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Trump reiterated that he is working to end the hostilities in Ukraine, reinforcing his earlier campaign claim that he could resolve the war within 24 hours if he were in charge.
In a post on X, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas described Assad’s fall as a “positive and long-awaited development," saying that the collapse "shows the weakness of Assad’s backers, Russia and Iran."
The withdrawal comes as rebels advancing from Damascus push toward Syria's coastal provinces, including Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russian military bases are located, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.
This figure contrasts a claim made earlier the same day on Dec. 8 by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who wrote on his Truth Social platform that Ukrainian military losses had reached "400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians."
Reuters on Dec. 8 reported, citing its Syrian sources that "there was a very high probability that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have been killed in a plane crash" as he was fleeing Damascus following its capture by rebels. Reuters later deleted the information from its reporting.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad boarded a plane out of Damascus on Dec. 8 as rebel forces swept into the capital, two senior army officers told Reuters.
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.
"Assad's backers — Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah — have all been weakened and distracted," U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. Russia cannot provide large-scale military support while "ground down in a war of attrition" in Ukraine.
The latest aid package will be pulled through the remaining $2 billion in funding from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) — a Pentagon-led program for supplying arms to Ukraine through contracts with U.S. defense companies.
The regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad may fall within days as Syrian rebels continue to advance on the country's capital Damascus, five different U.S. officials told CNN on Dec. 7.
"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."
The previously unannounced meeting comes ahead of Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20. It also marks the first in-person encounter between Zelensky and Trump since Trump won re-election.
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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as well as French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris for a trilateral meeting on Dec. 7, amid world leaders' visit to France for the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
In the sixth episode of Dare to Ukraine, we gain rare access to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, known globally as the site of the catastrophic 1986 nuclear disaster and one of the most radioactive places on Earth.
The comment comes after a series of warnings about, and attacks on, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, which is becoming an increasingly active part of the frontline.