**US President-elect Trump Urges Russia to Act on Ceasefire Negotiations**
US President-elect Donald Trump has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to take action towards negotiating a truce in Ukraine. Trump said this on December 8, urging Putin to use his influence to end the conflict.
However, the Kremlin has said that Russia is not ready to pause the war in Ukraine. They claim that such a move would allow Kyiv to rearm and regroup. Despite this, Russia has expressed readiness to negotiate an end to the conflict on their own terms.
**US Continues to Support Ukraine**
Meanwhile, the outgoing US administration continues to supply Ukraine with weapons. On December 7, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a new military aid package worth nearly $1 billion for Ukraine. This package will involve contracts with US defense companies to manufacture new drones and air defense munitions.
Since February 2022, the US has led a coalition of nations to supply Ukraine with arms and equipment. Austin emphasized that abandoning Kyiv would be a grave mistake.
**Syria Developments**
In other news, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum in Russia on humanitarian grounds. This comes as rebel forces advance towards Syria’s coastal provinces, including Latakia, Hama, and Tartus, where Russian military bases are located.
The US has said that Assad’s backers, Russia and Iran, have been weakened and distracted by the conflict in Ukraine. Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas described Assad’s fall as a “positive and long-awaited development.”
**Conflict Updates**
According to Ukrainian officials, Russian forces suffered 1,460 casualties over the past day. This figure contrasts with Trump’s earlier claim that Ukrainian military losses had reached 400,000 soldiers.
Rebel leaders have claimed that Damascus is now free from Assad’s rule. However, Reuters later deleted a report suggesting that Assad may have been killed in a plane crash while fleeing Damascus.
Read More @ kyivindependent.com