No reason for Russia to change goals, Lavrov says Speaking in Skopje today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow saw no signs that Kyiv was ready to move towards a political resolution and that there was no reason for Russia to change the goals of its “special military operation”, Reuters reported. Summary of the day Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told The Associated press that “winter as a whole is a new phase of war” and acknowledged that “we did not achieve the desired results” with the summer counteroffensive. The Ukrainian leader also said that “we already can see the consequences of the international community shifting (attention) because of the tragedy in the Middle East”. The situation on the Polish-Ukrainian border remained tense, with Ukrainian truckers stuck on the border saying they plan to launch a hunger strike if their demands are not met. Polish and Ukrainian officials agreed on measures designed to help ease the situation at border crossings blocked by Polish truckers, but did not address the protesting Polish truckers’ main demands. Slovak truckers said they would start blocking a border crossing with Ukraine. The Ukrainian military shot down 18 out of 25 attack drones launched by Russia in its latest overnight strike, authorities said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow saw no signs that Kyiv was ready to move towards a political resolution and that there was no reason for Russia to change the goals of its “special military operation”. Russian investigators said a dual Russian-Italian national had been detained for planting bombs on railway tracks as part of a sabotage campaign orchestrated by Ukrainian military intelligence. A court in Russia has extended the detention of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until February 5. Russia’s navy destroyed an uncrewed Ukrainian navy vessel heading towards Crimea, the defence ministry said. Heavy snowfall and blizzards across eastern European countries this week have resulted in a number of deaths and left thousands of towns and villages without electricity, after the first major cold snap of the season. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán said he opposes even putting the issue of opening EU accession talks with Ukraine on the agenda. The matter is set to be discussed at a major summit of European leaders later this month. Here are photos from Kyiv today. Ukrainian and Polish officials met to discuss the ongoing border blockade and agreed on a number of measures such as easing passage for empty vehicles, Unian reported, citing Ukrainian authorities. But broader issues appear to remain unaddressed. Polish truckers have been protesting near several border crossings with Ukraine since early November. Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that Ukrainian truckers stuck at the border are planning a hunger strike if their own demands are not met. It is going to be “very difficult” to agree at an upcoming summit on an EU proposal to grant Ukraine 50 billion euros of budget aid, a senior official said, Reuters reported. The official said however that the EU was still committed to supporting Ukraine. Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European integration, said today that “we are now shifting the focus from talking about the situation in Ukraine to the mood in Europe – and I think this is the huge disproportion”. “The major message on my side,” she said, “is that nothing has changed in Ukraine in terms of our commitment, resolve, our goals and priorities. We are still suffering, we still trying to survive – but every day, we are moving towards victory”. The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, has condemned Russia’s move to outlaw what Moscow describes as the “international LGBT+ public movement” as “extremist”. He said: Amid the decades-long crackdown on rights of LGBTIQ persons unleashed under President Putin, this decision aims at further persecuting the LGBTIQ community in Russia and aims to stifle civil society and those courageously defending human rights. This decision will prevent LGBTIQ persons from enjoying their human rights and dignity over fears of unjustified persecution. The EU firmly opposes discrimination, prejudice and hate. We stand in solidarity with Russian citizens and all others who are adversely affected by this decision. The EU urges Russia to stop the unfounded repression, to uphold its international obligations and to respect, protect and fulfil human rights without discrimination of any kind. Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said he is grateful to Switzerland, which had announced today that it has frozen an estimated 7.7 billion Swiss francs in financial assets belonging to Russians. “Together with our partners, we are moving towards a mechanism to utilise seized assets for Ukraine’s recovery,” he said. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he welcomes that Russia was not elected to the Assembly of the International Maritime Organization’s new council. Slovak truckers to blockade Ukraine border crossing Slovak trucking union UNAS chief Stanislav Skala said his team were ready to start blocking the Vysne Nemecke/Uzhhorod crossing with Ukraine, the country’s sole border point for trucks, Reuters reported. They are joining Polish truckers who have been blocking several crossings to Ukraine since early November. “We will block the border and let four trucks through every hour,” Skala told Reuters. No reason for Russia to change goals, Lavrov says Speaking in Skopje today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow saw no signs that Kyiv was ready to move towards a political resolution and that there was no reason for Russia to change the goals of its “special military operation”, Reuters reported.