NATO has offered Finland and Estonia support in investigating possible sabotage of Baltic Sea cables. Mark Rutte, the alliance’s chief, said on Thursday: “I have spoken to (Estonian Prime Minister) Kristen Michal about reported possible sabotage on Baltic Sea cables.” NATO shows solidarity with its allies and condemns any attacks on critical infrastructure. We are following Estonia’s and Finland’s investigations and stand ready to provide further assistance.” Finnish authorities have seized a ship carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea on suspicion that it caused the failure of a submarine cable between Finland and Estonia a day earlier and also damaged or interrupted four internet lines. A crew from the Finnish Coast Guard boarded the Cook Islands-registered vessel, named Eagle S by authorities, on Thursday. Twelve Western countries said on December 16 that they had agreed on measures to “disrupt and deter” Russia’s shadow fleet to prevent sanctions violations and increase the costs to Moscow of the war in Ukraine. On Thursday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on X: “We must be able to prevent the risks posed by ships in the Russian shadow fleet.”

Russia and Kazakhstan have sought to play down speculation of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, as a US official said there were early indications that a Russian anti-aircraft system may have hit the plane. Previously, a Ukrainian national security official and several sources in Azerbaijan had claimed that the crash that killed 38 people on Christmas Day was caused by Russian air defense fire. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday the investigation into the cause of the crash was ongoing, adding that it was “wrong”. to speculate before the investigation is complete.

Slovakia has offered to be a “platform” for possible peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. Putin said at a televised news conference that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico “said that in the event of negotiations they would be happy to provide their country as a platform.” He added that Russia was “not against it” and praised Slovakia’s “neutral position”. Slovakia, an EU and NATO member, suspended military aid to Ukraine for more than a year under Fico’s government and called for peace talks. Fico, one of the few European leaders with ties to the Kremlin, met with the Russian president in Moscow on December 22, even as the West sought to isolate Putin and form a united front in support of Kiev. Fico has accused Kiev of jeopardizing its country’s supply of Russian natural gas, on which it is heavily dependent. The prospect of peace talks to end the conflict Ukraine This began in February 2022 and has grown since Donald Trump was re-elected to the White House. Trump has promised to push for a quick deal to end the fighting when he takes office in January, which has raised fears in Kiev and Europe Ukraine could be pressured into making concessions to Moscow.

Putin also claimed that US President Joe Biden in 2021 offered to “roll back” Ukraine’s entry into NATO.. “In 2021, current President Biden has offered exactly that: push back Ukraine“We are extending NATO membership by 10 to 15 years because it is not ready yet,” he claimed at a press conference on Thursday. “I answered sensibly: ‘Yes, it’s not ready today.’ But you will prepare for it and accept it.'” But for Russia: “What’s the difference – today, tomorrow or in 10 years?” Ukraine is urgently seeking a NATO invitation before the end of the Biden administration, but Putin considers Ukraine’s NATO membership to be an unacceptable threat.

Russian drones hit a multi-story residential building in the frontline town of Khasiv Yar, killing two people and two people were injured Thursday in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, regional prosecutors said. Chasiv Yar has been under attack by Russian forces for many months as Russia pushes west to conquer the Donbass region. The city is west of Bakhmut, a regional center that fell to Russian forces in May 2023 after months of heavy fighting.

Moldova’s parliament has adopted a 10-year defense strategy that includes increased defense spending as part of a plan to join the European Union. The chamber’s pro-Russian opposition derided the document – which aims to increase defense spending to 1% of gross domestic product by 2030 – as pointlessly aimed at Moscow given Moldova’s small land mass and armed forces. The document points to the risk of an expansion of the Ukraine conflict, particularly around the Black Sea port of Odessa near the border with Moldova. Pro-Western President Maia Sandu, who was re-elected to a second term last month, has accused Russia of trying to overthrow his government. The former Soviet state is one of the poorest countries in Europe and lies between Ukraine and EU member Romania.