LIVE – War in Ukraine: Listening device found in army chief’s office

Russia, a sovereign power : President Vladimir Putin vowed to make Russia a “sovereign power” during a speech to the ruling party on Sunday. It was his first campaign speech ahead of the presidential election in March 2024. The Kremlin leader also promised Russia would become “self-sufficient” before senior United Russia party officials gathered in Congress to back his candidacy. , “otherwise, it will be no more”. “Russia, like some countries, cannot give up its sovereignty in exchange for a few sausages and become someone’s satellite,” he said, referring to Ukraine.

A vote that is “not free or fair”: “On December 11, 2023, the Russian Central Election Commission announced in its daily update on the social network that voting for the March 2024 presidential election will be extended to the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya. This follows their inclusion in the September 2023 Russian regional elections,” the ministry recalls before asserting. : “As for regional elections, it is almost certain that presidential elections in Russian-controlled regions will not be free or fair.

Several meetings of Zelensky: On his Vice President Kamala Harris, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Storr and Norwegian King Harald V and Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdóttir. “Supporting Ukraine means protecting the rules-based international order. I am grateful to all the leaders and countries who help us save lives. I thank them for their vital support to our security,” he wrote.

Towards New US Aid? Senator Joe Manchin, an influential centrist US Democrat, said on Sunday that he was “very optimistic” about the possibility of agreement in the upper house on a major new aid package for Ukraine. “They’re moving in a very positive direction,” Joe Manchin said of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle, as President Joe Biden slammed Republican elected officials for blocking a request for an additional $61 billion envelope for Kiev. . For her part, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, more conservative, was far less optimistic than her colleague. “We’re not close to an agreement,” he said on NBC, estimating that negotiations would have to continue “next year.” “I will not help Ukraine, Taiwan or Israel until our border is secured,” he insisted.

A device asking the Ukrainian commander: A listening device was found in one of the future offices of Ukrainian army commander Valery Zalosny, Kiev security services announced on Sunday, while noting that the device was “inoperative”. “The equipment was not found directly in Valery Zalushny’s office, but in one of the premises that he may use for his work in the future,” they said. An investigation was opened for “illegal use of special technical means of obtaining information,” they added, without presenting any way of the origin of this listening device. As a reminder, as Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Salushny, under the authority of President Volodymyr Zelensky, decides overall operations at the front.