December 26, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Aditi Sangal, Leinz Vales, Elise Hammond and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 12:22 a.m. ET, December 27, 2022
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2:21 p.m. ET, December 26, 2022

Putin says he is ready to "negotiate with everyone involved" regarding Ukraine

From Josh Pennington and Hira Humayun

Putin speaks during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on December 22.
Putin speaks during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on December 22. (Stringer/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is ready to “negotiate with everyone involved in this process about acceptable solutions” regarding the war in Ukraine, according to Russian state news agency TASS, citing Putin’s interview with state TV Sunday.

"I don't think it is so dangerous, I think we are moving in the right direction, protecting our national interests and the interests of our citizens, our people. And we simply have no other choice but to protect our citizens," Putin said. "We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved in this process about acceptable solutions, but it's up to them. It's not us who is refusing to negotiate, it's them.”

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted in response saying, “Putin needs to come back to reality.”

Russia “single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens,” Podolyak added. “Russia doesn’t want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility. This is obvious, so we are moving to the Tribunal.”

Remember: Putin’s remarks comes as Russia continues its offensive against Ukraine. On Sunday, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of Donetsk regional military administration, said Russian troops hit Kramatorsk with three rockets. An industrial area was hit but there were no casualties.

 

11:00 a.m. ET, December 26, 2022

Putin appoints former President Medvedev as deputy chairman of military-industrial commission

From CNN’s Anna Chernova

Dmitry Medvedev during a press conference while on a visit to France in June, 2019.
Dmitry Medvedev during a press conference while on a visit to France in June, 2019. (Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images/FILE)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed former President Dmitry Medvedev to a new position—that of first deputy chairman of the Military-Industrial Commission, according to the decree published by the government.

The decree signed by Putin introduced changes to the Military-Industrial Commission and listed Medvedev, who is currently deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, as its first deputy chairman.

The Military Industrial Commission is a permanent body created to ensure the implementation of the state policy in the field of the military-industrial complex, and military-technical support for defense, national security and law enforcement, according to the government’s website. Putin himself is the chairman of the commission.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, heads of the Foreign Intelligence Service, the FSB, the National Guard and others are also on the commission board.

10:19 a.m. ET, December 26, 2022

Ukraine calls for Russia's removal from UN Security Council and UN "as a whole"

From CNN's Olga Voitovych

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya speaks at a Security Council meetting in September.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya speaks at a Security Council meetting in September. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Russia should be excluded from the security council of the United Nations, and from being a member of the UN entirely, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called for on Monday. 

In a statement, the foreign ministry lamented the “illegitimacy of the Russian Federation's presence in the UN Security Council and in the United Nations as a whole.” 

“Ukraine calls on the member states of the UN to resume the application of the UN Charter in the context of the legitimacy of the Russian Federation's presence in the UN, to deprive the Russian Federation of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to exclude it from the UN as a whole,” it said. 

The foreign ministry alleges “gross violations of the norms and principles of international law as well as for crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine, in particular, for war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as the crime of genocide.” 

It says Russia could be re-admitted upon recommendation for UN membership once it “fulfills the conditions for membership in the Organization.” 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for Russia’s expulsion from the United Nations in the past.

Some background: When the United Nations charter was signed in 1945, it established the Security Council with five permanent members and six nonpermanent members. The permanent members – the US, the UK, France, the Soviet Union, and the Republic of China – were each given the power to veto any resolutions they opposed.

Today, the Security Council has 15 members, but the five permanent members have remained the same, with Russia holding the former Soviet Union’s seat and China taking the seat of the Republic of China.

9:49 a.m. ET, December 26, 2022

It's mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know.

From CNN staff

Three Russian servicemen were killed Monday after a Ukrainian drone was shot down by air defenses as it approached a military airfield in Saratov Oblast, inside Russian territory, according to Russian state news agencies.

The incident took place in the western port city of Engels, some 500 miles (more than 800 kilometers) southeast of Moscow, located on the Volga River. It is the second such attempted attack on the city, which houses the Engels-2 military airfield, a strategic bomber airbase, this month.

