Day 637 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Kyiv Claims to have Killed 320,000 Russians since the War Began

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Day 637 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• Putin allowed "negotiations" about the "tragedy" in Ukraine and compared Russia to Israel
• Putin's administration quells a protest by relatives of those mobilized with money
• Ukraine claims to have killed 320,000 Russians since the war began
• Ukraine was attacked with 14 drones
• The EU will produce 1.4 million shells for Ukraine by spring
• Video shows how Russia helps migrants cross the border with Finland
• After supplying Russia with missiles, Pyongyang was able to launch a missile with a military satellite

Putin allowed "negotiations" about the "tragedy" in Ukraine and compared Russia to Israel

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country is "ready for negotiations" and must think about how to end the "tragedy" in Ukraine.

In his first statement to the G20 group of nations since Russia invaded Ukraine, he also attacked Kyiv with accusations of the failure of dialogue so far and tried to compare the invasion to the conflict between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas.

This G20 summit, two months after the leaders' in-person meeting in New Delhi, India (which Putin did not attend due to his "busy schedule"), was video-conferenced. US President Joe Biden decided not to participate in it, and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, according to Bloomberg, was represented by Premier Li Qiang.

Putin hit back at other leaders who said they were shaken by the war, which has become (if military casualties are taken into account) Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II and the most serious confrontation between Russia and the West in decades.

"Yes, of course, military action is always a tragedy," Putin said. "And, of course, we have to think about how to stop this tragedy," Putin said. "By the way, Russia has never refused peace talks with Ukraine."

Last October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree calling talks on Ukraine "impossible" under the current leadership in the Kremlin, although he left the door open to negotiations with Russia. Meanwhile, a Russian official told Reuters that Moscow cannot work with the current government in Kyiv either, and the "special military operation" (i.e., the war) must continue in order to "demilitarize" Ukraine.

This comes days after Zelensky began issuing warnings about a Russian plan to oust him from power. He said yesterday that Moscow's plan is to carry out this intention by the end of the year.

After calling the hostilities a "tragedy", he moved on to the war between Israel and Hamas, saying: "And the extermination of the civilian population in Palestine, in the Gaza Strip, didn't this shake people today? And the fact that doctors have to operate children, to operate with a scalpel on children's bodies without anesthesia - doesn't that shake people?"

Since the beginning of the war, Russia has been in contact with Hamas and has strongly advocated an end to the war and the fighting in Gaza.

Israel, however, turned out to be only one point in his comparison of tragedies, which he mentioned before the 2014 revolution in Ukraine that toppled President Viktor Yanukovych: "And the bloody coup in Ukraine in 2014, followed by the Kyiv regime's war against its own people in Donbas - didn't that shake you?"

Russia insists that the events that began in Ukraine in 2013 due to Ukraine's departure from the EU, chosen by Yanukovych, were a Western-directed scenario that led to the "coup". Moscow also insists that Kyiv is committing encroachments against "Russian-speaking" people in eastern Ukraine, which prompted its de facto intervention in the Donbas in 2014, which escalated into a full-scale invasion in 2022.

Putin's administration quells a protest by relatives of those mobilized with money

The administration of the Russian president has advised the regional authorities to "suppress with money" the protests of the relatives of mobilized servicemen who insist on their return from the front, Verstka reports, citing its sources.

The Kremlin is sure that "the wives are waiting for the bank cards with the salary from the war, not their husbands".

"If it is not possible to solve all the problems, to pay everyone the maximum amount of money. <...> At the same time, it is necessary to separate the dissatisfied as much as possible on private issues - some need a husband, others money, others just to be listened to," one of the sources described the Kremlin's recommendations.

AP believes that the dissatisfaction of the relatives of those mobilized is one of the main problems of the presidential election campaign.

In recent weeks, relatives of those mobilized have tried to hold rallies in several Russian regions. In most cases the authorities refused them; in Novosibirsk, they allowed a "closed rally". In Moscow, the authorities refused to hold a rally on October 25, citing the epidemiological situation. The day before, the organizers challenged this decision in court. Relatives of those mobilized submitted a request to hold a concert on December 16 at "Teatralna Square" dedicated to Mother's Day.

Ukraine claims to have killed 320,000 Russians since the war began

Over the past 24 hours, 850 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, and since the beginning of the full-scale war, the total combat losses of the enemy have amounted to 320,670 people, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army.

A huge amount of destroyed equipment is also reported, in particular artillery systems - 7769 (+17 in the past day), tanks - 5446 (+7), armored fighting vehicles - 10188 (+14), operational-tactical UAV - 5784 (+ 13), air defense equipment - 589 (+1), automotive equipment and tankers - 10159 (+25), special equipment - 1105 (+7).

