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War
One thousand four hundred and first day. How Russia responded to Zelensky’s 20 points - it attacked the Ukrainian energy sector at Christmas (but in words - nothing)
Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters in our daily materials because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us the thoughts you have about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect you, your life, the lives of your loved ones and your attitude towards the world? The feedback form is at the end of this article. You can read the previous day's review here .
World
Russian authorities have still not publicly responded to the 20-point plan to end the war, developed as a result of discussions between Ukraine and the United States. The day before, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky spoke about it. He described the plan as a “basic document for ending the war” and commented on its main points.
Among other things, the plan implies strong guarantees of Ukraine’s security from its allies and maintaining the number of Ukrainian Armed Forces at the level of 800 thousand people in peacetime. Among the unresolved issues, according to the President of Ukraine, are the issues of territories and the status of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. At the same time, Zelensky allowed the withdrawal of troops from the territories of the Donetsk region controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the creation of a free economic zone there. According to him, if there is no agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the concept of “we stand where we stand” (that is, the division of territories along the current front line), then the proposal to create a free economic zone can only be adopted through an all-Ukrainian referendum.
Unofficially, a Bloomberg source close to the Kremlin said that Moscow will seek to ensure that “key changes” are made to Zelensky’s 20 points. According to the agency's interlocutor, Russia considers the peace plan developed by Kiev and Washington as a starting point for further negotiations, since the plan does not contain provisions and answers to many questions that are important for Moscow. Russia considers the document “a fairly typical Ukrainian plan” but will study it “with a cool head,” the source added.
At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the Bloomberg publication “fake.” “This media, as it were, does not have reliable sources close to the Kremlin. Only unreliable ones. And the wording about “closeness to the Kremlin” is a cover-up for a fake,” said department official Maria Zakharova.
Journalists from The New York Times are confident that Russia will most likely reject Zelensky’s 20 points. Vladimir Putin, the publication notes, has been consistently insisting for the last two years that Ukraine withdraw its troops from Donbass and surrender even those territories of this region that the Russian Armed Forces do not control. He also demands guarantees of non-expansion of NATO to the East, including through Kyiv’s entry into the alliance.
The newspaper believes that Moscow can still afford to continue the war due to the influx of contract soldiers, and at the current pace of the offensive it will capture Donbass within 18 months. Despite the fact that the Russian economy is in its worst condition since 2022, the country is still far from a crisis that would force the Kremlin to change policy, the NYT article says. The publication cites comments from experts who believe that the 20-point plan does not actually imply any compromise for Russia.
Journalists from The Washington Post share a similar opinion that Russia will not accept Zelensky’s 20 points. Although the newspaper, on the contrary, considers this version of the peace plan “Zelensky’s first step towards any compromise on the issue of territories” in Donbass.
Russian propaganda called the 20-point plan “bullshit” and “stillborn” and, in general, also agrees that Russia will not agree to it.
The Kremlin said on December 25 that it “continues to analyze” the information that the United States transmitted to the Russian side following the negotiations in Miami. This is how the press secretary of the Russian President answered the question of when to expect a reaction to Zelensky’s 20 points.
Ukraine
On the night of December 25, Christmas night, Russian troops continued attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy said . The Chernigov, Sumy, Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov regions were without electricity. Later, authorities reported that they had restored energy and heat supplies in the Kharkov region.
Due to previous shelling, residents of the Odessa region remain without electricity. On December 25, power outage schedules are in effect throughout Ukraine.
The Christmas night attacks killed one person and injured two others in the Odessa region , local authorities said. Two more dead and two wounded in the Chernihiv region .
In total, on the night of December 25, more than 130 Russian drones attacked the territory of Ukraine, they reported to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 106 drones were neutralized, 22 fell in 15 locations.
War in photographs. Ukrainians celebrate winter holidays despite shelling
War through the eyes of Meduza readers
How we choose letters
Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.
Roman (Donetsk → Tbilisi) . Oddly enough, now the greatest anger is neither Putin - everything is clear with him, nor Zelensky - he has been with him for the last year or two too. The greatest anger and bewilderment is caused by the European Union and European bureaucrats.
Either their Russia is about to collapse, or they will attack tomorrow. Then Ukraine should win, but there hasn’t been a normal amount of weapons for 4 years. Maybe we can make peace? - No, we’ll block Russian accounts. Don't like Trump's plan? - Let's offer ours. Putin’s plague Gulag is winning and advancing in almost all directions - let it stop advancing and start losing, but there will be nothing in return, we still won’t return the money and we won’t lift the sanctions. But we also won’t sanely support Ukraine, you stay there, good health and good mood, and we will hang your flags in the cities and continue to trade with Putin, pretending that we are not.
It seems to me that no one wants to fight anymore, they have fought. Half of the guys from my school class are lying in the earth - on different sides. And collective Europe with their leadership is in severe schizophrenia - and how can they complicate the peace process and not really help. Let them go solve their problems.