Ukraine war live updates: Russia and Belarus avoid mention of Ukraine war after talks; Bakhmut the 'hottest' hot spot right now - CNBC

Mention of the warfare successful Ukraine was conspicuously absent from a property league held by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin aft their talks Monday.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin's caller gathering with elder subject officers was apt a choreographed effort to "demonstrate corporate work for the peculiar subject operation," according to Britain's Ministry of Defense.

Putin visited the Joint Headquarters of the Special Military Operation (as Russia calls its penetration of Ukraine) connected Dec. 16 and was filmed gathering with a fig of elder subject officers including Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.

There, Putin invited proposals connected however the cognition successful Ukraine should proceed and Commander of the Russian Group of Forces successful Ukraine, General Sergey Surovikin, was 1 of those who presented a report, the U.K. noted.

"This show apt aimed to deflect Putin's work for subject failure, precocious fatality rates and expanding nationalist dissatisfaction from mobilisation. The televised footage was astir apt designed to besides dispel societal media rumours of General Gerasimov's dismissal," the ministry said successful its latest quality update connected Twitter.

— Holly Ellyatt

Mention of the warfare successful Ukraine was conspicuously absent from a property league held by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin aft their talks Monday.

Lukashenko appeared to effort to calm fears that Belarus could beryllium absorbed by its larger, ascendant neighbour Russia, and said Belarus benefits from its adjacent narration with Russia successful presumption of vigor and manufacture arsenic the leaders pledged to deepen ties.

"With respect to idiosyncratic is absorbing anyone ... The question arises, for what? Russia has ever met america halfway. There is not a azygous contented that has remained unresolved today. We are gathering the Russian Federation halfway successful the astir hard moment," Lukashenko said, according to Belarusian authorities quality bureau BelTA.

"If idiosyncratic is hatching up plans to teardrop america apart, to thrust a wedge betwixt us, they volition not succeed. In 2020, it was not Russia that attacked america astir the perimeter. It was not Russia. Russia extended a helping manus to us. We were attacked from determination [from the West]. They wanted to deprive america of some independency and sovereignty," helium claimed.

Belarus saw wide protests successful 2020 aft an predetermination that galore observers judge was rigged to support semipermanent person Lukashenko successful power. The protests were met with a harsh effect from Belarus' information services. Lukashenko baselessly blamed the West for inciting the demonstrations. Russia said it was acceptable to enactment Lukashenko's enactment should the protests get "out of control."

Following months of accrued associated subject exercises and meetings, concerns person grown that Belarus could participate the Ukraine warfare to assistance Russia (it has already allowed Moscow to motorboat attacks from its territory). On Monday, Lukashenko said thing would beryllium capable to "break our relationship" with Russia but did not notation the anticipation of Belarus assisting Russia successful the warfare successful Ukraine.

"So what is determination to say? Just 1 much time: they volition not beryllium capable to interruption our relationship. It volition lone strengthen. Today, successful fact, unneurotic with the president and our colleagues, we person created a basal for the aboriginal accelerated progress," Lukashenko said.

— Holly Ellyatt

The metropolis of Bakhmut successful the eastbound Donetsk portion of Ukraine remains a blistery spot successful the struggle — the hottest, according to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Bakhmut remains the hottest constituent connected the full beforehand enactment — much than 1,300 km of progressive hostilities. Since May, the occupiers person been trying to interruption our Bakhmut, but clip goes by — and Bakhmut is already breaking not lone the Russian army, but besides the Russian mercenaries who came to regenerate the mislaid service of the occupiers," Zelenskyy said connected Telegram Tuesday night.

"I convey each our fighters who are heroically holding the Bakhmut direction, Soledar, Avdiyivka, Maryinka, Kremensky absorption and the full Donbas region, which earlier the accomplishment of Russia was 1 of the strongest successful Ukraine and which Russia is destroying to the ground. Even specified cruelty volition not springiness the force anything."

The president claimed Russia had mislaid astir 100,000 soldiers successful Ukraine and said the nonaccomplishment was for nothing.

"They wage a warfare and discarded people's lives - different people's lives, not their loved ones, not their ain lives, but others - and lone due to the fact that immoderate tiny radical successful the Kremlin does not cognize however to admit mistakes and is terribly acrophobic of reality," Zelenskyy said.

Estimates of Russian fatalities successful Ukraine disagree from 1 root to different another sources though astir enactment Russia's decease toll arsenic little than Ukraine's estimates. Russia itself has not released immoderate information connected fatalities successful respective months.

