Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin calls his Ukraine invasion a ‘holy mission’ during Orthodox Christmas address

Proposals for post-war security protocols for Ukraine are “largely” finalised, US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said following the discussions with European countries.

“We look forward to more progress as a result of everything that’s occurred today,” he said.

“We think we’re largely finished with security protocols, which are important so that the people of Ukraine know that when this ends, it ends for ever.

“We also think critically that we are very, very close to finishing up as robust a prosperity agreement as any country has ever seen coming out of conflicts like this.”

How willing is the coalition of the willing? When it was first convened jointly by the UK and France last March, it was described by Sir Keir Starmer as a “once-in-a-generation moment” for European security. It was and is, in truth, an attempt to rebuild the global Western alliance without the United States.

At that stage, the Trump administration had already given notice that it was stepping back from the Pax Americana established when Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter in 1941.

The coalition of the willing remains a “work in progress” and still lacks a sense of unconditional common purpose. However, it is all that what used to be thought of as “the West” presently has to replace the old world order.

It was, therefore, far-sighted of the prime minister and President Macron to salvage whatever they could from the wreckage left by President Trump.

Russian president Vladimir Putin attended a Russian Orthodox Christmas service early on Wednesday, where he hailed his invasion of Ukraine as a “holy mission” to defend Russia.

Putin combined the ceremony with a holiday address on unity, charity and support for the armed forces.

His appearance came as the war Russia launched with its full scale invasion of Ukraine neared the end of its fourth year, with the Kremlin casting the conflict as a national mission and leaning heavily on patriotic and religious symbolism.

Video footage showed Putin in a dark suit without a tie among uniformed servicemen, alongside wives and children, as clerics conducted the service at the St George Victory Bearer church near Moscow.

“Russia’s warriors have always, as if at the Lord’s behest, carried out this mission of defending the Fatherland and its people, saving the Motherland and its people,” Putin said at the church after the service.

“At all times in Russia, this is how people have regarded their warriors, as those who, as if at the Lord’s behest, carry out this holy mission.”

It may help remove one of the biggest obstacles to hammering out a truce to end four years of slaughter Russia has inflicted on the Ukrainian people.

And so it signals a significant step forward. I find myself in rare agreement with Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner that a “milestone” has been reached in Europe.

One of the main sticking points in any deal has always been Ukraine’s need for security guarantees.

Every single Ukrainian commander, presidential adviser, politician, foot soldier and civilian I have spoken to since the launch of the full-scale invasion in 2022 has repeated the same message to me: they fear Russia will renege on a deal.

Several oil storage tanks were on fire at an oil depot in Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, its governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Confirming the attack which occurred late on Tuesday, Gladkov said there were no casualties and firefighters were working to contain the blaze.

Belgorod, just 40 km (25 miles) from Ukraine, has faced a daily onslaught of Ukrainian drone attacks, largely targeting the supply chains and infrastructure propping up Russia’s military campaign.

European leaders gathered in Paris on Tuesday said they would provide a range of military support options to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia.

The Coalition of the Willing said it would continue supplying equipment and training to Ukraine’s frontline forces after any ceasefire and back them up with air, land and sea support aimed at deterring renewed Russian aggression.

The size, structure and financing of any peacekeeping forces were not made public, and many elements remain to be negotiated.

Participants identified five priorities once fighting ends: monitoring a ceasefire; supporting Ukraine’s armed forces; deploying a multinational force on land, at sea and in the air; agreeing how to respond if Russia attacks again; and establishing long-term defence cooperation with Ukraine.

Keir Starmer said in the event of a ceasefire, the UK and France would establish military hubs across Ukraine and “build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine’s defensive needs”.

Any European troop deployments would face political hurdles and would require approval from politicians in many countries.

Russian officials had indicated that they would be willing to let the US pursue its interests in Venezuela freely if Moscow was allowed to do the same in Ukraine, former Trump adviser Fiona Hill said.

In a 2019 congressional hearing, senior adviser Hill admitted that the Kremlin in 2019 had pitched the possibility of giving up its grip on Venezuela for control of Ukraine.

Officials in Russia “were signaling very strongly that they wanted to somehow make some very strange swap arrangement between Venezuela and Ukraine,” Hill said in her answers to lawmakers during a hearing in November 2019.

Her remarks have now resurfaced after Trump attacked Venezuela and captured its leader Nicolas Maduro.

She added that while Russia’s overtures were “informal”, their message was still clear. “You know, you have your Monroe Doctrine. You want us out of your backyard. Well, you know, we have our own version of this. You’re in our backyard in Ukraine,” the former advisor to Trump said in the congressional hearing.

Ukraine’s Security Service carried out drone strikes on a military arsenal and an oil depot deep inside Russia, according to a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The long-range drones hit the arsenal in Russia’s Kostroma region, triggering explosions that lasted for hours and forced the evacuation of nearby settlements, the official said. The site was described as a key logistics hub supplying ammunition in western and central Russia.

In a separate strike, Ukraine Security Service drones hit an oil depot in Russia’s Lipetsk region, causing a huge fire, the official said.

It was made possible by the US presence at the summit, with Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner confirming that the president “strongly, strongly, strongly” supports the security guarantees and would provide the backup to make it work.