
Next Ramstein summit to be held on Jan. 9
The meeting will be the first since October 2024, when a leader-level summit in Germany was postponed after U.S. President Joe Biden canceled his foreign trips to handle Hurricane Milton.
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Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
The meeting will be the first since October 2024, when a leader-level summit in Germany was postponed after U.S. President Joe Biden canceled his foreign trips to handle Hurricane Milton.
This is the first court decision that obliged the Russian tech giant to remove from public access photos and maps of a strategically important facility for the defense industry, according to Russian state-controlled TASS news agency.
There were about 300,000-350,000 prisoners in Russian colonies and prisons in 2024, which is half as many as in 2014, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service said.
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed two people and injured at least 13 others over the past day, regional authorities said on Jan. 3.
Editor’s Note: This story was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine. When a sapper with the call sign "Boroda" asked his friends, the founders of the Rovertech company, to create something for demining, and provided them with his own sketch, they seized on the idea.
A video published on TikTok by Yuriy Boyko, a pro-Russian lawmaker and former head of the banned Opposition Platform — For Life, was met with public outrage in Ukraine. In his Dec. 14 video, Boyko repeated long-standing Russian propaganda points of radicals controlling Ukrainian streets. Sitting in his office and looking
The Shchedryk unmanned aerial vehicle has increased resistance to electronic warfare and can be tasked with monitoring the actions of Russian troops on the battlefield, the Defense Minitsry said.
"(The depot) was used by the enemy to supply its troops in the Kramatorsk sector (in Donetsk Oblast). Now the Russians have logistical difficulties, which significantly affect their ability to conduct combat operations," a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said.
"This fire strike is part of a comprehensive campaign to weaken the ability of the Russian Armed Forces to coordinate military operations against the people of Ukraine," Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communications said.
"Moldova condemns these acts and stands in full solidarity with Ukraine," Moldovan President Maia Sandu said.
According to Kazakhstan's Transport Ministry, the plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines had 37 Azerbaijani passengers, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz, along with five crew members on board.
Anastasia Bobovnikova, a spokesperson of the Operational Tactical Group Luhansk, said that fighting with the use of armored combat vehicles, motorcycles and buggies took place in the village of Nelipivka north of Toretsk.
Russia launched more than 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and over 100 drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. More than 50 missiles and "a significant number" of drones were shot down, he added.
Editor's Note: This story was sponsored by Gender Zed, a Ukrainian human rights organization that works with a broad range of issues, including sexual orientation and gender identity, gender equality issues, women’s rights, and prevention of HIV infection and sexually transmitted diseases. Andrii Kovalenko, 35, and his partner are
"This book is about my war. First, the war with my own fears that prevent me from doing anything. Second, the war with people who prevent you from achieving your goals. And finally, the war against circumstances that become obstacles in life," Ukraine's former commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said.
The embassies of Albania, Argentina, Palestine, North Macedonia, Portugal and Montenegro are located in a building that was heavily damaged by the Russian attack.
The package is expected to include air defense interceptors and artillery ammunition, one of the sources told Reuters.
The bodies of 403 soldiers were recovered from Donetsk Oblast, while 57 and 12 bodies were brought back from Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk oblasts. Another 31 bodies were repatriated from morgues in Russia.
"All the Justice Ministry's data has been saved. Recovery is underway," Deputy PM and Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna said.
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed seven people and injured at least 34 others over the past day, regional authorities said on Dec. 20.
The Russian Navy plane's main power unit exploded on Dec. 12, the military intelligence agency said without providing details on the cause or circumstances of the explosion.
The reports come amid an anticipated large-scale Russian advance in Kherson Oblast. In early December, Russian troops were carrying out assaults in the southern region to gain a foothold on islands in the Dnipro River delta.
A court in Ternopil took into custody Colonel Oleh Poberezhniuk, commander of the 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade, suspected of abuse of power, the Prosecutor General's Office reported.
"Everything what is happening in Syria is not a defeat for Russia," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"As we approach the start of the new year, we really need unity between the United States, the EU, and European countries," President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "Only together, the U.S. and Europe can truly stop (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and save Ukraine."
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’re going to continue to work and ensure that Russia is never able to weaponize its energy resources and its energy positioning for political gain again," U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said.
"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.
"(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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Georgian authorities "are pushing the country into clear dependence on Russia."
"It is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now, we have a newly elected president, and we are going to wait and take the new commander in chief’s direction on all that, so I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now," U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said.