The EU agrees to open accession talks with Ukraine. Putin holds a four-hour call-in show and news conference. Russia steps up missile and drone attacks at Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
European Union leaders on Thursday agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine. \u201cA clear signal of hope for their people and for our continent,\u201d European Council President Charles Michel wrote in a post on X. He said that EU leaders meeting in Brussels also agreed to open accession talks with Moldova, granted candidate status to Georgia and said negotiations could begin with Bosnia once it meets the criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a video message to Thursday\u2019s summit, before the decision was announced, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told EU leaders that their \u201cindecision today\u201d will hand Putin a victory. Zelenskyi joined the EU leaders\u2019 meeting at the invitation of European Council President Charles Michel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPutin gained nothing over the year. Neither in the battles against Ukraine, nor in his attempts to divide and demean Europeans,\u201d Zelenskyi said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s very important that Europe doesn\u2019t fall back into indecision today,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenskyi told Europe\u2019s leaders that Ukraine had fulfilled every obligation they had required. \u201cToday is the day when determination will either be in Brussels or Moscow. People in Europe won\u2019t understand if Putin\u2019s satisfied smile becomes the reward for a meeting in Brussels,\u201d Zelenskyi continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that ahead of the summit he held talks with \u201cmany of\u201d EU leaders. \u201cI haven\u2019t heard any counter-argument as to why we shouldn\u2019t implement the plan agreed upon by all of Europe,\u201d the Ukrainian President said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He referred to a question he said he had asked Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, a staunch opponent of opening EU accession talks with Ukraine. Zelenskyi also said he expected the summit to greenlight the timeline earlier agreed by the European Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was a clear schedule for the EU \u2013 today is a day for a political decision in response to what we\u2019ve accomplished. It\u2019s about opening accession negotiations with Ukraine. And in March next year \u2013 approving the negotiation framework for moving forward,\u201d Zelenskyi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year, Ukraine received clear recommendations on how to move forward. We have passed the key laws. You all \u2014 and I emphasize: all \u2014 know well that we have fulfilled every obligation,\u201d the Ukrainian president said, in a nod to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n. Orb\u00e1n earlier said there was \u201cno reason to discuss anything because preconditions were not met\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Thursday, December 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a four-hour press conference that he combined with a \u201cdirect line\u201d call-in show for Russians. The event was the first time Putin has fielded extended questions from either journalists or the public since he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He answered 67 questions during a show televised for more than four hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to questions, Putin reaffirmed his pseudo historic claims that much of today\u2019s Ukraine historically belonged to Russia and were given away by Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin. He also said, in a mocking tone, that the world order has \u201cno rules\u201d as they change all the time, and he \u201ccan do\u201d without communications with western leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin said that \u201cthere will be peace when we achieve our objectives\u201d. Those \u201cobjectives do not change\u201d, he said, listing Ukraine\u2019s \u201cdenazification, demilitarization and its neutral status\u201d. There are other possibilities, he continued. \u201cEither we get an agreement, or we solve this by force. If they don\u2019t want to come to an agreement, then we are forced to take other measures, including military ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRussians and Ukrainians are one people, and what\u2019s going on now is a huge tragedy, a civil war between brothers who have found themselves on the opposite sides,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin claimed that Russia now has more than 600,000 soldiers currently serving in the war zone in Ukraine. At one point he revealed that Russia currently has a total of 617,000 troops fighting in Ukraine, including around 244,000 troops who were mobilized a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The frontline is around 2,000 kilometers long, he said. He said that a steady influx of volunteers means there is no need for a second wave of mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Thursday, December 14, Russia launched three Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine. Ukraine\u2019s Air Force said it shot down one Kinzhal missile over Kyiv region. Starokostyantyniv, in Khmelnytskyi region was another target of Russia\u2019s attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian MiG-31K fighter jets that could carry Kinzhal missiles took off from Russia\u2019s Savasleyka airbase and sparked a national alert four times on Thursday. Russia also simulated targets with electronic warfare systems, Ukraine\u2019s Air Force said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spokesperson for Ukraine\u2019s Air Force Command, Colonel Yuriy Ihnat said in televised comments that Russia fired a Kinzhal missile at Starokostyantyniv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was a missile launch, and the missiles headed toward Starokostyantyniv, in Khmelnytskyi region. An air raid alert was declared at around 14:09, sirens went off all across Ukraine. Ten minutes later, [missiles] hit the target in Khmelnytskyi region,\u201d Ihnat said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An overnight drone attack on Odesa region injured 11 people in the city of Odesa and damaged a dormitory building. Falling debris also caused damage to 11 more buildings. Two cars burnt down. In the Izmail district, the strike damaged a warehouse near the port.<\/p>\n\n\n\n