In addition, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 899 enemy MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System), 323 aircraft, 324 helicopters, 1,564 cruise missiles, 22 ships/boats and one submarine have been destroyed, writes the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN.

The General Staff also reported drone and cruise missile attacks that night.

The Air Force reported that Russian forces attacked from the southeast direction (Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Russia) with 14 Shahed drones and an X-22 cruise missile from a Tu22M3 aircraft from the same direction. All 14 Shahed-131/136 drones were destroyed.

The Kh-22 cruise missile missed its target and fell in the Zaporizhzhia region in the open, and private houses were damaged by the blast wave. According to preliminary data, no one was injured.

Ukraine was attacked with 14 drones

Ukraine was attacked with 14 drones and several missiles last night, Kyiv reported. Air defense systems have disabled all drones.

In the waters of the Black Sea, in the direction of Crimea, 4 sea drones were destroyed, the Russian Ministry of Defense wrote on its Telegram channel.

The European Union will keep its promise to provide one million shells to Ukraine and even more. This was said by the European Commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton, in Strasbourg.

According to him, this unit will be produced in the spring. A week ago, the European Union's high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, admitted that the Union may not be able to deliver the promised shells by the end of the year.

The EU will produce 1.4 million shells for Ukraine by spring

The EU will produce 1.3 or 1.4 million 152 and 155 caliber shells for Ukraine by spring, surpassing the promised 1 million.

This was stated by the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. He answered questions from MEPs about how the EU would fulfill its promise to deliver 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine by March 2024.

"We made the commitment in the spring when there was such an opportunity. I have told this Parliament that it will be implemented," Breton pointed out.

Breton also recalled another commitment made by EU member states. It is to supply munitions from their stockpiles through joint purchasing and other means as the industrial base grows and as opportunity arises.

The reason the EU currently does not have the power to produce enough ammunition is the fact that capacity has declined in peacetime.

Thierry Breton admitted that 40 percent of EU arms production currently goes outside Europe.

"We must ask all member states' defense ministers to clearly and firmly state and tell their defense businesses to prioritize exports to Ukraine in the coming months. I make this request here, in front of you, in front of the European Parliament, to all ministers," said the European Commissioner.

He tried to calm the MEPs by saying that the commitment was for spring, and now winter has not yet come. Breton recalled that he had visited a number of countries where weapons were produced.

“If the funds are there, the capacity will be there. If the production enterprises in France, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria show discipline and put pressure on the producers, we will keep the commitment," assured Breton.

Video shows how Russia helps migrants cross the border with Finland

Finland has accused Russia of handing out bicycles and scooters to migrants to help them cross the border as part of a plan to destabilize Europe.

Antti Hakkanen, Finland's defense minister, accused the Kremlin of using its hybrid warfare "playbook" by encouraging migrants to enter the country without documents.

Helsinki ordered the closure of four of its eight road crossing points with Russia, and the European Commission promised to send a border control unit to Finland.

After supplying Russia with missiles, Pyongyang was able to launch a missile with a military satellite

South Korea has announced it is unilaterally suspending part of a 2018 inter-Korean agreement to reduce military tensions in response to the launch of a military satellite by its northern neighbor.

North Korea said it had placed its first spy satellite into orbit on Tuesday and promised to launch it in the near future. Pictures released by North Korean state media showed leader Kim Jong-un watching the missile launch.

South Korea and Japan, which first reported the launch, said they were still verifying that the satellite was in orbit, and the Pentagon said the US military was still assessing whether the launch was successful.

Seoul will resume intelligence and border surveillance under a proposal approved at an emergency cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Han Dak-su.

"North Korea has clearly demonstrated its unwillingness to abide by the Sept. 19 military agreement aimed at reducing military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and building confidence," Yonhap news agency quoted Han Duck-sooas saying.

It is noted that Seoul will immediately resume intelligence operations in the area of the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas, also known as the Demilitarized Zone.

"The ability of our armed forces to identify threat targets and their readiness to respond will be greatly improved," the prime minister said.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a state visit to the UK, approved the denunciation remotely.

The launch is the first since Kim Jong-un met Russian President Vladimir Putin at Russia's state-of-the-art space facility in September, where the Russian president pledged to help Pyongyang build satellites.

South Korean officials said the latest launch likely involved technical assistance from Moscow as part of a growing partnership in which North Korea sends millions of artillery shells to Russia.

Earlier, Pyongyang announced its first successful launch of the Chollima-1 launch vehicle, which put the Mulligen-1 satellite into orbit, as well as plans to launch several more such satellites "soon."

North Korea explained the action as strengthening "self-defense capabilities".

Previously, Pyongyang made two unsuccessful attempts to put a reconnaissance satellite into orbit - in May and August this year.

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