People walk through the Fomin Botanical Garden in Kyiv on Dec. 21. Kyiv saw its first heavy snowfall of the season on the evening of Dec. 20. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Kyiv had its first heavy snowfall of the season on the evening of Dec. 20, with 13 centimeters of snow rapidly covering the capital.
Municipal workers clean the snow in the Taras Shevchenko Park in central Kyiv on Dec. 21. Kyiv saw its first heavy snowfall of the season on the evening of Dec. 20. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Traffic ground to a halt across the city while the number of road accidents surged. For example, a tram derailed on Kyrylivska Street in the Podil neighborhood.
Traffic remained slow on Dec. 21 as Kyiv was dealing with the consequences of the season's first heavy snowfall. Mask wearing is mandatory on public transport in Kyiv, but passengers often pull their masks down during the ride. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
The city authorities reported that they deployed 287 snow plows and 354 municipal workers to clean the snow off the streets.
A boy sleds down a hill in central Kyiv on Dec. 21. Kyiv saw its first heavy snowfall of the winter on Dec. 20. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
The snowfall was accompanied by a cold snap: Temperature fell to -9 degrees Celsius on Dec. 21 and is expected to stay below zero for most of the week. Due to the cold weather, heating points have opened in Kyiv.
Kyiv saw its first heavy snowfall of the season on the evening of Dec. 20. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
On the bright side, Kyiv saw its first glimpse of sunlight in several weeks the day after the snowfall. Daily snowfalls are forecasted to begin again on Dec. 24.
Real winter came to Kyiv on Dec. 20-21, with the season's first heavy snowfall and the temperatures sliding to minus 9 Celsius. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Russian forces attacked a supermarket in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Dec. 14, injuring at least six people, including a child, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.
Ukrainian forces downed 110 out of the 138 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Russia also launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile.
Russia’s oil and gas revenue in December is expected to be nearly half compared to the previous year, down to about 410 billion rubles ($5.17 billion), Reuters reported on Dec. 12.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Dec. 13 that Ukraine’s sanctions against nearly 700 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet had entered into force.
Explosions were reported at an oil depot near Simferopol in occupied Crimea, a chemical plant in the Russian city of Veliky Novgorod, and several energy sites, media reported late on Dec. 13.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec. 13 announced he will meet "with envoys" of U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days as discussions on the U.S.-proposed peace framework aimed at ending Russia's war continue.
The U.S. lifted sanctions on Belarusian potash in exchange for the release of over 100 political prisoners in Belarus, many of whom were transferred to Ukraine.
A Russian airstrike on Odesa on Dec. 12 damaged infrastructure and left parts of the city without electricity and water, the head of the Odesa Military Administration, Serhiy Lysak, reported.
On Nov. 28, a Russian attack lasting more than 10 hours struck Ukrainian cities, with Kyiv as the main target. The Kyiv Independent’s Nick Allard and Tania Myronyshena spent the night with a Kyiv family sheltering in a parking garage with their three children.
Ukrainian troops continue to employ "active defense tactics," seeking to improve positions and dislodge Russian forces in some areas, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
