Ukraine war live: Putin praises Trump in lengthy speech as Zelenskyy welcomes EU’s €90bn loan

Russian president praises Trump’s ‘serious effort’ to end conflict in annual year-end news conference after EU agrees €90bn loan to UkraineEU leaders agree €90bn loan for Ukraine but without use of frozen Russian assetsIn his first comments on Ukraine, Putin swiftly blames Kyiv for the continuing war, saying “they are basically refusing to finish this conflict via peaceful means” (whatever that means from the literally invading party).But he says there are “some signals … indicating they are willing to engage in some type of dialogue.” Continue reading…