Melitopol mayor allegedly abducted by Russian occupiers.

The budget foresees Hr 4.8 trillion ($115 billion) in expenditures and Hr 2.9 trillion ($70 billion) in revenues — meaning a deficit of 18.5% of GDP, according to Kyiv-based think tank Center for Economic Strategy (CES).

A fire broke out overnight Dec. 3 at an oil depot in Russia's Tambov region after an alleged Ukrainian drone strike.

Russia has centralized volunteer drone units like Rubikon into a professional system that is eroding Ukraine’s early edge in UAV warfare and threatening its front lines.

"Today we have finally restored historical justice and turned the page on years of distortions that were used for political pressure and to legitimize Russification. We have demonstrated our maturity as a European state," Language Ombudsman Olena Ivanovska said on Dec. 3.

In Russia, publicly criticizing the war can lead to criminal charges with prison sentences of up to 15 years.

The Kyiv Appeals Court ordered on Dec. 3 the release of Ruslan Mahamedrasulov, a detective with Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), who had been investigating the country's largest corruption case involving the state-run nuclear power monopoly Energoatom.

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said that the EU would cover two-thirds of Ukraine's needs over the next two years, which she said amounts to 90 billion euros, leaving the rest to international partners.

The Kyiv Independent’s Martin Fornusek speaks with U.S. Senator Peter Welch about the bipartisan Senate backlash to the Trump administration’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan. Welch explains why the U.S. must defer to Ukraine on the terms of peace and why he supports tougher sanctions and stronger military aid to counter Russia’s aggression.

Only about 19.4% of Ukrainians consider a potential entry into NATO as the best possible security guarantee, a 10% drop from last year, according to a survey.

"The Russian oil network... will continue to explode and burn," a source told the Kyiv Independent.