War between Ukraine and Russia: Trump offers to “settle” the war while Biden calls Putin a “war criminal” at presidential debate

Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Rozdolivka in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that Russia’s “southern” military group had taken up more favorable positions after the expulsion of Ukrainian forces from the settlement in the Donetsk region.

Reuters could not confirm the report from the battlefield and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar are visiting the memorial wall for the fallen defenders of Ukraine today.

Ukraine’s prime minister said on Friday that military commitments included in the 20 security agreements Kyiv has signed with its partners total $60 billion annually for the next four years.

“Under these agreements, our partners plan to provide Ukraine with annual military assistance totaling $60 billion over the next four years,” Denys Shmyhal said during a government meeting.

The Russian Defense Minister has instructed his government to prepare a “response” to US drone flights over the Black Sea, the ministry said on Friday. This was apparently a warning that Moscow might take violent measures to repel the American reconnaissance aircraft.

The Russian Defense Ministry recently noted an “increased intensity” of US drones over the Black Sea, saying they were “conducting reconnaissance and targeting for precision weapons that the Ukrainian military has received from Western countries for attacks on Russian facilities.”

“It shows an increased commitment by the United States and other NATO countries in the conflict in Ukraine on the side of the Kyiv regime,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Kremlin said on Friday that the outlook for EU-Russia relations was poor after EU leaders nominated Ursula von der Leyen for another term as president of the European Commission and appointed Estonian Kaja Kallas as the next EU foreign policy chief.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the bloc’s decision to nominate German President von der Leyen for a second five-year term would not change anything.

“Ms von der Leyen is not in favour of a normalisation of relations between the EU and Russia. That is how we know them, that is how we remember them. Nothing will change that,” Peskov said.

Commenting on the election of Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as EU foreign policy chief, Peskov said she was known for her anti-Russian rhetoric.

“Ms Kallas has also shown no diplomatic inclinations so far and is known in our country for her absolutely uncompromising and sometimes even openly anti-Russian statements,” he said.

“That is why we do not believe that European diplomacy will in any way contribute to the normalization of relations. The prospects for relations between Moscow and Brussels are poor.”

Russia will not comment on the US presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump because it is an internal US matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Biden stumbled frequently during his encounter with Trump, reigniting the debate over his age. Russia played a major role in the debate as both men tried to show who was tougher on foreign policy.

Trump said if the US had a “real president” respected by Putin, he would never have attacked Ukraine under Biden’s watch.

Biden responded: “Go ahead and let Putin invade and control Ukraine, and then move on to Poland and other places. See what happens then. He has no idea what the hell he’s talking about.”

Putin said earlier this month he did not believe the outcome of the election would make much difference for Russia.

The Belarus Border Service and the country’s Defense Ministry are taking measures to further strengthen the Belarusian border with Ukraine following a security incident, the Belarusian Border Service said in a statement.

The border service said its employees shot down a quadcopter on Wednesday after it illegally crossed the border from Ukraine to collect information on Belarusian border infrastructure.

Earlier this week, it said it had found hidden material for a homemade bomb in the same area. It was also aware of the presence of a unit of pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters in a Ukrainian region bordering Belarus.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signaled on Wednesday that he would take tough action against officials who he believes are neglecting their duties in what is now the third year of war with Russia.

Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky visited troops in the eastern Donetsk region, which has come under heavy Russian ground and air attacks in recent months. They also spoke with local officials about drinking water supplies, social issues, evacuation plans and the reconstruction of local homes, Zelensky said.

He added that in Kyiv he would speak to “representatives who need to be close to the front line here and in other areas – in difficult communities where people need immediate solutions.”

The United States will confront Russia at the United Nations Security Council on Friday over its violation of the arms embargo against North Korea and seek China’s views on growing ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said.

The meeting of the 15-member council came after Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Pyongyang last week to sign a pact with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in which they agreed to provide military assistance if either state faces armed aggression.

“This should be of great concern to the entire international community,” Wood told Reuters before the meeting, accusing Russia of “essentially siding with a rogue state and thereby violating countless UN Security Council resolutions.”

“This is unprecedented and we have to call it what it is,” he said. “We also want to see what China has to say about this growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. You cannot consider this a positive development.”