December 29, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Moscow will not negotiate with Kyiv on the basis of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposed peace formula, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, according to state-media on Thursday.

Lavrov told state-run RIA Novosti that Zelensky's idea of driving Russian troops out from the Donbas, Crimea, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson with help from the West was "an illusion."

He also dismissed the idea that Kyiv would achieve reparations or that Russia would appear in international courts.

Lavrov stressed however, that Russia remains open to diplomatic solutions to end the war. 

Peace plan: Zelensky presented Ukraine’s 10-point peace formula to world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November.

The steps includes a path to nuclear safety, food security, a special tribunal for alleged Russian war crimes, and a final peace treaty with Moscow. He also urged G20 leaders to use all their power to “make Russia abandon nuclear threats” and implement a price cap on energy imported from Moscow.

During his speech to the US Congress last week, Zelensky claimed US President Joe Biden had endorsed the plan.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his annual address Wednesday to the Ukrainian Parliament that the war Russia has waged on his country has strengthened Europe's unity, and that "no one in the West is afraid and will ever be afraid of Russia."

Zelensky went on to say that countries are no longer interested "in whether Russia will hear them," but rather "what else to expect from Ukraine, what else Ukraine can give to Europe, what else we can give to the world."

Zelensky also thanked Ukrainian servicemen, calling them "heroes" and said the powerful weapons Ukraine has received have strengthened its advantage. 

As fighting near the key Ukrainian city of Kreminna in the eastern Luhansk region continues, Russian civilians who had come to the city have stopped their work and left, Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk region military administration, said Wednesday in a television interview. 

Why Kreminna matters: If the Ukrainian military is able to dislodge the Russians from Kreminna, it could then proceed in two directions, Hayday said. 

"There are two prospects. The first is to go to Starobilsk, which is the logistics center of Luhansk region. Whoever controls Starobilsk will be able to control the entire logistics of the Luhansk region with firepower. In other words, there will be almost no roads left along which the enemy could quietly move either personnel or equipment," Hayday said. 

"The second direction is towards Rubizhne and Severodonetsk. This is in order to break the grouping, which is now constantly, round the clock, advancing towards Bakhmut. It could be split in two and, accordingly, make the defense for the military who are defending Bakhmut easier." 

Some background: Kreminna has been occupied since the spring and lies on a key north-south road from Svatove, which Russian troops had been using for resupplies. Losing Kreminna would limit Russia's ability to resupply its troops in the key city of Severodonetsk.

The electricity deficit in the Ukrainian power grid grew on Wednesday due to shelling of gas infrastructure in eastern Ukraine, according to the latest update from state power utility Ukrenergo.

Ukraine has been facing a wide assault on critical infrastructure and power sources since early October. 

The deficit did not mean further power restrictions because of “relatively warm weather," Ukenergo said, but added: "the available capacity in the system is not enough to meet all the needs of consumers in the country. In this regard, all regions were informed about consumption limits, the excess of which leads to the need for emergency outages.”

In the past three months, the power grid has suffered nine missile and 12 Russian UAV attacks, according to Ukrenergo.

“As a result, generation facilities and transmission systems suffered large-scale and complex damage. Their restoration requires significant resources and time. Repair teams of Ukrenergo, electricity producers and distribution system operators are working continuously,” the statement said.

Russian soldiers taking part in the war on Ukraine will be eligible for free sperm freezing and storage in cryobanks, state news agency TASS reported, citing a lawyers union.

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