Ukrainian President's advisor said that Russia does not want talks

The Russian military bombed hundreds of cities in Ukraine on Christmas Day.

 Ukraine's top military command said Russia launched more than 10 rocket attacks on the Kupiansk district in the Kharkiv region on Sunday, shelled more than 25 towns along the Kupiansk-Lyman frontline and nearly 20 towns in Zaporizhia, Reuters reported

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targeted.

Putin invaded Ukraine on 24 February, in what Moscow is calling a "special operation".

It sparked the deadliest European conflict since World War II and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

Despite Putin's latest offer of talks, there is no end in sight to this 10-month-long conflict.

“We are ready to hold talks with all those involved about acceptable solutions, but it is up to them – we are not those who refuse to negotiate,” Putin told Rossiya 1 television in an interview broadcast on Sunday. ."

An adviser to Ukrainian President Zelensky said Putin needed to return to reality and admit that it was Russia that did not want talks.

Advisor Mykhailo Podolić tweeted, "Russia single-handedly invaded Ukraine and is killing civilians."

"Russia doesn't want talks, but tries to avoid responsibility." Russian attacks on power stations have left millions without power, and Zelensky said Moscow aims to make the last few days of 2022 dark and difficult. Will happen.

"Russia has lost everything it could this year... I know the darkness will not prevent us from leading the occupiers to new defeats," he said in a video address on Christmas Day. One has to be prepared for the situation," Ukraine does not traditionally celebrate Christmas on 25 December, but on 7 January, like Russia.

However, this year some conservative Ukrainians decided to celebrate the holiday on 25 December, and Ukrainian officials, starting with Zelensky and the Prime Minister of Ukraine, extended Christmas greetings on Sunday.

The Kremlin says it will fight until all its territorial goals are achieved, while Kyiv says it will not rest until every Russian soldier is out of the country.

Asked whether the geopolitical conflict with the West is reaching a dangerous level, Putin said on Sunday, "I don't think it's that dangerous."

Kyiv and the West say what Putin has in the form of an imperial-style war of attrition makes no sense.

Russian-supplied Iskander strategic missile systems, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and the S-400 air defense system have been deployed in Belarus and are capable of performing their tasks, a senior Belarus Defense Ministry official said on Sunday. are ready for.

"Our servicemen, personnel have fully completed their training in joint combat training centers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus," Leonid Kaczynski, head of the Main Directorate of Ideology at the ministry, said in a video posted.

"These types of weapons (Iskander and S-400 systems) are on duty today and they are fully prepared to fulfill the purpose of their task," Kaczynski said.

It is not clear how many Iskander systems have been deployed in Belarus after Putin said in June that Moscow would supply them and Minsk with air defense systems.

The Russian military used Belarus as a launch pad for its abortive assault on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in February, and Russian and Belarusian military activity has increased in recent months.

The Iskander-M, a mobile guided missile system codenamed "SS-26 Stone" by NATO, replaced the Soviet-era "Scud".

Guided missiles have a range of up to 500 km (300 mi) and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.

The S-400 system is a Russian mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) interception system.

Ukrainian and Russian media reported on Monday that explosions were heard at Russia's Engels Air Base, hundreds of kilometers (miles) from the Ukrainian front.

However, there was no immediate official confirmation and Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.

The air base near the city of Saratov, about 730 km (450 mi) southeast of Moscow, was attacked on 5 December, in what Russia said were Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian air bases that day.

Analysts said the attacks dealt a major reputational blow to Moscow and raised questions about why its defenses had failed.

Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks inside Russia, but has said such incidents are the result of Russian aggression.

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