the European Parliament in the debate on the preparation of the European Council next Thursday and Friday.

"Now the IMF and our estimates show that Ukraine's needs for years 26 and 27 are around EUR 137 billion, of which Europe should cover two-thirds. That is EUR 90 billion. And it is not just about numbers,' he explains. 'It is about strengthening Ukraine's ability to secure real peace, a just, lasting peace, which protects Ukraine and thus also protects Europe. And it is also about increasing the cost of the war for Russia, which is why I have proposed two different options for this next European Council, one based on resources and one based on EU loans, and we will have to decide which path to take, which path to take. But one thing is very, very clear: we have to take the decision to finance Ukraine for the next two years in this European Council,' he emphasises.

Explosions occurred overnight at an oil refinery in the Russian city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban following a Ukrainian drone attack. This was reported by the Kyiv Independent, citing the Telegram channel Exilenova+. Slavyansk-na-Kuban is located in southern Russia, near the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, a few hundred kilometres from the north-eastern border with Ukraine.