The contract was signed with American defense industry giant Lockheed Martin to manufacture additional High-Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems (HIMARS) for the needs of the U.S. military and international partners, the Pentagon reported.
This marks the first new contract for HIMARS production since April and the first since the system was awarded to Ukraine. The Pentagon did not specify which foreign partners are to receive the new HIMARS systems. The contract is expected to expire on Dec. 31, 2025.
Ukraine has so far received 20 HIMARS from the U.S., with 18 more to be delivered over the next few years as part of a $1 billion U.S. arms package. The Ukrainian military has been using the systems for precise strikes on Russia’s military ammunition depots and supply routes deep into Russian-occupied territories. The GPS-guided rockets of the HIMARS system, able to hit targets at long range with pinpoint accuracy, have been credited with turning the tide of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Politico reported on Nov. 5, citing a Pentagon official, that Russian forces hadn’t managed to destroy any of the U.S.-provided HIMARS, despite repeated Russian claims.
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Thursday, December 25
(Updated: )
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call with U.S. President Trump’s Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Christmas Day to discuss "several substantive details" of ongoing peace talks, the president said.
(Updated: )
Ukrainian forces struck multiple targets inside Russia overnight Dec. 24-25, hitting oil refining facility, a port, and a military airfield, the Ukrainian General Staff and a source from the the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said.
Russia attacks Kherson market, Chernihiv apartment building on Christmas Day, killing 2, injuring 9.
Ukraine is marking its fourth Christmas under a full-scale Russian invasion.
The missiles struck the refinery, triggering multiple explosions, the General Staff said, adding that the extent of the damage was still being clarified.
(Updated: )
Ukrainian intelligence sources said the officers had previously taken part in Russia's war against Ukraine and were implicated in the abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs).
(Updated: )
Russia launched 131 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 106 drones. At least 22 drones made it through, striking 15 locations.
The number includes 860 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Wednesday, December 24
Russia's Defense Ministry reported that between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Moscow time on Dec. 24, its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 132 Ukrainian drones.
"'May he perish,' each of us may think to ourselves," Zelensky said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "But when we turn to God, of course, we ask for something greater. We ask for peace for Ukraine."
(Updated: )Peace Plan
In a hypothetical runoff between the two, Zaluzhnyi would secure a decisive victory, winning 64% of the vote compared to Zelensky's 36%, according to the poll.
The Kyiv Independent’s Myroslava Chauin speaks with Kateryna Rashevska, a legal expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights and a children’s rights activist, about evidence that Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied territories were transferred to a children’s camp in North Korea.
(Updated: )
The plant, located in the town of Efremov, produces dual-use synthetic rubber and polymers used in military vehicle tires, armored personnel carriers, and other weapons-related applications.
