The Council of the European Union confirmed that European countries and the United States will provide "solid" security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace agreement to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has categorically rejected proposals by the United States and Europe to provide Ukraine with "NATO-like" security guarantees as part of the peace agreement.
This is stated in the analysis of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Kremlin continued to signal that it was not willing to compromise on Russia's territorial claims to the sovereign territory of Ukraine.
Russia launched an information campaign to present the European Union and individual European countries as enemies of the Russian people, comparable to Nazi Germany, in an attempt to further militarize Russian society.
On December 15, the Council of the European Union issued a joint declaration confirming that US and European leaders are committed to working together to provide "solid security guarantees" and measures for the economic recovery of Ukraine in the context of the peace agreement.
The Council agreed to provide peacetime support to the Ukrainian army; a European-led multinational force composed of forces from the Coalition of the Willing; a US-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism; and a legally binding obligation to take military, diplomatic, and economic measures in the event of a renewed Russian invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on December 16 that U.S. and Ukrainian officials had discussed legally binding security guarantees during the talks.
Zelensky noted that Ukrainian and U.S. officials would meet in Miami, Florida, to continue discussions on security guarantees, and a U.S. official noted that U.S. and Ukrainian working groups would likely meet over the weekend (December 20-21) "somewhere" in the United States, possibly in Miami.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an English-language interview with ABC News on December 15 that Russia "will categorically not accept, agree to, or even be satisfied" with any NATO forces in Ukraine, even if those forces are part of a security guarantee or are members of the Coalition of the Willing.
Ryabkov also reiterated that Russia will not compromise "in any form" regarding the five Ukrainian regions that Russia has illegally annexed - which include the entire territory of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, as well as Crimea.
Ryabkov reiterated the Russian theory of victory - according to which Russia will inevitably win by outlasting Ukrainian resistance and Western support - by stating that the end of Russia's war in Ukraine depends on when Ukrainian supporters "recognize the inevitable outcome of Russian success".
Russia has launched an information campaign to portray the European Union and individual European countries as enemies of the Russian people, comparable to Nazi Germany, in an attempt to further militarize Russian society.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting on December 15 that Europe is fighting a war "under the Nazi banner" with Russia through European support for Ukraine.
Lavrov said that the European leadership in Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and the Baltic states is reviving "the theory and practice of Nazism".
Lavrov also said that Germany is engaged in a "revival of militarism" and linked modern-day Finland to Adolf Hitler and the Siege of Leningrad.
Lavrov also compared modern-day European leadership to historical figures such as Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte, who pose an existential threat to Russia.
The Kremlin is trying to downplay the ongoing Ukrainian counterattacks in Kupyansk, while Russian ultranationalist military bloggers continue to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation for Russian forces.
Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk and made slight advances near Kupyansk. Russian forces have recently advanced into the Dobropilya and Kostyantinovka-Druzhkovka tactical areas.