Putin will run for Russian President, Israel opens another border crossing for this purpose

Russian plane makes emergency landing, Israel raises military age, Türkiye raises cooperation areas with Greece... are some notable international news in the past 24 hours.

Vladimir Putin will run for Russian President in 2024. (Source: TASS)

The World & Vietnam Newspaper highlights some of the day's international news highlights.

* Ukraine lacks professional soldiers : On December 8, TASS (Russia) quoted the Washington Post (USA) as saying that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are lacking professional soldiers. Specifically, a military officer nicknamed “Dolphin”, who is the commander of the assault group of the 68th Brigade, confirmed that Ukraine needs more soldiers because their professional soldiers are depleted. The newspaper also noted: “Interviews with Ukrainians of military age show that many are not very enthusiastic about fighting for an army and government.”

Since February 2022, Ukraine has been steadily increasing its general mobilization. The authorities have done everything possible to prevent men of military age from evading military service, in particular by prohibiting them from traveling abroad. Notices have been posted in government offices, on streets and in crowded places.

In September, Ukraine expanded the list of those eligible for conscription. In October, the Ministry of Education sent a notification to all universities confirming which students could be conscripted upon leaving school. In addition, Ukraine passed a law requiring all women aged 18 to 60 who are qualified medical doctors, dentists, midwives, nurses, pharmacists and pharmaceutical representatives to register as potential candidates for conscription. President Volodymyr Zelensky also announced a new comprehensive plan for conscription measures on November 24. (TASS)

* Ukraine successfully thwarted Russian attack : On December 8, Mr. Yury Ignat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said: “19 X101/X555 cruise missiles (from Russia) were launched. We got good results from the air defense system: 14 cruise missiles were destroyed.” According to Mr. Ignat, the missiles were shot down in the Kiev and Dnipropetrovsk regions while targeting civilian infrastructure.

Kiev officials say the Russian military has stockpiled drones and missiles to attack Ukraine's struggling energy infrastructure during the winter.

During the same period last year, Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure left millions of people cold and without power for long periods. Kiev has since beefed up its air defenses with Western weapons, but says it needs more to protect vulnerable areas. (TASS)

* Dutch and British leaders discuss support for Ukraine, Middle East situation : On December 8, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte held talks in the capital.

“The Netherlands and the UK have always had a strong relationship. We discussed a number of topics, including our long-standing support for Ukraine and our close defence cooperation in this area. Of course, we also discussed the alarming situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories,” Mr Rutte stressed.

The Dutch government has recently announced that it has allocated 2 billion euros to Ukraine in 2024. The money will be used to supply ammunition, maintain equipment and weapons, improve cybersecurity and rebuild the Eastern European country. In addition, the Netherlands will continue to train VSU soldiers in 2024. (Ukrinform)

* Israel raids West Bank : On December 8, the state news agency WAFA (Palestine) quoted the Palestinian Authority (PA) as saying that six people were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces in the northern West Bank. Specifically, Israeli forces raided the al-Faraa refugee camp in the northern city of Nablus. Palestinians fought back. The ensuing clashes left five people dead on the spot, while one died later due to serious injuries. It is still unclear how many Palestinians were injured in the incident. WAFA quoted witnesses as saying that Israeli soldiers prevented Red Crescent ambulances from accessing to treat the injured.

Ynet (Israel) reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sent reserve special forces to launch an operation to attack Nablus to capture the wanted suspect, who is currently hiding in a refugee camp. Palestinian gunmen fought back while residents threw explosives, forcing Israeli soldiers to open fire in return. (The Times of Issrael)

* Israel agrees to reopen Kerem Shalom crossing : On December 7, a senior US official said that at Washington's request, the Jewish State has agreed to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing only to screen and inspect humanitarian aid being sent to Gaza through the Rafah crossing. However, the source did not provide a time when the crossing would be reopened.

In recent weeks, the United States has discussed with Israeli authorities the possibility of reopening the Kerem Shalom border crossing to speed up inspections of aid vehicles. (Reuters)

* Hama s: Israel attempts to rescue hostages but fails: On December 8, in a statement on its Telegram channel, Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigade said it had detected an Israeli special forces unit trying to rescue hostages and attacked the group, disabling and injuring several soldiers. According to the statement, one hostage, soldier Sa'ar Baruch, 25, was killed in the clash. (TTXVN)

* US President speaks by phone with Israeli, Jordanian leaders : The White House said on December 7, US President Joe Biden spoke separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordanian King Abdullah. The White House boss "stressed the critical need to protect civilians and separate civilians from Hamas, including through corridors that allow people to move safely away from identified combat zones". In a phone call with the Israeli leader, he also affirmed that "more urgent support is needed on all fronts". (Reuters)

* UK rejects calls for Israel-Hamas ceasefire : On December 7, speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Washington DC (USA), British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who served as British Prime Minister from 2010-2016, said: “Those calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, you need to understand that if you stop now while Hamas still controls even part of Gaza, there can never be a two-state solution. It is important that we support Israel, and at the same time discuss the importance of international humanitarian law, reducing civilian casualties. We will reiterate this argument.”

