Russia has made territorial gains in Eastern Ukraine, using brutal meat wave tactics to achieve minor tactical victories on the frontline at the cost of high casualties among its soldiers.
Russia will "definitely be prepared to consider" a prisoner exchange, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told NBC News, adding that a potential exchange could mark "a healthy step forward, especially at the beginning of the next (U.S.) administration."
Russia claimed control over the village of Beretsky in Donetsk Oblast, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Dec. 7. Ukrainian officials have not commented on Russia's claims, which could not be independently verified.
"Ukraine supports and stands in solidarity with the Georgian people, who are currently fighting for a worthy future for themselves," Zelensky told Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili during the meeting. "It is important to always respect the will of the people and not let the Ivanishvili government surrender the country to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."
Syrian rebels claim to have reached the suburbs of Damascus, Syria's capital, on Dec. 7, as the rebel groups' rapid offensive against pro-government forces continues.
Russia's artillery advantage against Ukraine has dropped to 1.5 rounds per Ukrainian shell, down from a previous ratio of five to one, officials told Sky News.
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova announced 25 million euros ($26.5 million) in funding on Dec. 5 for Ukrainian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations that will advance work related to Ukraine's eventual EU integration.
A Finnish court began trial on Dec. 5 for Yan Petrovsky, a Russian neo-Nazi mercenary, for war crimes he allegedly committed while leading a Russian neo-Nazi unit in eastern Ukraine between 2014 and 2015.
Nuclear power plants in Ukraine reduced electricity production on Nov. 28 as a precautionary measure in response to a Russian mass aerial attack on Ukraine, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
A large fire has engulfed an oil depot in Russia's Rostov Oblast overnight on Nov. 29, local media reported.
"I don’t think we should be sending in combat troops to take on the Russians,” former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. "But I think as part of the solution, as part of the end state, you’re going to want to have multinational European peace-keeping forces monitoring the border, helping the Ukrainians."
