Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin said Russia ready to negotiate over …

Putin: Russia ready to negotiate over Ukraine

Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has said, while accusing Kyiv and its western allies of refusing to negotiate.

Speaking in an interview with Rossiya 1 state television, Putin said:

We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are.

He added that Russia was acting in the right direction in Ukraine because the west, led by the US, was trying to cleave Russia apart. He continued:

I believe that we are acting in the right direction, we are defending our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we have no other choice but to protect our citizens.

Moscow has persistently said it is open to negotiations, but Kyiv and its allies suspect Putins claims are a ploy to buy time after a series of Russian defeats and retreats on the battlefield.

The Russian president said on Thursday that Moscow will strive for an end to the war and that this would inevitably involve some kind of negotiations on the diplomatic track. His comments came a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the US.

John Kirby, the White Houses spokesperson, said Putin has shown absolutely zero indication that hes willing to negotiate an end to the war. Quite the contrary, Kirby said, adding:

Everything he is doing on the ground and in the air bespeaks a man who wants to continue to visit violence upon the Ukrainian people.

Key events

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Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has said, while accusing Kyiv and its western allies of refusing to negotiate. Moscow has persistently said it is open to negotiations, but Kyiv and its allies suspect Putins claims are a ploy to buy time after a series of Russian defeats and retreats on the battlefield.

Ukraines presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Putin needs to come back to reality after the Russian leader claimed Moscow was ready for negotiations. It is obvious that Russia doesnt want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility, Podolyak tweeted.

President Putin also blamed the west for starting the conflict in Ukraine in 2014 by toppling a pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, in the Maidan revolution protests. But he told Rossiya 1 state television that the geopolitical conflict with the west was not so dangerous.

Air raid alerts blared across Kyiv and most of Ukraine twice on Sunday. Officials gave the all-clear and there were no immediate reports of Russian attacks on the country. Unconfirmed reports on Ukrainian social media suggested the sirens may have been triggered after Russian jets took to the skies in Belarus.

At least 16 people were killed and 64 injured in Russias shelling of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Saturday, the regions governor, Yaroslav Yanushevych, said. Russian forces opened fire on the Kherson region 71 times with artillery, multiple-launch rocket systems and mortars, Yanushevych said. Iuliia Mendel, a Ukrainian former presidential spokesperson, shared photos of people waiting to donate blood in Kherson.

Among those killed in Kherson on Saturday were three Ukrainian emergency workers, who died when a mine exploded while they were demining parts of the Kherson region. All three selflessly served and performed the task of demining territories liberated from the enemy in the Kherson region, the Zhytomyr emergency service said on its Facebook page.

Russian forces rate of advance in the Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine has probably slowed in recent days, according to analysts. In its latest update, the US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) cited one Russian military blogger as saying that Ukrainian forces had pushed back elements of the Russian private mercenary company, the Wagner group, to positions they held days ago.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy used his latest video address to say that Ukrainians would create their Christmas miracle by remaining unbowed, despite Russian attacks that have left millions without power. Speaking 10 months to the day since Russia invaded, Zelenskiy said that while freedom came at a high price, slavery would cost more.

Russias parliament is preparing to introduce a higher taxation rate for people who have left the country, as many have since the war in Ukraine began in February. Some local media reported that as many as 700,000 fled after the announcement of a mobilisation drive to call up new troops to join the fight in September. The government rejected that figure at the time.

Chinas foreign minister, Wang Yi, has defended his countrys position on the war in Ukraine and indicated that Beijing will deepen ties with Moscow in the coming year. China will deepen strategic mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia, Wang said in a video address, according to an official text of his remarks.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis have used their Christmas addresses to call for an end to the war in Ukraine. Condemning the use of food as a weapon of war, the pope said the war in Ukraine and conflict in other countries had put millions at risk of famine.

Updated at 14.18EST

Local residents in Kyiv, Ukraine, have been spotted singing Christmas carols during an air raid alarm inside a metro station.

