The scenario with European nations that purchase Russian fuel could be very sophisticated and requires elevated consideration, the Kremlin mentioned on Monday after talks the day prior to this between President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Fico mentioned on Sunday that Putin had confirmed Russian willingness to proceed to provide fuel to Slovakia, regardless that the Slovak chief mentioned this was “virtually not possible” as soon as a fuel transit settlement between Russia and Ukraine expires on the finish of the 12 months.

It was not clear what potential resolution the 2 leaders might need mentioned.

Ukraine has declined to resume the fuel transit deal. President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned final week this is likely to be potential, however solely provided that Russia was not paid for the fuel till after the battle was over.

“You heard the assertion from the Ukrainian facet, and you already know concerning the positions of these European nations that proceed to purchase Russian fuel and that contemplate this vital for the traditional operation of their economies,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov advised reporters.

“Due to this fact, there’s now a really sophisticated scenario right here that requires elevated consideration.”

Ukraine‘s safety service has named a Russian normal it suspects of ordering a missile strike on a lodge in jap Ukraine in August and mentioned he acted “with the motive of intentionally killing staff of” Reuters.

The Safety Service of Ukraine (SBU) mentioned in a press release on Friday that Colonel Common Alexei Kim, a deputy chief of Russia’s Common Workers, accepted the strike that killed Reuters security adviser Ryan Evans and wounded two of the company’s journalists on Aug. 24.

In a press release posted on Telegram messenger the SBU mentioned it was notifying Kim in absentia that he was an official suspect in its investigation into the strike on the Sapphire Lodge in Kramatorsk, a step in Ukrainian prison proceedings that may later result in prices.

In a separate, 15-page discover of suspicion, by which the SBU set out findings from its investigation, the company mentioned that the choice to fireside the missile was made “with the motive of intentionally killing staff of the worldwide information company Reuters who had been engaged in journalistic actions in Ukraine“.

The doc, which was revealed on the web site of the Common Prosecutor’s Workplace on Friday, mentioned that Kim had obtained intelligence that Reuters workers had been staying in Kramatorsk. It added that Kim would have been “absolutely conscious that the people had been civilians and never taking part within the armed battle”.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned in an emailed remark to Reuters that “the Russian army solely strikes army infrastructure” in Ukraine.

A Russian delegation arrived in Tehran for a go to that features a assembly with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Russian state information company TASS reported on Monday, as the 2 nations put together to signal a complete cooperation settlement.

Iran and Russia have been engaged on setting a date to finish an settlement, Iran’s International Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei mentioned on Monday, including that the deal is about to be signed throughout a bilateral go to in January.

Russia has cultivated nearer ties with Iran and different nations hostile in direction of america, equivalent to North Korea, for the reason that begin of the Ukraine battle.

The nation’s International Minister Sergei Lavrov mentioned in October that Moscow and Tehran meant to signal a deal which would come with nearer defence cooperation.

South Korea’s army mentioned on Monday that it has detected indicators of North Korea getting ready to ship extra troops and weapons, together with suicide drones, to Russia to assist its battle in opposition to Ukraine.

North Korea has already offered 240mm a number of rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled howitzers, and was seen getting ready to supply extra suicide drones to be shipped to Russia after chief Kim Jong Un guided a check final month, based on Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Workers (JCS).

“Suicide drones are one of many duties that Kim Jong Un has targeted on,” a JCS official mentioned, including that the North had expressed its intention to present them to Russia.

Such drones have been broadly used within the Ukraine battle, and Kim ordered a mass manufacturing of the aerial weapons and an replace of army idea and schooling, citing intensifying international competitors, state media reported.

Seoul, Washington and Kyiv have mentioned there are round 12,000 North Korean troops in Russia. The JCS mentioned no less than 1,100 of them had been killed or wounded, in step with final week’s briefing by South Korea’s spy company which reported some 100 deaths with one other 1,000 wounded within the Kursk area.

US president-elect Donald Trump mentioned Russian president Vladimir Putin has expressed his curiosity in a gathering him to debate the Ukraine battle.

“President Putin mentioned that he needs to fulfill with me as quickly as potential,” Mr Trump mentioned throughout his remarks at Turning Level’s America Fest conference yesterday. “So we’ve got to attend for this, however we’ve got to finish that battle. That battle is horrible, horrible,” he was quoted as saying by CNBC.

“The variety of troopers being killed…” Mr Trump mentioned. “It’s a flat airplane, and the bullets are going and there’s highly effective bullets, highly effective weapons, and the one factor that’s going to cease them is a human physique.”

Earlier, Mr Trump has claimed he may finish the Ukraine battle “in 24 hours” if he will get elected.

Ukraine’s air pressure mentioned it had shot down 47 out of 72 Russia-launched drones throughout the nation.

In a press release on Telegram this morning, it mentioned that an extra 25 drones had not reached targets and had been “locationally misplaced”.

Russia’s Gazprom mentioned that it will ship 42.1 million cubic metres of fuel to Europe through Ukraine this morning, a quantity in step with current days.

Nato secretary normal Mark Rutte mentioned he thought-about the generally harsh criticism of German chancellor Olaf Scholz by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to be unjustified, information wire DPA reported.

Though Germany has been an important ally of Ukraine, its hesitation in offering long-range Taurus cruise missiles has been a supply of frustration in Kyiv, which is battling a foe armed with a robust array of long-range weaponry.

“I’ve typically advised Zelenskiy that he ought to cease criticising Olaf Scholz, as a result of I feel it’s unfair,” DPA quoted Mr Rutte on Monday as saying in an interview.

Mr Rutte additionally mentioned that he, not like Mr Scholz, would provide Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles and wouldn’t set limits on their use.

“Usually, we all know that such capabilities are essential for Ukraine,”Mr Rutte mentioned, including that it was lower than him to determine what allies ought to ship.

After a November phone name by Mr Scholz with Russia’s chief Vladimir Putin in November, Mr Zelensky mentioned it had opened a Pandora’s field that undermined efforts to isolate the Russian chief and finish the battle in Ukraine with a “honest peace”.