"Neither de jure nor de facto will we recognize Donbas as Russian," Zelensky told reporters on Dec. 15 following the second round of talks in Germany.

Russia's central bank has filed a lawsuit seeking 18.2 trillion rubles ($229 billion) in damages from Euroclear, escalating Moscow's dispute with the Belgium-based securities depository as the EU considers how to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.

In a joint statement issued Dec. 15, European leaders outlined a six-point security and recovery framework for Ukraine, committing to long-term military support, a European-led and U.S.-supported multinational force operating inside Ukraine, and legally binding measures to respond to any future attack.

As U.S. pressure on Kyiv grows, Ukrainians oppose Russian demands. If concessions are put up for a vote, those who spoke with the Kyiv Independent said they would flat out deny the terms. Last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that any territorial concessions to end Russia's all-out war, mentioned in a U.S.-backed peace plan, should be decided by the Ukrainian people, including through a referendum. This idea had been floated before. But like elections, holding a referendum is prohibited

Ukrainian forces hit the Astrakhan gas processing plant on Dec. 15, targeting what Kyiv described as a "key enterprise in Russia's oil and gas industry," the General Staff reported.

Few decision makers are interested in making the High Anti-Corruption Court actually work, Vira Mykhailenko, the court's head, said in an interview with the Kyiv Independent. Set up in 2019 as part of a Western-backed reform, the court was designed to rule on cases brought by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). The three institutions were created from scratch to fight top-level corruption instead of traditional courts and l

Quantum Systems and Frontline Robotics announced on Dec. 15 a joint Ukrainian-German venture to launch the first "industrial-scale" foreign-based production of drones for Ukraine's military.

Encircled Russian troops in Kupiansk are still getting limited drone drops — and a Ukrainian official says some included flags, not food.

At the initiative of the Ukrainian Institute, the Kyiv Independent announces the launch of "The Hidden Canon: Ukraine's Literary Iconoclasts," a new series celebrating Ukrainian classic literature with the goal of bringing it to a wider international audience. For many readers outside Ukraine, the country's classic literature remains largely untranslated and therefore unfamiliar, often overlooked due to historical and imperial pressures. Yet Ukrainian literature is defined not by silence, but b

For the first time, Ukrainian underwater drones have successfully attacked a Russian submarine, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on Dec. 15.

Nadya Tolokonnikova, a co-founder of the group, said the verdict aims "to erase Pussy Riot's very existence from the Russian consciousness."

A KIIS poll found 75% of Ukrainians rejected a Donbas pullback plan without security guarantees, while most supported freezing the front line with strong protections.

"It’s an interesting feeling during an air attack. Danger, danger, and again danger," says Yurii, a Ukrainian energy worker, from the control center of a war-scarred thermal power plant. Yurii works for DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy firm, as a shift supervisor of the turbine boiler department. His last name, like the name of the plant and its location, cannot be disclosed for security reasons. The company has suffered six mass Russian attacks since October, including on the thermal po

Ukraine’s Security Service said its long-range drones struck Russian offshore oil platforms in the Caspian Sea for the third time in a week, halting operations at one site.

Less than one-tenth of Ukrainians support holding immediate elections, even in the absence of a ceasefire with Russia, according to a recent poll.

A thermal power plant in Belgorod, known as "Luch", was damaged during a wave of drone attacks on Russian territory overnight on Dec. 15, Astra reported, citing local residents.

Editor's note: This article is a shortened on-site version of KI Insights' public newsletter, The Week Ahead, covering events from December 15-21. Sign up here to start your week with an agenda of Ukraine-related events delivered directly to your inbox every week. The European Council meeting on 18-19 December will prove decisive for the fate of the reparations loan backed by frozen Russian assets. The Council must reach a decision that will secure Ukraine's financing for the next two years. Wi

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz floated the idea of transferring Warsaw's remaining Soviet-designed MiG-29s to Kyiv in exchange for Ukraine's drone and anti-drone technology.

The International Chess Federation's (FIDE) General Assembly on Dec. 14 allowed teams from Russia and Belarus to participate in international tournaments and permitted youth chess players to compete under national symbols.

Russian air defense units have shot down at least 15 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) en route to Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said.

The attack caused "serious damage" to an unspecified facility, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Local Telegram channels reported explosions at a key thermal power plant.

Alexander Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to Australia from Ukraine with his wife Larisa, was one of 16 killed in a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community in Sydney.

Ukrainska Pravda, citing law enforcement sources, reported that Anna Skorokhod, a lawmaker from the For the Future party, is suspected of taking a large bribe.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Berlin, as talks continue to finalize a peace plan to end Russia's full-scale war.

Key developments on Dec. 13-14: * US, Ukraine peace talks to continue on Dec. 15 in Berlin as Zelensky calls for 'Article 5-like' security guarantees * Russia’s December oil and gas revenue set to drop to lowest level since 2020, Reuters reports * US lifts sanctions on Belarusian potash, as Minsk releases over 100 political prisoners, including top opposition figures * Ukraine says it destroyed pipeline Russia used to infiltrate Kupiansk, releases video * Ukraine sanctions nearly 700 vesse

About the author: Margus Tsahkna is Estonia’s foreign minister. If Europe truly wants to be a real player in the geopolitical arena and to shape its own security and future, it must match strong words with decisive action. Europe has one powerful lever in its hands right now: Russia’s frozen assets. It’s time to use them. Around 210 billion euros ($246 billion) in Russian central bank assets are sitting frozen in Europe for one reason: Russia chose a full-scale war of aggression. And internati

Russian forces attacked a supermarket in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Dec. 14, injuring at least 14 people, including a six-year-old child, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.

"I don't think we'll be delaying anything. It is very important for us to maintain the relationship between us and Poland," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur reports on renewed calls for Ukraine to hold wartime elections after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Kyiv used Russia’s war to avoid a vote, echoing a Kremlin narrative.

Zelensky said Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) chief Kyrylo Budanov informed him Belarus preferred this option over releasing the prisoners via "this or that EU country."

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.

Ukraine's "Achilles" drone regiment described the pipeline as a "critically important logistical channel" for Russian forces. The route was discovered during reconnaissance and destroyed in a joint operation with other Ukrainian units.