“Ukraine – Russia”

Two wounded North Korean soldiers have been captured as prisoners of war by Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.

The two men are receiving “necessary medical assistance” and are in the custody of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Kyiv, according to Zelensky.

The president said he was “grateful” to Ukrainian paratroopers and soldiers from the Special Operation Forces for capturing the North Koreans.

Lex Fridman is one of the many inexplicable products of the YouTube age. Despite his enormous profile, he remains almost entirely without presence – diminutive, unassuming and perpetually wearing an expression somewhere between serious and confused. He provides something close to a perfect blank space on which his famous guests can project their views.

Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine has said he hopes to bring an end to the war by May after the US president-elect backtracked on his campaign pledge to establish peace within 24 hours of taking office.

Keith Kellogg, a retired US general, said he had given himself “100 days” from Trump’s inauguration on January 20 to come up with a “solid and sustainable” solution to the war in Ukraine, the biggest conflict in Europe since the defeat of Nazi Germany.

“I think they will come to a solvable solution in the near term. When I say near term, I would like to set a goal on a personal level, on a professional level. I would say let’s set it at 100 days and move back,” he told Fox News.

Ukrainian paratroopers used an armoured vehicle to try to crush Russian soldiers after claiming to have run out of ammunition during an attack in Kursk.

A US-supplied Stryker infantry carrier with a top speed of 60mph was filmed by drones on Monday chasing Russian troops around a snow-covered field, crushing at least one under its wheels.

Ukrainian troops reported that their 16-ton Stryker – normally equipped with a top-mounted machine gun – had no more ammunition, although one crew member used a rifle to fire at the Russians from its hatch.

Note vid was edited to soften violence for Youtube fascists.

The legend of 300 Spartans – who supposedly held off a massive Persian invading force for days – still resonates, yet the once powerful city-state of Sparta is long gone. Does the same fate await Ukraine?

If there are fortunate Ukrainians today, I count myself among them. At the onset of the war, I was over 60, exempting me from the mobilization law. Even if the draft age is raised to 65, I won’t find myself in the trenches.

On Sunday, podcaster Lex Fridman released an extended interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The conversation focused on how to end the war in Ukraine and the conditions on which he would be willing to negotiate a deal with Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky’s terms echoed the points laid out in his “Victory Plan” released in October. He indicated Ukraine would be willing to negotiate a ceasefire in exchange for receiving Nato membership. According to the Ukrainian leader, Nato’s commitment could be limited to the territory still held by Kyiv, and while Ukraine would not concede the territories occupied by Russia, he stated that the goal would be to regain them “diplomatically”. He also demanded more military assistance to bolster Ukraine’s bargaining position, repeatedly stating that Putin has no interest in ending the conflict and will only negotiate if forced to.

NB- You may have to open link in incognito window.

Here's my conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa).

It was an intense and heartfelt conversation, my goal for which was to do my small part in pushing for peace.

We spoke in a mix of 3 languages: English, Ukrainian, and Russian. It's fully dubbed in each of those 3… pic.twitter.com/2zoxM0FG89

— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) January 5, 2025

The gas had kept flowing despite nearly three years of war between Russia and Ukrtaine, but Russia’s main gas firm Gazprom said it had stopped at 0500 GMT on January 1 after Ukraine refused to renew a transit agreement.

Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the end of gas transit through his country to Europe was “one of Moscow’s biggest defeats” and urged the United States to supply more gas to Europe.

“The more there is on the market from Europe’s real partners, the faster we will overcome the last negative consequences of European energy dependence on Russia,” he wrote, adding that Europe’s “joint task” now was to support ex-Soviet Moldova “in this period of energy transformation.”

About 1,700 soldiers from a Ukrainian unit equipped by the West and trained in France went AWOL before a shot was even fired.

At least 50 members of the new 155th mechanised brigade, one of the few to operate the Leopard 2 battle tank, disappeared while elements of the unit were being drilled in France.

By the time it entered battle for the first time, at least 1,700 of its troops went absent without leave at numerous points.

They were trained by the French.

Russia has the upper hand

The imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House has dramatically reframed the discussion about the Ukraine war. After years of insisting on a Ukrainian military victory at any cost, the Western political and media establishment appears to be begrudgingly acknowledging that this war can only end either through negotiations or Ukraine’s collapse under the strain of depleted manpower and resources. Given that the likelihood of the latter scenario is becoming increasingly apparent — in spite of the final aid package announced by the outgoing Biden administration on Monday — it’s not surprising that even the usually hawkish New York Times recently concluded that “it’s time to plan for the postwar phase”.

Drag marks have been discovered on the Baltic sea bed, stretching for dozens of kilometres, where a tanker linked to Russia is suspected of breaking a power line and four telecoms cables with its anchor.

The Eagle S, registered in the Cook Islands and carrying Russian oil, was boarded by Finnish police and coastguard officials on Thursday. It has been detained and sailed into Finnish waters. Its crew have been questioned.

Ukraine is losing the battle on the ground. Many of its soldiers are tired and exhausted after three years of fighting. The question – can the country endure another year of war?

Their forces are still resisting Russian advances in the east. But they’re almost surrounded near the town of Kurakhove – scene to some of the most intense fighting in recent weeks.

The Black Pack, a mortar unit, is trying to prevent their encirclement around Kurakhove. The Russian are closing in on three sides.

Close combat footage between Ukrainian and Russian soldiers. #Combat #war #warfare #military #Ukraine #Russia #politics #geopolitics #world #global #footage #warfootage #exclusive #combat #closecombat #OSINT #opensource #intelligence #soldiers #ukrainenews #warnews pic.twitter.com/dGu56DnNNR

— Mantis Intelligence (@intelmantis) December 10, 2024

Russia is deploying “human waves” of North Korean soldiers, the U.S. said Friday, and at least one soldier captured by Ukraine died of his injuries.

According to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, some North Korean soldiers have taken their own lives rather than surrendering to Ukrainian forces.

These suicides, he said, were “likely out of fear of reprisal against their families in North Korea in the event that they’re captured.”

h/t Mauser

A Russia-linked tanker suspected of cutting Baltic Sea cables has been tugged to port amid reports it was loaded with “spy equipment”.

Finnish authorities boarded the Eagle S tanker at sea after suspecting the vessel of sabotaging undersea power and internet lines on Christmas Day.

The Cook Islands-registered ship was carrying Russian oil when it allegedly slowed down and dragged its anchor along the seabed to damage the Estlink 2 undersea cable, which provides power to Estonia.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible.

Putin’s apology came as allegations mounted that the plane had been shot down by Russian air defenses attempting to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.