Press service of the 24 Mechanized brigade/EPA
Ukrainian soldier smoking in a dugout at a frontline position in Donetsk, Ukraine.
Two more villages conquered in eastern Ukraine. Germany admits sending troops to guarantee a buffer zone, but the issue “will be discussed when the time comes”.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced this Saturday that its forces took control of two more villages in eastern Ukraine, Vremivka e Petropavlivkaboth in the Donetsk region.
The Russian army is advancing in the siege of the Ukrainian strongholds of Kurakhove and Velika Novosilka, both in the eastern region of Donetsk, with the capture of two new locations, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
“The units of the Vostok (East) group continued to advance (…) and liberated the town of Vremivka, in the Donetsk People’s Republic”, says the military statement.
Meanwhile, the military from the Center group took control of Petropavlovka, the statement added. Russian authorities had reported the military’s entry into Petropavlovka, northwest of Kurakhov, on January 3.
A few days later, some media reported that Petropavlovka had been conquered, but this information was not officially confirmed until Saturday morning.
Vremivka, southwest of Velika Novosilka, is a village with more than a thousand inhabitants before the war, located close to the border with the regions of Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk.
Germany may send troops to secure buffer zone
The German Defense Minister showed openness to sending German soldiers to Ukraine, if a demilitarized zone were created to guarantee compliance with a hypothetical ceasefire with Russia.
“We are NATO’s largest partner in Europe. It is obvious that we will play a role and that we will have to take responsibility for it”, said Boris Pistorius, in an interview with the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, when asked about the possibility of sending German troops to help guarantee a buffer zone between the two belligerents.
The issue “will be discussed when the time comes”, said the Social Democratic minister.
US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, promised, during his election campaign, to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in less than 24 hours. He has since given himself more time, but talks could begin soon, thanks in particular to one between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Monday that the Ukraine is not in a strong enough position to begin peace negotiations with Russia.
Although Boris Pistorius admits that “Russia occupies around 18 or 19%” of Ukrainian territory, “it has not obtained more” in almost three years of war, despite the “high losses of its own army”, he emphasizes.
At a recent meeting of countries supporting Ukraine, the United States stated that Moscow was almost 1,500 men a dayin November.