— Holly Ellyatt

European Union vigor ministers agreed to a "dynamic" headdress connected earthy state prices Monday aft 2 months of aggravated negotiations.

Introducing a bounds connected state prices has been arguable for European officials. While galore EU subordinate states person argued that the measurement is indispensable to bring down sky-high vigor costs for consumers, others person disquieted astir the imaginable market implications of the policy.

"We did our job, we person the deal. Another ngo intolerable accomplished," Jozef Sikela, manufacture curate of the Czech Republic, which holds the presidency of the Council of the EU, said successful a property conference.

Energy ministers overcame their differences and agreed to what they're calling a marketplace correction mechanism. It volition beryllium automatically activated nether 2 conditions: If front-month state contracts transcend 180 euros ($191) per megawatt hr connected the Dutch Title Transfer Facility — Europe's main benchmark for earthy state prices — for 3 moving days successful a row; and the terms is 35 euros higher than a notation terms for liquid earthy state connected planetary markets for the aforesaid period.

The measurement volition use from Feb. 15. When applied, it volition acceptable a "dynamic bidding limit" connected earthy state futures transactions for 20 moving days.

Read the afloat communicative here.

—Jenni Reid

President Vladimir Putin said the concern successful 4 areas of Ukraine that Moscow has declared are portion of Russia was "extremely difficult" and ordered information services to measurement up surveillance to unafraid its borders and combat caller threats.

Putin's comments made connected Security Services Day, wide celebrated successful Russia, came arsenic Kyiv renewed calls for much weapons aft Russian drones deed vigor targets and arsenic fears turn that Moscow's state Belarus could unfastened a caller penetration beforehand against Ukraine.

Putin ordered the Federal Security Services (FSB) to measurement up surveillance of Russian nine and the country's borders to combat the "emergence of caller threats" from overseas and traitors astatine home.

In a uncommon admittance of the penetration of Ukraine not going smoothly, Putin cautioned astir the hard concern successful Ukraine's regions that Moscow moved to annex successful September and ordered the FSB to guarantee the "safety" of radical surviving there.

"The concern successful the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, successful the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is highly difficult," Putin said precocious connected Monday successful comments translated by Reuters.

— Reuters

U.S.-Poland relations are affecting the Russian government's quality to transportation retired its unprovoked warfare successful Ukraine, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said.

During a gathering with Anna Moskwa, Polish curate of clime and environment, successful Brussels connected Monday, Adeyemo praised the nations' combined enactment for Ukraine and condemnation of Russia done sanctions, export controls and the $60 terms cap connected Russian seaborne lipid devised by the G-7 countries, according to a readout.

The measures person efficaciously unopen down Russian vessel factories and weakened its finances and economical outlook, the officials said. Adeyemo besides lauded Poland's committedness to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and highlighted each nation's pledge to supply further assistance to Ukraine.

— Chelsey Cox

Moldova's spy main warned of a "very high" hazard of a caller Russian violative towards his country's eastbound adjacent twelvemonth and said Moscow inactive aimed to unafraid a onshore corridor done Ukraine to the breakaway Moldovan portion of Transdniestria.

The comments by Alexandru Musteata, caput of the Information and Security Service, echo caller messages retired of Ukraine wherever apical service generals person warned successful caller days of the menace of a large caller Russian violative aboriginal adjacent year.

"The question is not whether the Russian Federation volition undertake a caller beforehand towards Moldova's territory, but erstwhile it volition bash so," Musteata told the TVR-Moldova tv channel.

He said his bureau believed Russia was looking astatine respective scenarios to scope Moldova and that it was imaginable an violative would beryllium launched successful January-February oregon aboriginal successful March-April.

— Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin landed successful Minsk for talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian authorities media reported Monday afternoon.

The meeting, Putin's archetypal to the Belarusian superior since 2019, comes amid expanding fears that Moscow whitethorn beryllium pushing its state to summation its subject engagement successful the war.

Speaking to Russian quality agencies earlier Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called Belarus Russia's "number 1 ally," but said that suggestions that Moscow wanted to unit Minsk into joining the struggle were "stupid and unfounded fabrications."

—Karen Gilchrist

Russia's RIA Novosti quality bureau reported Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov arsenic saying the reports were "groundless" and "stupid," hours earlier Putin was owed to get successful the Belarusian capital.

Putin's sojourn Monday day marks his archetypal to the ex-Soviet state successful much than 3 years, and comes arsenic Belarus' defence ministry said it had finalized a bid of inspections of its equipped forces' subject preparedness.

—Karen Gilchrist