\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUkraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with troops on the frontline in Kupyansk in the northeast of the country, December 12, 2025<\/p>\n
EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Why The Defense of Ukraine Matters<\/a><\/p>\n Friday\u2019s Coverage: Zelensky Confers With \u201cCoalition of Willing\u201d and Meets US Officials<\/a><\/p>\n North Korea\u2019s leader Kim Jong-un has acknowledged <\/a>that he sent troops to clear mines in western Russia.<\/p>\n Kim despatched around 12,000 soldiers from August 2024 to help Russia push back a surprise Ukrainian cross-border incursion into the Kursk region. At least 600 were killed and thousands wounded, according to South Korean intelligence services.<\/p>\n At the end of a three-day Central Committee meeting, Kim said the soldiers \u201cdemonstrated to the world the prestige of our army and state as the ever-victorious army and genuine protector of international justice\u201d.<\/p>\n Hailing the return of an engineering regiment at a ceremony on Friday, Kim said they wrote \u201cletters to their hometowns and villages at breaks of the mine-clearing hours\u201d. Nine members of the regiment died during the 120-day deployment.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of you, both officers and soldiers, displayed mass heroism overcoming unimaginable mental and physical burdens almost every day,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n The French President said of discussions over an end to Russia\u2019s 46 1\/2-month full-scale invasion: \u201cWe need full visibility on the security guarantees that Europeans and Americans can give to Ukrainians before any settlement on contentious territorial issues.\u201d<\/p>\n The 28-point ultimatum to Ukraine, developed by the Kremlin with Donald Trump\u2019s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in late October, demands that Kyiv hand over the 22% of the strategic Donetsk region which it controls. References to security guarantees \u2014 for which the US would receive compensation \u2014 are vague, and are undermined by limits on Ukraine\u2019s military and restrictions on Western assistance.<\/p>\n The European counter-proposal begins with a ceasefire on the current frontlines and no surrender of territory. Security guarantees are backed by ongoing aid from Ukraine\u2019s partners. Kyiv\u2019s candidacy for NATO membership is not banned, although it is not envisaged in the near-future.<\/p>\n Witkoff, a real estate developer, will reportedly meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Brussels on Sunday and Monday.<\/p>\n French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will be in attendance.<\/p>\n The latest US proposal reportedly calls for Ukrainian withdrawal from its part of Donetsk, with a 30-km (19-mile) demilitarized zone. There is no provision for Russian withdrawal from occupied areas.<\/p>\n Zelensky responded:<\/p>\n Who will govern this territory, which they are calling a \u2018free economic zone\u2019 or a \u2018demilitarised zone\u2019, they don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n If one side\u2019s troops have to retreat and the other side stays where they are, then what will hold back these other troops, the Russians?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The President visited commanders and troops on the frontline in Kupyansk in northeast Ukraine. He then posted about the talks:<\/p>\n Across all areas, our goal is the same \u2013 to bring the war to a real conclusion and to define the steps that will make peace dignified for Ukraine, with security and reconstruction guaranteed\u2026.<\/p>\n I am especially grateful to all our warriors on the front line, to every effective unit, and to everyone working for our defense, and for the Ukrainian state.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Today, there have already been several briefings from Rustem Umerov on the work of our negotiating team. It has been quite an active day.<\/p>\n In Germany preparations are underway for the work of our military group focused on the details of security guarantees for Ukraine. Our group\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Volodymyr Zelenskyy \/ \u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 (@ZelenskyyUa) December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
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