Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery at their military positions in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on July 29, 2024. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russia has lost 650,640 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 Sept. 28.
This number includes 1,470 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 8,860 tanks, 17,438 armored fighting vehicles, 25,411 vehicles and fuel tanks, 18,733 artillery systems, 1,203 multiple launch rocket systems, 961 air defense systems, 369 airplanes, 328 helicopters, 16,093 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
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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.
"I told (Trump) that we would like to consider guarantees for 30, 40, or even 50 years, and that would be a historic decision by president Trump. The president said he would think about it," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
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.
"They're going to be helping. Russia is going to be helping," U.S. President Donald Trump said when asked if Moscow would hold any responsibility for Ukraine's reconstruction.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Dec. 28 that he held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russian troops opened artillery fire against the Kherson Thermal Power Plant (TPP), causing significant damage, head of Ukraine's Naftogaz said on Dec. 28.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi thanked "both sides" for agreeing to a temporary "window of silence," which is "part of ongoing efforts to prevent a nuclear accident during military conflict."
In this year-end wrap-up of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur looks back at the moments that defined 2025, the fourth year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine — from stalled peace efforts and escalating Russian attacks to mass anti-corruption protests and political upheaval at home.
