The National Interest: Ukraine could lose Odessa if it doesn’t hold sincere negotiations with Russia

The National Interest newspaper considered that Ukraine will lose the Black Sea province of Odessa if it doesn’t conduct honest negotiations with Russia.

“Moscow will take over this important port city if Kyiv doesn’t start honest negotiations soon,” the National Interest added.

The recent Russian strikes on targets in Odesa were a message to the Ukrainians that Russia will continue to exert pressure.

If the city is lost, Ukraine could become a trapped state, turning into a marginalized state, completely dependent on Europe and the United States.

On January 1, explosions rocked several Ukrainian cities, including Odesa.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced an attack on energy facilities supporting Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.

Russian attacks on Sunday night killed at least two people in and around Kyiv, local authorities said, on the eve of a planned meeting of Ukraine’s allies in a bid to resume diplomatic efforts to stop the war.

Sirens sounded across Ukraine at night, and the military warned of missile or drone attacks.

In the capital Kyiv, a private medical facility was hit, leading to a fire, killing one person and injuring three others, according to emergency services that broadcast footage of a destroyed building and the evacuation of patients on stretchers.

In the vicinity of the capital, shelling targeted several homes and vital facilities, killing a man in the town of Fastev, according to the head of the regional military administration, Mykola Kalachnik.

The attacks led to power outages, necessitating emergency systems to continue supplying residents with water and heating, Kalachnik said, as temperatures plunged to minus eight degrees.

The strikes come on the eve of a meeting in Paris of Kiev-allied nations in a bid to make progress toward a settlement to Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.

In preparation for the meeting, security advisers from 15 countries met in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday, and US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff participated remotely in discussions that focused on the details of the latest version of the plan to end the war with Russia.

Another preparatory meeting of military commanders is scheduled for Monday.

The meetings aim to “make an additional contribution to Ukraine’s defense capability and accelerate the cessation of the war,” according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Ukraine will be prepared for two possibilities: the diplomacy we are seeking, or continuing active defense if the pressure exerted by our partners turns out to be insufficient,” he said.

The diplomatic momentum initiated by the US president has slowed due to Moscow’s accusations that Kyiv targeted Vladimir Putin’s residence with 91 drones on the night of December 28-29.

Kyiv called the accusation a lie aimed at paving the way for new attacks on it and undermining diplomatic efforts.

Donald Trump said on Sunday that he didn’t believe Ukraine had attacked Putin’s residence.

The Kremlin has confirmed an attack, saying it will harden its negotiating position in talks aimed at ending the war.