Looking at the current conflict, Mr Cameron also offered support for the emerging strategy proposed by the US, which includes reforming and empowering the Palestinian Authority (PA) to regain control of Gaza, with reconstruction support from the Arab world. Israel and its allies must start planning now on how to implement that strategy. He stressed that a two-state solution was still possible, even if it “looks very far away” given the trauma Israel suffered in the Hamas attack on October 7. (VNA)

Northeast Asia

* South Korea, US, Japan envoys discuss North Korea issue: On December 8, the South Korean Foreign Ministry announced that South Korea's Deputy Special Nuclear Envoy Lee Jun Il met with US Deputy Special Envoy for North Korea Jung Pak and Director of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry Namazu Hiroyuki. The parties discussed ways to respond to military activities, as well as the latest military reconnaissance satellite launch from Pyongyang. The three sides agreed to strengthen cooperation to respond to North Korea's military actions.

The meeting came as Lee was in Tokyo for a three-day visit to attend the first working-level trilateral talks between South Korea, Japan and the United States on strengthening cooperation against cyber threats from North Korea. The three officials praised the joint response of South Korea, the United States, Japan and Australia in imposing sanctions on Pyongyang following the launch of a spy satellite by the North last month.

The ministry also said the three officials agreed to cooperate closely when South Korea, the US and Japan become members of the United Nations Security Council next year. (Yonhap)

* Putin to run for Russian presidency: Russian state news agencies reported on December 8 that at an event in the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin agreed to run for re-election in the upcoming presidential election. Earlier the same day, the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) also announced that next year's presidential election will be held over three days, from March 15-17, 2024.

On December 7, at a plenary session of the Federation Council (Senate) of Russia, a resolution was passed to set the presidential election for March 17, 2024. The resolution was unanimously approved by 162 deputies and took effect immediately upon its publication.

The chairman of the Federation Council Committee on constitutional law and state building, Andrey Klipas, said that the resolution entering into force will launch the election campaign.

According to the Election Law, the decision on the election date is adopted by the Federal Council no earlier than 100 days and no later than 90 days before the election. (Vietnam News Agency)

* Russia: Passenger plane makes emergency landing in Novosibirsk : On December 8, local media reported that a Russian plane carrying 176 people made an emergency landing safely at Novosibirsk airport that morning due to an engine fire.

According to preliminary data, the incident occurred at around 7:00 a.m. local time. At that time, the Boeing 737 operated by S7 Airlines was flying from Novosibirsk to Moscow when it encountered a technical problem. An official from the West Siberian Transport Prosecutor's Office confirmed that no one was injured, adding that "passengers were accommodated in the airport building and a backup plane was being prepared for the flight."

The West Siberian Transport Prosecutor's Office is investigating the incident. The Boeing 737 has been grounded pending investigation. (Xinhua)

* EU prepares new sanctions package on Russian diamonds : On December 8, speaking in Brussels, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the European Union (EU) is preparing the 12th package of sanctions against Russia.

“The next package of sanctions is being prepared. One of the very important elements of that package is the ban on Russian diamonds in the G7 market,” the leader said, adding that Belgium’s presidency of the EU Council in the first half of next year would promote unity on such issues. (Sputnik)

* Ukraine moves trucks blocked at Polish border by train : On December 7, Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted an official of the country's National Railway Company as saying that Kiev plans to avoid the border blockade by Polish truck drivers by bringing trucks to the railway station.

Polish truck drivers began marching last month to protest the terms of Ukrainian trucks entering Europe. They blocked key road corridors into Ukraine, causing fuel and some food prices to rise, slowing the delivery of UAVs to the VSU.

“We have a fully loaded train at the Hrubeshuv crossing (on the border) right now. We have 23 container cars loaded with trucks,” said Valeriy Tkachov, deputy director of the commercial department of Ukrainian Railways. “Ukraine and Poland are working out technical issues. Once the test train passes smoothly, the two sides will expand the scope of operations.”

Ukrainian authorities say some 3,000 trucks have been blocked at the Polish-Ukrainian border and have so far failed to agree with the protesters on the terms of ending the action. The main demand of the Polish transporters is that Ukrainian truck drivers be banned from unlimited access to the European Union, something Kiev and Brussels say is impossible. (Interfax)

* Turkey wants to cooperate with Greece on nuclear energy : On December 8, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with host country Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Speaking to reporters on his return flight, he affirmed that his country wants to develop cooperation with Greece on nuclear energy. Specifically, Ankara can "bring opportunities" to Athens in the process of building a nuclear power plant in Sinop province. He also said that the two sides will move towards discussions on fair sharing of resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, an area that has long been a source of tension between Turkey and Greece. (TTXVN)

* Kremlin announces content of Russia-Iran high-level talks : On December 8, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed about the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow. This official stated: "A very important conversation took place for more than 2 hours. The ministers reported on the areas they are responsible for, and had an in-depth discussion on where the problems lie, what they include, what solutions are available, what needs to be done to further promote the pace of development and cooperation."

He also said that the topics of interaction and cooperation within the framework of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners (OPEC+) as well as decisions made within OPEC+ were discussed. (Sputnik)

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tin-the-gioi-812-ong-putin-se-tranh-cu-tong-thong-nga-israel-mo-them-mot-cua-khau-vi-muc-dich-nay-253165.html