Belarus' Defense Ministry said its military will conduct drills in the country's regions bordering Ukraine and Poland and its Minsk and Vitsebsk regions until Sept. 14. According to Deputy Chief of Ukraine’s General Staff Oleksii Hromov, the drills will allegedly focus on crossing the border with Ukraine and taking parts of Ukraine that Belarus deems so-called “lost territories,” potentially including parts of Ukraine’s Volyn, Rivne, and Zhytomyr oblasts. However, Hromov said the chance of a Belarusian offensive into Ukraine remains low.
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Top anti-Putin Russian commander killed fighting for Ukraine
'It was horrifying, like an earthquake' – Kyiv recovering from mass Russian attack that left 2 killed, 32 injured, ahead of peace talks
Trump's Mar-a-Lago meeting with Zelensky ends without agreement on how peace in Ukraine should look
Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Syzran Oil Refinery, General Staff confirms
This place in Ukraine keeps birds safe from the war
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Monday, December 29
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.
"President Trump has concluded a positive call with President Putin concerning Ukraine," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command says Huliaipole is now a gray zone, with no clear front line anymore, according to spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn.
(Updated: )
"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.
(Updated: )
Explosions reportedly rocked the Khanskaya military airfield near the southern Russian city of Maykop as air defenses were engaged late on Dec. 29.
(Updated: )Peace Plan
Trump's Mar-a-Lago meeting with Zelensky ends without agreement on how peace in Ukraine should look.
"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.
Sunday, December 28
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.