Relentless Russian attacks on power generating facilities since October have regularly left millions of Ukrainians without heat and water.

The threat of enemy air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure facilities remains throughout the territory of Ukraine, the Ukrainian armed forces general staff said in an update on Facebook.

Russian troops had shelled dozens of towns and positions along the front line, it said, causing civilian casualties in the southern Kherson region. Moscow has denied targeting civilians.

Updated at 12.23EST

Ukraines ministry of defence has tweeted information about a blood donation centre in Kherson following yesterdays shelling, which killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens.

Updated at 11.48EST

Updated at 11.33EST

Updated at 11.36EST

Its 6pm in Kyiv. Heres where we stand:

Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has said, while accusing Kyiv and its western allies of refusing to negotiate. Moscow has persistently said it is open to negotiations, but Kyiv and its allies suspect Putins claims are a ploy to buy time after a series of Russian defeats and retreats on the battlefield.

Ukraines presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Putin needs to come back to reality after the Russian leader claimed Moscow was ready for negotiations. It is obvious that Russia doesnt want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility, Podolyak tweeted.

President Putin also blamed the west for starting the conflict in Ukraine in 2014 by toppling a pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, in the Maidan revolution protests. But he told Rossiya 1 state television that the geopolitical conflict with the west was not so dangerous.

Air raid alerts blared across Kyiv and most of Ukraine twice on Sunday. Officials gave the all-clear and there were no immediate reports of Russian attacks on the country. Unconfirmed reports on Ukrainian social media suggested the sirens may have been triggered after Russian jets took to the skies in Belarus.

At least 16 people were killed and 64 injured in Russias shelling of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Saturday, the regions governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said. Russian forces opened fire on the Kherson region 71 times with artillery, multiple launch rocket systems and mortars, Yanushevych said. Iuliia Mendel, a Ukrainian former presidential spokesperson, shared photos of people waiting to donate blood in Kherson.

Among those killed in Kherson on Saturday were three Ukrainian emergency services workers, who died when a mine exploded while they were demining parts of the Kherson region. All three selflessly served and performed the task of demining territories liberated from the enemy in the Kherson region, the Zhytomyr emergency service said on its Facebook page.

Russian forces rate of advance in the Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine has probably slowed in recent days, according to analysts. In its latest update, the US thinktank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) cited one Russian military blogger as saying that Ukrainian forces had pushed back elements of the Russian private mercenary company, the Wagner group, to positions they held days ago.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy used his latest video address to say that Ukrainians would create their Christmas miracle, by remaining unbowed, despite Russian attacks that have left millions without power. Speaking 10 months to the day since Russia invaded, Zelenskiy said that while freedom came at a high price, slavery would cost even more.

Russias parliament is preparing to introduce a higher taxation rate for people who have left the county, as many have since the war in Ukraine began in February. Some local media reported that as many as 700,000 fled after the announcement of a mobilisation drive to call up new troops to join the fight in September. The government rejected that figure at the time.

Chinas foreign minister, Wang Yi, has defended his countrys position on the war in Ukraine and indicated that Beijing will deepen ties with Moscow in the coming year. China will deepen strategic mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia, Wang said in a video address, according to an official text of his remarks.

The archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis have used their Christmas addresses to call for an end to the war in Ukraine. Condemning the use of food as a weapon of war, the pope said the war in Ukraine and conflict in other countries had put millions at risk of famine.

Updated at 11.01EST

The only church in the village of Kyselivka in Ukraines southern Kherson region has been destroyed by Russian shelling, according to its defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov.

Here are some of the latest images we have received from Ukraine.

Iuliia Mendel, a Ukrainian former presidential spokesperson, has shared photos of people waiting to donate blood in Kherson after its regional governor, Yaroslav Yanushevych, issued an appeal for donations.

At least 16 people were killed and 64 injured in Russias shelling of the Kherson region on Saturday, according to Yanushevych.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin said Russia ready to negotiate over ...