The Russian ambassador to the US assures that there is a “high” risk of a clash between the two powers

Ukraine estimates that its grain harvest has fallen about 40 percent annually due to the Russian invasion, a representative of the country’s industry told the AFP news agency.

“We expect a cereal harvest of 65-66 million tons” by the end of the year, said the director of the Grain Association of Ukraine, Sergiy Ivashchenko, after a record harvest of 106 million tons last year.

The Russian ambassador in Washington, Anatoli Antonov, has accused the US authorities of carrying out conduct a “proxy war”at the same time that it has warned that there is a “high” risk that both powers “clash” at some point.

“Today, no one hides the true objectives of the White House’s policy towards us. On all television channels, the Political commentators talk about the need to escalate the US proxy war against Russia“, has said.

In an interview for the TASS agency collected by , Antonov has stressed that Washington is instrumentalizing the war in Ukraine for his “war of agents” against Russia, which could lead to “a clash between the two great powers”.

Placing full responsibility for the tensions on the United States, Antonov has pointed out that Russia is limiting itself to trying to ensure that Moscow’s “concerns” regarding national security “are not ignored.”

Moscow claims it has achieved a significant progress towards the “demilitarization” of Ukraineone of the goals declared by President Vladimir Putin when he launched his war more than 10 months ago.

“It can be said that there is a significant progress toward demilitarization“Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The Finnish authorities have contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry to demand that it guarantee the safety of the Finnish diplomatic legation in Moscow after an incident this week.

According to sources from the Finnish diplomacy to the newspaper ‘Helsingin Sanomat’Helsinki has demanded that Moscow respect the agreements reached in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

This complaint from the authorities of the Nordic country comes after a group of masked men threw hammers into the premises of the Embassy headquarters in Moscow. There was no material damage or injury to be regretted.

Two civilians have been killed this Friday by Russian shelling in the city of Kherson, the regional prosecutor’s office has reported.

2According to the investigation, on the morning of December 23, two local residents of the city of Kherson were killed in another shelling by Russian military personnel. Residential buildings and critical infrastructure were damaged”, noted the regional prosecutor and collects Guardian.

Russian troops shelled the civilian infrastructure of Kherson in the afternoon of December 23, said Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko. As a result, 2 people were killed. Residential buildings and a kindergarten were damaged. pic.twitter.com/t4HX8ud9wH

— Hromadske Int. (@Hromadske) December 23, 2022

“All empires fail
When they think they know it all
They’re wise in their own eyes
Deaf to all advise
Down on their knees, one final plea
rinse and repeat
All empires fail”
Our Last Night

Total combat losses of the enemy from Feb 24 to Dec 23: pic.twitter.com/w964Zzoj0o

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) December 23, 2022

The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing.

The map below is the latest Defense Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 23 December 2022.

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/t3sSQ81JJG

?? #StandWithUkraine ?? pic.twitter.com/Fh5KIkGy2d

— Ministry of Defense ?? (@DefenceHQ) December 23, 2022

The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, announced this Friday that she plans to visit Ukraine at the beginning of 2023 and has reaffirmed the country’s support for the Ukrainian government in full invasion of Russia. “I will call President Volodimir Zelensky to convey to him my wishes for arrange a visitwhich I hope will take place during the first months of next year”, he said in statements to the Italian television channel Ray 1.

At least two injured this Friday due to the vehicle explosion downtown from the city of Melitopol, which is currently under the control of Russian forces as part of the invasion of Ukraine. The pro-Russian authorities of the town, located in the region of Zaporizhiahave indicated that the explosion of the vehicle has been registered in the vicinity of Gorki Park, according to information from the TASS news agency.

The Federal Security Service (FSB, former KGB) of Russia has reported this Friday the arrest of several Russian and Ukrainian citizens who allegedly prepared terrorist actions and spied on behalf of the Ukrainian secret services. “On the territory of a number of entities of the Russian Federation, the criminal activities of Russian and Ukrainian citizens who provided assistance to the Security Service and the Armed Forces of Ukraine were stopped,” the FSB said on its website.

The Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, has resumed his work this Friday from his office in kyiv, after visiting the United States and Poland, where he was his first trip abroad since the start of the Russian invasion. “I’m in my office. We continue working for victory,” the Ukrainian leader reported, in a message issued through his Telegram account.

Russia has warned this Friday that it could reduce oil extraction between 5 and 6% at the beginning of 2023 due to the Price cap of $60 per barrel imposed on its crude by the European Union, the G7 and Australia as a sanction for the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry assures that there will be no peace negotiations to end the invasion in Ukraine as long as there are NATO and US personnel in the country. Russian diplomat Alexander Darchiev, director of the Department for North America of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has indicated two conditions so they can get started “serious negotiations” to establish peace in the context of the war in Ukraine, since it considers that, without them, “it is not possible” to advance in the dialogue. Thus, he has indicated that the Atlantic Alliance and the US must put an end to both financial and military aid packages, as well as the presence of members in the country, or the recognition of “the true situation in the country’s territory”, according to declared in an interview with the Russian agency TASS.

The North Korean government has denied this Friday the accusations about an alleged supply of weapons to Russia, according to what they have published japanese media. A spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry has pointed out that Pyongyang has never had arms transactions with Moscow in the context of the war in Ukraine. “The false report by the Japanese media that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea offered ammunition to Russia is the most absurd false lead, which does not deserve any comment or interpretation,” the spokesman said, according to the North Korean news agency KCNA. . Japanese media reported Thursday that North Korea transported artillery shells and other ammunition by train from Rason to Khasan, border cities, according to the South Korean Yonhap news agency.