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.
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.
“I do not want my words to be used by the Russian Federation or war criminal Putin to justify their aggression against our country,” Boyko said. "If my words insulted some Ukrainians who are fighting on the front line or working on the home front to achieve victory, I want to apologize."
NATO has assumed responsibility for coordinating Western military aid to Ukraine through the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine center, Reuters reported on Dec. 17, citing its sources.
According to DeepState's map, Ukrainian troops in Makarivka south of Velyka Novosilka have been almost surrounded. Analysts warn that the situation around Makarivka is becoming more critical as Russian troops continue their advances.
The survey found that 55% of respondents prioritized ending the conflict over Ukraine’s territorial integrity, up from 39% in September 2024 and 26% in April 2022.
“Ukraine is a strong country and has proven it on the battlefield throughout Putin's aggression. Does anyone else in Europe have this experience now? No. Does Orban have such an army? No. How will he put pressure on Putin? With a joke, a smile? Let him keep it,” Zelensky said, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.
“During Poland’s EU presidency, we expect to open at least two clusters and six in total. To be honest, our goal is very ambitious — to open all the clusters next year,” Zelensky said at the All-Ukrainian Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
The bureau said it had completed the investigation against Tyshchenko on charges of illegally detaining and assaulting a war veteran in Dnipro.
Hungary, which maintains close ties with Moscow despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has consistently criticized EU sanctions against Russia and blocked initiatives to provide military aid to Kyiv.
North Korean troops have joined combat operations in the Kursk Oblast, marking the first confirmed engagement of North Korean soldiers alongside Russian military, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder said on Dec. 16.
President-elect Donald Trump confirmed he had not invited President Volodymyr Zelensky to his January inauguration but noted that Zelensky would be “welcome” if he chose to attend.
Launched in October 2022, the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM) has already trained approximately 60,000 Ukrainian troops as of August 2024, primarily in Germany and Poland.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz failed a confidence vote in the Bundestag on Dec. 16, paving the way for early parliamentary elections scheduled for Feb. 23.
Speaking on Dec. 16, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi said Ukraine’s laser system, called Tryzub, can down aircraft at altitudes exceeding 2 kilometers.
The sanctions target judges who sentenced opposition figures, law enforcement officials involved in persecuting dissidents, and heads of penitentiaries where political prisoners are held.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said during a Defense Ministry meeting on Dec. 16 that Moscow aims to seize the entirety of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2025.
The statement comes as analysts raise concerns about a growing risk of Ukrainian units being encircled in the area.
Regarding U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s repeated promises to quickly end the war, Yermak said, "There is no plan yet, and we have not seen it for sure. We know that several opinions and positions are being discussed."
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has rejected Russia's appeal, upholding a decision by the Hague Arbitration Court requiring Russia to pay $5 billion in compensation to Ukraine’s state-owned Naftogaz for misappropriated assets in occupied Crimea, Naftogaz reported on Dec. 13.
Andrius Kubilius, the newly appointed European defense commissioner, spent the morning of Dec. 13 in a shelter in Kyiv during a large-scale Russian missile attack, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova said on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for urgent measures to support the country’s coal companies, which face multibillion-dollar losses and risk mass bankruptcies, The Moscow Times reported on Dec. 12.
Moscow deployed four Kinzhal air-launched missiles, two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, one Kh-23 North Korean ballistic missile, 55 Kh-101 and Kh-55SM cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS bomber planes, 24 sea-launched Kalibr missiles, seven Iskander-K cruise missiles, and one Kh-59/69 missile, the Air Force said.
The proposed changes include a revamped recruitment system with "zero tolerance for corruption," improved military training tailored to front-line needs, and integration of advanced technology into training and operational processes.
A massive fire engulfed a warehouse in Russia's Novosibirsk overnight on Dec. 13, covering 5,000 square meters, Russian media reported.
Google Play will indefinitely halt processing payments to app developers with bank accounts in Russia starting Dec. 26, Habr, a Russian IT portal, reported on Dec. 12.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump wants European troops to monitor a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 12, citing undisclosed official sources.
The court convicted the soldiers on terrorism charges, accusing them of "opening fire to kill both Russian servicemen and civilians." Russia often uses trumped-up charges to jail captured Ukrainian soldiers, activists, journalists, and regular civilians for lengthy terms.
UNESCO has added Ukraine's Babyn Yar Memorial and the Odesa Literary Museum to its international list of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection.
Key developments on Dec. 12: * Trump hints he won't 'abandon' Kyiv but opposes Ukraine launching US missiles inside Russia * Drones attack Chechnya, hitting police building, Kadyrov claims * Poland 'dismisses speculation' on peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, PM says * US House passes 2025 defense spending bill without Ukraine lend-lease extension * Hungary did
A Russian-controlled court in occupied Donetsk Oblast sentenced 20-year-old Mikhail Karimov, a resident of Mariupol, to 11 years in a strict regime penal colony, Mariupol City Council reported on Dec. 12.
As of December 2024, 301 Ukrainian civilian women are in Russian captivity, with 25 detained before Russia's full-scale invasion and 276 taken since, according to Olha Skrypnyk, head of the Crimean Human Rights Group (CHRG), speaking on Dec. 11.
