Ukraine updates: Russia denounces Zelenskyy's US visit

The Kremlin criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington DC on Wednesday, with Moscow claiming that the trip may backfire on Kyiv.

Zelenskyy is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden and will deliver an address to Congress. It's Zelenskyy's first public trip outside of the country since Russia's war began in February.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said an expected announcement by the White House that the Biden administration would send Patriot missiles to Ukraine would only "deepen" the conflict.

He said delivery of more advanced weapons systems to Kyiv "does not bode well for Ukraine."

Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the Russian Ministry of Defense later on Wednesday, where Putin will lay out how the invasion of Ukraine will proceed.

Here are the other main headlines from the war in Ukraine on Wednesday, December 21:

Biden and Zelenskyy meet at the White House

US President Joe Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Washington for his first foreign visit since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Upon arrival, Zelenskyy said he was in Washington to thank the United States for its help in the war against Russia and would also hold talks to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities.

Biden welcomed Zelenskyy to the White House telling that Ukrainians "continue to impress the world." In a brief remarks before reporters, Biden told Zelenskyy that "it's an honor to be by your side" and he pledged continued financial, military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

"We're going to continue to strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself, particularly air defense," Biden told Zelenskyy, who thanked the US leader, Congress and the "ordinary people" of America for their support of Ukraine.

After meeting with Biden, Zelenskyy is expected to address Congress. 

Denmark donates €40 million in military aid to Ukraine

Denmark will donate 300 million Danish kroner (€40.3 million or $42.8 million) in military aid to Ukraine, the country's Defense Ministry said.

The money will be donated via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine used to provide military equipment and other support to Ukraine's armed forces.

Russia's Wagner group to recruit women

The Russian mercenary group Wagner fighting in Ukraine aims to recruit women jailed in Russia and deploy them to the front, Kremlin-linked founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said.

"Not only nurses and communications staff but also in sabotage groups and sniper pairs. Everyone knows this has been done before," he said, referring to World War II-era female sharpshooters hailed in Soviet propaganda.

"We're getting there. There's some resistance but I think we'll overcome it," Prigozhin added on social media.

In recent months, Wagner is understood to have recruited male inmates en masse from Russian prisons to fight on front lines in Ukraine with the promise of reduced sentences and high salaries.

US Senate backs new ambassador to Russia

The US Senate backed the confirmation of Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was to become the rare wartime world leader to address a joint meeting of Congress.

As voting continued, senators were backing Tracy by an overwhelming 56-1. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as US ambassador to Russia.

US to provide Patriot missile system to Ukraine

The United States will provide an $1.85 billion (€1.75 billion) in additional military assistance for Ukraine, including a transfer of the Patriot Air Defense System, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The assistance includes a $1 billion drawdown to provide Ukraine with "expanded air defense and precision-strike capabilities" and an additional $850 million in security assistance, Blinken said.

"Today's assistance for the first time includes the Patriot Air Defense System, capable of bringing down cruise missiles, short range ballistic missiles, and aircraft at a significantly higher ceiling than previously provided air defense systems," Blinken said.

US President Joe Biden authorized the delegation to draw down up to $1 billion in additional defense assistance to Ukraine, the White House said.

German government welcomes Zelenskyy's visit to the USA

German government welcomed the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the United States.

According to government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, it as a "very good, hopeful sign" that the Ukrainian president can travel to the US. He also added that there are currently no plans for Zelenskyy to visit Berlin.

Hebestreit welcomed the announcement by the US that it would supply Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems. The United States had agreed to this step in advance with "close allies" like Germany, he said.

Germany has no principled objection to following the United States in providing Ukraine with Patriot air defence systems, but it does not currently have any available to send, Hebestreit said.

Germany has agreed to deploy three Patriot missile systems in eastern Poland to help secure its NATO ally's air space.

"These are the three available Patriot systems," Hebestreit said. "So it's not that there is a concrete step Germany is unwilling to take, but there are no systems available."

Putin convinced of victory in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is convinced Moscow is winning its war against Ukraine, despite battlefield setbacks.

"I am sure that step by step we will achieve all our goals," Putin said in a televised speech at a meeting of top officials at the Russian Defense Ministry. 

He also said that the Russian army must learn from and fix the problems it had suffered in Ukraine, promising to give the military whatever it needed to prosecute a war nearing the end of its 10th month.

In his speech, Putin said there were no financial limits on what the government would provide in terms of equipment and hardware. "We have no funding restrictions. The country and the government are providing everything that the army asks for," he said.

Putin has also said he has no regrets about launching what he calls his "special military operation", arguing Russia had no choice but to stand up to arrogant Western powers.

He said he still considered Ukrainians — who have been killed in their tens of thousands, forced to flee in their millions, and seen whole towns and cities destroyed — to be a "brotherly" people.

"What is happening is of course a tragedy, our common tragedy, but it is not a result of our policy," Putin said. "On the contrary it's the result of the policy of other countries, third countries, who have always striven for this, the disintegration of the Russian world. To a certain extent they succeeded, and pushed us to the line where we are now," he added.

Russia's defense minister calls for increasing army

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the country's military must be expanded from its current 1 million personnel to 1.5 million amid the fighting in Ukraine.

According to Shoigu, the number should include 695,000 enlisted contract soldiers. He didn't say when the military planned to reach the increased strength.

He also proposed raising the age range for mandatory Russian military service to cover Russian citizens aged 21-30 as he said Russia's forces would continue fighting in Ukraine next year.

Then the Russian minister shared the plans to use two Ukrainian port cities on the Sea of Azov that its troop seized during the offensive.

"The ports in Berdyansk and Mariupol are fully functioning. We plan to deploy there bases for support vessels, emergency rescue services and ship repair units of the navy," he added. 

Shoigu also said the Russian military would form new units in the country's west in view of plans by Finland and Sweden to join NATO.

China urges restraint during Xi-Medvedev meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Deputy Chair of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev in Beijing on Wednesday, with Ukraine topping the agenda.

Chinese state media reported that Xi urged all parties to exercise restraint in the conflict. China and Russia also discussed greater diplomatic and economic cooperation during the visit.

In a video posted on Telegram, Medvedev called the talks with Xi "useful."

"We discussed cooperation between the two ruling parties of China and Russia... bilateral cooperation within our strategic partnership, including on the economy and industrial production. We also discussed international issues — including of course, the conflict in Ukraine," Medvedev recalled.

Russia: EU not carrying out thorough probe of Nord Stream blasts

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said EU countries are failing to do a proper investigation into explosions at the Nord Stream pipelines in September. 

"After the explosions on Nord Stream — which, it appears nobody in the European Union is going to objectively investigate — Russia stopped gas transportation through the northern routes," Lavrov said.

The remarks come after US newspaper The Washington Post reported that there was no conclusive evidence that Moscow was behind the explosions.

The Kremlin has claimed the UK caused the blasts, which London denies. Sweden and Denmark have said the explosions are the result of sabotage but did not name the perpetrator.

More DW content on the war in Ukraine

Patriot missile systems could be a game changer for Ukraine's defense as Russia's assault presses on. Here's a look at the systems and why Kyiv wants them.

Europe and the US have provided billions of euros worth in support to Ukraine. Read more about the efforts by researchers in Germany to calculate an accurate figure of the military aid the country has received.

Missiles can't stop what Ukrainian people call Magic Night, or St. Nicholas Day. This year, St. Nicholas also headed to Kyiv's train station and took a train to eastern Ukraine. Supported by UNICEF, he aims to bring joy to thousands of children in the war-torn region. 

dh, wd, lo/es, sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)