A spokesperson for South of Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces warned of a possible retaliatory Russian strike, referencing a similar incident earlier this month in the same region.

Catch up on other key developments regarding this incident and the war:

  • Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat did not claim direct responsibility for the drone incident at a Russian military facility in the western city of Engels, but he did suggest the attack was the “consequence of what Russia is doing.”
  • Investigative journalist Christo Grozev has been put on Russia’s wanted list, according to the website of the Interior Ministry of Russia. The Interior Ministry’s website says Grozev, who is Bulgarian, is wanted under an article of the Criminal Code, without specifying which article.
  • On Saturday, Russia struck the southern city of Kherson more than 70 times, killing at least 16 people and injuring at least 64 people, Yaroslav Yanushevych, head of the Kherson region military administration, wrote on Telegram Sunday. 
  • Russia is prepared to resume gas supplies to Europe via the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, which was previously stopped for political reasons, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Russian state news agency TASS on Sunday.
  • Russia may cut oil output by 5% to 7% at the start of next year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told the Russian state television channel on Friday, detailing a concrete threat of a production cut for the first time.
9:34 a.m. ET, December 26, 2022

Investigative journalist Christo Grozev placed on Russia’s wanted list, according to interior ministry

From CNN’s Anna Chernova

Bellingcat reporter Christo Grozev gives a press conference in October, 2018.
Bellingcat reporter Christo Grozev gives a press conference in October, 2018. (Hannah McKay/Reuters/FILE)

Investigative journalist Christo Grozev has been put on Russia’s wanted list, according to the website of the Interior Ministry of Russia.

The Interior Ministry’s website says Grozev, who is Bulgarian, is wanted under an article of the Criminal Code, without specifying which article.

According to Russia’s monitoring group OVD-Info, a criminal case on disseminating "fake news" about the Russian army has been opened against Grozev.

Grozev is the lead Russia investigator for the investigative group Bellingcat focusing on “security threats, extraterritorial clandestine operations, and the weaponization of information," according to Bellingcat's website.

"I have no idea on what grounds the Kremlin has put me on its 'wanted list,' thus I cannot provide any comments at this time. In a way it doesn't matter - for years they've made it clear they are scared of our work and would stop at nothing to make it go away," he said in a twitter post on Monday. 

Together with the team of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, CNN journalists and journalists from other outlets, he investigated the poisoning of Navalny in 2020.

Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, Grozev has been using open-source digital tools to document war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine.

9:03 a.m. ET, December 26, 2022

Kyiv celebrated lit up Christmas tree on Christmas Day

From Svitlana Vlasova, Olga Voitovich and Chris Liakos

People take photos in front of the recently-illuminated Christmas tree at Sophia Square in Kyiv on Sunday.
People take photos in front of the recently-illuminated Christmas tree at Sophia Square in Kyiv on Sunday. (Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

People in central Kyiv welcomed with cheers on Sunday the lighting of the capital’s Christmas tree, which was first lit a week ago and since then it lights up every evening.

The Christmas tree is located in Sophia square – the traditional place for the Christmas and New Year festivities which usually includes a Christmas market – at the center of the Ukrainian capital.

The moment tree was lit up using a power generator was met by enthusiasm from the crowd which had gathered to witness the moment.

Lit in blue and yellow colors, like the Ukrainian national flag, the 12-meter high tree is decorated with white doves and topped with an ornament representing Ukraine's coat of arms, a symbol of the country which has been devastated by Putin’s war since Feb. 24 this year.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said earlier this year that decorations would be funded 100% from local businesses and that the tree would be decorated with “with energy-saving lights”.

Ihor Zholudiev, an IT specialist originally from Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, told CNN that he found the moment “inspiring.”

“Usually we were not so happy about it. But this difficult year, when there are almost no holidays, when these holidays are not felt, this lighting of the Christmas tree is inspiring. It really feels like Christmas,” he told CNN, adding that his wishes “for New Year, Christmas and birthday are the same: victory and peaceful sky above our heads.”

