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.
Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated China's position on resolving the war in Ukraine during a meeting with Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, on Dec. 12, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Dec. 12 that the alliance is not ready for the threats it will face from Russia in the coming years, urging a shift to a wartime mindset with significantly higher defense spending.
Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia’s State Duma, has been sentenced in absentia to 15 years by a Ukrainian court, Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) reported on Dec. 12.
French Ambassador to Ukraine Gael Veyssiere expressed confidence that France's policy of assistance to Ukraine would remain unchanged following the appointment of a new prime minister, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Dec. 12.
Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft and Indian refining giant Reliance Industries have finalized a landmark agreement to supply 500,000 barrels of oil daily for the next 10 years, Reuters reported on Dec. 12.
During a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron on Dec. 12, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed speculation about a possible peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, emphasizing that no such actions are currently planned.
The number of barges Russia has deployed in the Kerch Strait to protect the illegal Crimean Bridge against Ukrainian maritime drones has halved in a month, the Center of Journalistic Investigations reported on Dec. 10.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Dec. 10 that it will provide $20 billion in loan assistance to Ukraine, marking its contribution to a broader $50 billion initiative supported by G7 countries.
Successful tests of a new Ukrainian missile, dubbed Ruta (Rue), are underway, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Dec. 10.
The map changes showed Russian forces occupying 2 square kilometers (0,8 square miles) in Sumy and advancing in the Kursk Oblast. These developments are reflected as of December 10.
Russia may have transferred MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter jets to North Korea in exchange for North Korean soldiers, Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said on Dec. 8, according to Aviation Week Network.
Speaking during a government meeting, the Polish Prime Minister announced that Poland, set to assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on Jan. 1, intends to play an active role in the talks.
Military transport aircraft, including An-124 and Il-76 planes, continue to transport personnel and equipment to Russian airfields in Ulyanovsk, Chkalovsky, and Privolzhsky.
The death toll in the Dec. 10 attack rose to 10 on Dec. 12, after rescuers pulled a woman's body from the rubble of a building destroyed by a Russian missile.
Ukraine is assembling a coalition of partners to create a working group aimed at bolstering its defense and forming a united diplomatic stance on ending the war, the president's spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov said on Dec. 9.
