Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy met troops in the devastated frontline town of Bakhmut, as Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin admitted that his invasion force faced an “extremely difficult” situation in areas of Ukraine that he claims to have annexed.
“Bakhmut fortress. Our people. Unconquered by the enemy. Who with their bravery prove that we will endure and will not give up what’s ours. Ukraine is proud of you,” Mr Zelenskiy said on social media alongside photos of him awarding medals to soldiers.
“The east is holding out because Bakhmut is fighting ... In fierce battles and at the cost of many lives, freedom is being defended here for all of us. Bakhmut defenders deserve our maximum support and our highest gratitude. That’s why I am with them today,” he added.
Ukraine says Russia is expending huge amounts of ammunition around Bakhmut and using troops like “cannon fodder” – including people drafted during a recent mobilisation campaign and convicts recruited from prison – in a bid to seize the ruined town.
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Control of Bakhmut would bring Russia a little closer to its goal of seizing all of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but western military analysts say it seems to have taken on a disproportionate symbolic significance for the Kremlin following the humiliating withdrawal of its troops from Kharkiv province and much of Kherson region during autumn fighting.
Russia held sham annexation referendums in occupied parts of four eastern and southeastern regions of Ukraine in September and then declared sovereignty over them, in breach of international law.
“I would especially like to mention units of the security agencies that have begun to operate in the new regions of Russia. Yes, it’s difficult for you right now: the situation in Donetsk and Luhansk ... in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is extremely difficult,” Mr Putin said in an address to members of the Russian security services.
Mr Putin gave medals to soldiers who have fought in Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour and to collaborationist officials installed by Moscow in occupied Ukraine.
He said the “rapidly changing global situation and the emergence of new threats and challenges impose high demands on the entire system of Russia’s security agencies,” and urged their employees “to significantly improve your work in key areas, and use your operational, technical and personnel potential to the fullest.”
Long blackouts continued across Ukraine on Tuesday as engineers struggled to repair the national grid following several waves of missiles and drone strikes on power stations and other infrastructure.
Mr Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko denied after talks on Monday that Russia was planning to “swallow” its ally, and claimed they were working closely together against perceived threats from Ukraine and its western allies.
Mr Lukashenko thanked his guest for sending powerful Iskander and S-400 missile systems to Belarus, and said a programme was continuing to adapt Belarusian warplanes to carry “special” warheads – which analysts say means tactical nuclear weapons.
Senior Ukrainian military officers have said in recent days that Moscow is preparing for a new offensive in the coming months that may be launched from Belarus, which is only 150km north of Kyiv; Russian forces used Belarus as the launch pad for a failed bid to seize the Ukrainian capital earlier this year.
“I am not optimistic about the possibility of effective peace talks at the immediate future,” United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres said at his end-of-year press conference.
“I do believe that the military confrontation will go on, and I think we will have still to wait a moment in which serious negotiations for peace will be possible. I don’t see them in the immediate horizon.”
