Today's top story: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed new decrees launching year-round military conscription starting in 2026 and authorizing the use of reservists to protect critical infrastructure, signaling a deeper militarization of Russian society. The new conscription decree calls up 261,000 people ages 18 to 30 for mandatory military service in 2026, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported. Recruitment events will take place throughout the year, but conscripts will st

Zelensky dismissed Russian claims that Ukrainian drones targeted Putin’s residence as “another lie,” warning Moscow is using the allegation as a pretext for possible strikes on Kyiv and government buildings.

Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command says Huliaipole is now a gray zone, with no clear front line anymore, according to spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn.

Russian troops shot dead two unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war on Dec. 27 in the village of Shakhove near Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office reported on Dec. 29, in what appeared to be at least the third reported case this month of captured Ukrainian soldiers being killed after being taken prisoner.

As Ukraine’s future is debated in distant conference rooms and Ukrainians prepare to mark another wartime Christmas, dozens of residents of a small border village in Sumy Oblast have vanished across the Russian border — taken by force from their homes, with no idea about what awaits them next. On Dec. 20, at least 52 civilians were deported from the village of Hrabovske, located just 200 meters from Russia’s border, after Russian troops detained them two days earlier. "These were civilians, Uk

Sea drones have become a crucial component of Ukraine's defense toolkit, and co-production with a NATO ally could enhance long-term output and deepen European defense-industrial cooperation at sea.

According to Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Russia had mobilized 18,092 foreigners from 128 countries as of October.

The drones are operated by the SBU's Special Operations Center "A" (Alpha), according to the agency.

Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy, met with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Reuters reported on Dec. 20, citing a Russian source.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia targeted Ukraine overnight with three Iskander-M ballistic missiles launched from occupied Crimea and 51 attack drones.

SSO drones also hit a Russian oil platform located at the Filanovsky oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea. The platform is owned by Russian oil company Lukoil and is used for oil and gas extraction.

Russia has lost around 1,195,610 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Dec. 20. The number includes 1,090 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day. According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,433 tanks, 23,769 armored fighting vehicles, 70,721 vehicles and fuel tanks, 35,287 artillery systems, 1,575 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,263 air defense systems, 432 airplanes,

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 19 that Ukraine knows where the Oreshnik would be deployed in Belarus and is sharing this information with its Western allies.

Ukrainian forces counterattacked near Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, the Third Army Corps said, claiming an entire Russian regiment was destroyed and prisoners were taken.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has struck a Russian military airfield in occupied Crimea, reportedly destroying air defense equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the agency said in a Telegram post on Dec. 18.