Ihor and Victoria, a married couple also present at the square echoed his sentiment.

“We wish the Russians to go away from our land, that's the only wish,” they told CNN, adding they were hoping for “for some ray of good,” this Christmas and New Year.

“We came here with our child. She was born during an air raid, and she needs happiness too. Our daughter is 9 months old, she was born on March 31,” they said.

8:45 a.m. ET, December 26, 2022

Pope reiterates his appeal for an end to the war in Ukraine in his annual Christmas blessing

From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu and Chris Liakos

Pope Francis delivers his annual Christmas Day message from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on December 25.
Pope Francis delivers his annual Christmas Day message from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on December 25. (Vatican Media/Reuters)

Pope Francis expressed his wish for world peace during his annual Christmas day message and blessing delivered at the Vatican on Sunday, reiterating his appeal for an end to the war in Ukraine.

“Let our eyes be filled with the faces of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who are living this Christmas in the dark and the cold far from their homes due to the devastation that destruction caused by ten months of war,” the Pope said.

“May the Lord inspire us to offer concrete gestures of solidarity to assist all those who are suffering and may him lighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the thunder of weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war,” he added.

Pope Francis also wished for the “end of bloodshed” in Iran and for peaceful co-existence between different communities in the Middle East.

The Pope also condemned the use of food as a weapon.

“We know that every war causes hunger and food is exploited as a weapon hindering its distribution to people who are already suffering,” Pope Francis said, urging “those who hold political responsibilities that they commit to make food solely an instrument of peace.”

8:29 a.m. ET, December 26, 2022

Russia will try to make the last few days of the year "dark and difficult" for Ukraine, Zelensky warns  

From CNN's Mariya Knight

Zelensky speaks during his nightly address on December 25.
Zelensky speaks during his nightly address on December 25. (Presidential Office of Ukraine)

Russia will try to make the last few days of the year "dark and difficult," Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Sunday. 

“There are only a few days left this year,” Zelensky said. “We must be aware that our enemy will try to make this time dark and difficult for us.” 

“Russia lost everything it could this year,” the Ukrainian president continued. “But it is trying to compensate for its losses with the gloating of its propagandists after the missile strikes at our country, at our energy sector.” 

Zelensky urged Ukrainians “to be ready for any scenario” and “remember where the nearest point of invincibility is located.” 

“More than 5,500 points have already been opened throughout the country,“ he added. 

The "invincibility points" offer emergency shelter and services for Ukrainians without power following Russian attacks. 

9:07 a.m. ET, December 26, 2022

The incident at Russia's Engels air base is a "consequence of Russian aggression," Ukrainian official says 

From CNN's Olga Voitovych

Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat did not claim direct responsibility for the drone incident at a Russian military facility in the western city of Engels in Saratov Oblast which led to the death of three Russian servicemen. But he did suggest the attack was the “consequence of what Russia is doing.”

“If the Russians thought that the war would not affect anyone in the deep rear (of Russia) or anywhere else, they were deeply mistaken. Therefore, as we see, such things are happening more and more often, and let’s hope that this will only benefit Ukraine,” said Ihnat.

Also on Monday, a spokesperson for South of Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces warned of a possible retaliatory Russian strike, referencing a similar incident earlier this month in the same region.

“This reminds of the events of Dec. 5, so there may be some deja vu, some repetition of this situation, after which [the Russians] launched a massive missile strike,” the spokesperson said. “Therefore, we should be prepared for this, take it into account in our plans and do not forget to proceed to the shelter.”

Some context: Earlier this month, CCTV footage appeared to show an explosion lighting up the sky in Engels. At the time, Saratov Oblast Gov. Roman Busargin also reassured residents that no civilian infrastructure was damaged and that “information about incidents at military facilities is being checked by law enforcement agencies.”

He had acknowledged that information about “a loud bang and a burst in Engels in the early morning” was spreading on social networks and the media.

The Engels-2 airfield is nearly six kilometers from where the CCTV footage was recorded in early December.