Starting Jan. 1, Ukraine will introduce new expert commissions in major hospitals for assessing people's medical status based on a new, "modern system," MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.
Moscow has already built a 40-kilometer-long segment between the Russian city of Taganrog and occupied Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We simply have no right to limit the strength of our army in any case," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"The Ukrainian defense forces in heavy battles did not allow the Russians to breach the defense and achieve operational success on any of the directions," Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 45 of the 85 Shahed-type drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles launched overnight, the Air Force reported. Forty drones were reportedly lost across Ukraine thanks to electronic warfare countermeasures.
"(The visit to Ukraine) will take place in early January. We are waiting for Mr. Kellogg, and then we will talk about what he had meant," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Brussels.
Jonah Leff said that the researchers from his group examined remnants of four North Korean missiles recovered in Ukraine in July and August. One of them had marks showing it was procured in 2024, according to the researcher.
This number includes 1,530 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
According to media reports, the package includes over 92 million pound ($115 million) in equipment to support Ukraine's navy, including small boats as well as reconnaissance drones. A further 39 million pounds ($49 million) will be used to supply over 1,000 counter-drone electronic warfare systems.
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Brussels on Dec. 18 for talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, as Ukraine seeks to secure more air defense as well effective security guarantees from its Western allies.
Ukraine is "discussing ideas with European leaders" on the potential deployment of European peacekeeping forces to the embattled country, President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters during a press briefing on Dec. 18.
"We continued to work on the initiative of President Macron regarding the presence in Ukraine of forces that can contribute to stabilization on the path to peace," Zelensky said after meeting with the French President on Dec. 18.
The funding includes a $1 billion grant from the new $20 billion U.S. loan backed by frozen Russian assets. Another $1.05 billion is supported by the U.K. and Japan.
Key developments on Dec. 18: * 'Couple hundred' North Korean troops lost fighting for Russia against Ukraine, AP reports * Sweden 'does not exclude' more direct physical presence in Ukraine to bolster defense * Russia detains two suspects over assassination of General Igor Kirillov, Kremlin media reports * Peace talks with Russia only possible
U.S. General Keith Kellogg, nominated as Ukraine peace envoy by President-elect Donald Trump, criticized the recent assassination of Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov during an interview with Fox News on Dec. 18.
“It was at the start of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ military operation in Kursk Oblast. I believe the Kursk operation provided strong arguments in favor of Ukraine,” Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
Two European Union accession clusters for Ukraine are expected to open during the first half of 2025 under Poland’s presidency of the EU Council, a high-ranking EU official told The Kyiv Independent on Dec. 18.
The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers discreetly dethroned the former czar of drone purchases — Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov — as the result of a one-sided power struggle from the Head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, allege observers. A new decree shifted a key office in the drone purchasing process
In response to a question over whether Sweden would potentially take part in a more direct physical presence in Ukraine amid talks of potentially deploying peacekeepers to monitor a possible ceasefire, Jonson said he doesn't "exclude that possibility."
The EU does not anticipate potential negotiations or a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia in the near future, a high-ranking EU official told the Kyiv Independent on Dec. 18.
The Ukrainian military has proven to be a pioneer in drone technology, using innovative ways to undermine Russia's material and numerical advantage.
In the call, a nurse at a Moscow hospital tells her husband, a soldier fighting in Kursk Oblast, that wounded fighters are being brought in by the trainload.
Although the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden plans to allocate some funds from the presidential drawdown authority, it is unlikely to spend the whole amount.
Slovakia currently imports 3 billion cubic meters of gas per year through Ukraine from Russia’s energy giant Gazprom.
"Real negotiations for a lasting peace will begin only when the enemy no longer has the resources to continue the war," Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, said on Dec. 17.
Russian Telegram channel 112 said the suspects had already confessed to authorities.
A senior U.S. military official did not give an exact figure but said the high casualty rate was in part due to the soldiers' lack of battle experience.
This number includes 1,580 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
The Ukrainian documentaries “The Porcelain War” and “Once Upon a Time in Ukraine” have been shortlisted for the 97th Academy Awards, the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Dec. 17.
German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has received an order to supply Ukraine with 20 additional Marder infantry fighting vehicles, the company announced on Dec. 17.
The Trump administration's incoming Ukraine peace envoy, Keith Kellogg, plans to visit Kyiv and several European capitals in early January as part of the new administration’s effort to address the Russia-Ukraine war.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Lviv on Dec. 17 to discuss bilateral cooperation, historical reconciliation, and coordination with Western partners.
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