On the 654th day of the war, continuous fighting is taking place near Avdiivka, where the Russians are trying to surround the city. The Ukrainian military claims that its troops are “firmly holding the defense, inflicting significant losses on the enemy.” The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claims that 900 Russian soldiers died at the front in the last day.

Basic information about the war in Ukraine, day 654, LIVETEXT:

09:19 Russia has lost 338,120 soldiers in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on Saturday

Moscow lost 900 soldiers in the last day alone.

08:33 The authorities of several regions of Russia are tightening their belts to save money and send money to the front: they canceled New Year’s fireworks and did not buy Christmas tree decorations, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports, The Kyiv Independent notes.

08:05The European Commission is due next week to approve a legislative proposal on legal procedures to use Russian assets blocked by the European Union under sanctions against Moscow, but doubts from France, Germany and Belgium could mean Ukraine will not receive the money anytime soon, diplomatic sources cited by Reuters said.

A brief summary of recent events:

• Russian warplanes fired 19 long-range missiles at targets in Ukraine on Friday morning, killing one civilian in the central region, wounding four others and damaging an industrial facility, officials in Kyiv said.
• The head of the national gas company of the Republic of Moldova “Moldovagaz”, whose majority shareholder is “Gazprom”, offered to take over the transportation of the Russian giant’s supplies through Ukraine if Kyiv decides not to extend the transit contract, which is expiring. next year
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán strongly opposes negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, claiming that the country is plagued by corruption and poses a threat to European agriculture.
• The Ukrainian parliament on Friday passed three bills necessary to start negotiations on joining the European Union, including on the rights of national minorities, which is an important condition for Hungary, which opposes Ukraine’s EU candidacy, but at the same time an expected step. from Romania
• Finland will not extradite a Russian suspected of terrorism in Ukraine to Ukraine, the Supreme Court of Finland ruled on Friday, citing the risk of inhumane prison conditions in Ukraine, Reuters reports.
• The International Olympic Committee allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Olympic Games under a neutral flag, with the exception of team competitions and on the condition that they do not actively support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Ukraine and Sweden are discussing the possibility of supplying the Armed Forces of Ukraine with Gripen fighters, Ukrainian Pravda reports.
• On Friday, the Bulgarian Parliament overruled President Rumen Radev’s veto on the agreement on the supply of armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, Ukrainian Pravda reports.

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Friday’s events regarding Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro