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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said late Sunday that Ukraine is planning to call for Russia’s removal as a veto-carrying permanent member of the UN Security Council. Russian air defence troops downed a Ukrainian drone late Sunday as it approached the Engels air base in Russia’s southern region of Saratov, the second attack on the base in a month. Follow our live blog for updates. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
6:48am: Ukrainian drone shot down over air base in Russia’s Saratov region, at least three killed from debris
Russian air defence troops shot down a Ukrainian drone late Sunday as it approached a southern Russian air base, with debris from the attack killing three people, Russian news agencies reported Monday.
“On December 26, at around 01:35 Moscow time (2235 GMT), a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region,” the TASS news agency reported quoting the defence ministry. “As a result of the fall of the wreckage of the drone, three Russian technical servicemen who were at the airfield were fatally injured.”
The base, near the city of Saratov, about 730 kilometres (450 miles) southeast of Moscow and hundreds of kilometres from the front lines in Ukraine, was hit on December 5 in what Russia said were Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian air bases that day.
6:16am: Ukraine to call for Russia’s removal from UN Security Council
Ukraine is planning to call for Russia to be removed as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council on Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said late on Sunday.
“Tomorrow we will officially express our position. We have a very simple question: Does Russia have the right to remain a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to be in the United Nations at all?” he said, speaking late Sunday during a national television marathon.
Kuleba said the question of Russia’s veto-wielding permanent seat on the council – also held by the United States, Britain, France and China – was already being discussed around diplomacy circles.
The Security Council consists of 15 members tasked with tackling global crises by enacting sanctions, authorising military action, and approving changes to the UN charter. The permanent five carrying veto power can block any resolution and reflect the power dynamics at the end of World War II.
2:07am: Moscow ready to resume gas supplies via Yamal-Europe Pipeline
Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to Europe through the Yamal-Europe Pipeline, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told state TASS news agency.
“The European market remains relevant, as the gas shortage persists, and we have every opportunity to resume supplies,” TASS cited Novak as saying in remarks published by the agency on Sunday.
The Yamal-Europe Pipeline usually flows westward, but has been mostly reversed since December of 2021 as Poland turned away from buying from Russia in favour of drawing on stored gas in Germany.
In May, Warsaw terminated its agreement with Russia, after earlier rejecting Moscow’s demand that it pay in roubles.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, Reuters)
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