Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russian forces to withdraw from Ukraine this Christmas. Addressing leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) who met virtually on Monday, Zelenskyy said Russia could prove it could use the season of goodwill to abandon its aggression toward Ukraine.
“The occupier must leave. It will certainly happen. I see no reason why Russia should not do it now – at Christmas. The answer from Moscow will show what they really want – further confrontation with the world or finally [a] cessation of the aggression. The one who brought the war upon us has to take it away,” Zelenskyy said.
The Kremlin responded to Zelenskyy’s comments Tuesday by saying it was “out of the question” to withdraw troops and that Ukraine had to accept what it called “new realities” with regards to territories in Ukraine that it has declared “annexed.”
Meanwhile, Russian forces have begun to launch a new batch of Iranian drones, according to the Ukrainian Air Force’s spokesperson, who said the launch point has shifted to the eastern side of the Sea of Azov, located on Ukraine’s southeast coast and connected to the larger Black Sea via the Kerch Strait.
