Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
Rescue workers on the premises of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone on Dec. 20, 2024, in Kharkiv. (State Emergency Service / Telegram)
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A Russian drone struck an apartment building in Kharkiv on Dec. 20, injuring at least six people, including a child, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
The drone hit a 9-story residential building in the city's Saltivskyi district late in the evening, authorities said. The attack damaged several apartments and caused a fire.
Six people were injured in the attack, including a 12-year-old child. Emergency responders rescued three people from the rubble. Rescue operations are still ongoing at the site.
A second drone attack the evening of Dec. 20 caused minor damage to several homes in the city's Kyivskyi district, regional police reported.
Located less than 30 kilometers from the Russian border, the northeastern city of Kharkiv has suffered relentless aerial attacks over the past two years of Russia's full-scale war. Moscow often targets densely populatedneighborhoods with missiles and glide bombs.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Martin Fornusek
