Putin's Tragic War Rhetoric Met with Criticism and Calls for Peace

Ukraine's military claims to be inflicting major losses on Russian troops as fighting intensifies around the strategic city of Avdiivka in the east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledges the difficult defensive operations faced by Ukrainian troops in the bitter winter cold. Russian forces have launched offensives in various sections of the eastern frontlines, including Avdiivka and the northeast. Meanwhile, Russian missiles have struck a hospital in southern Ukraine, killing at least three people and injuring eight others. Truckers continue to block roads on the Polish-Ukrainian border, causing trade disruptions, and a historian urges western countries to continue supporting Ukraine to help break the stalemate.