New Zealand

10:08 PM

Ukraine war latest: Trump hints he won't 'abandon' Kyiv but opposes Ukraine launching US missiles inside Russia

9:29 PM

Russian occupation court sentences Ukrainian to 11 years for alleged espionage.

A Russian-controlled court in occupied Donetsk Oblast sentenced 20-year-old Mikhail Karimov, a resident of Mariupol, to 11 years in a strict regime penal colony, Mariupol City Council reported on Dec. 12.

9:24 PM

301 Ukrainian women held in Russian captivity, rights group reports.

As of December 2024, 301 Ukrainian civilian women are in Russian captivity, with 25 detained before Russia's full-scale invasion and 276 taken since, according to Olha Skrypnyk, head of the Crimean Human Rights Group (CHRG), speaking on Dec. 11.

8:30 PM

Xi Jinping reaffirms China's stance on Ukraine war settlement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated China's position on resolving the war in Ukraine during a meeting with Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, on Dec. 12, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

7:31 PM

NATO chief warns alliance 'unprepared' for Russian threats, calls for increased defense spending.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Dec. 12 that the alliance is not ready for the threats it will face from Russia in the coming years, urging a shift to a wartime mindset with significantly higher defense spending.

6:40 PM

Ukraine sentences Russian Duma chairman Volodin to 15 years in absentia.

Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia’s State Duma, has been sentenced in absentia to 15 years by a Ukrainian court, Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) reported on Dec. 12.

5:36 PM

French ambassador to Ukraine assures continued support for Kyiv under new government.

French Ambassador to Ukraine Gael Veyssiere expressed confidence that France's policy of assistance to Ukraine would remain unchanged following the appointment of a new prime minister, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Dec. 12.

5:13 PM

EBRD co-launches $116 million guarantee for Ukraine war-risk insurance.

The EBRD's new Ukraine Recovery and Reconstruction Guarantee Facility will initially help reinsurance companies cover risks connected to land-based transport, focusing on small and medium businesses.

5:03 PM

Russia, India sign record oil supply deal, Reuters reports.

Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft and Indian refining giant Reliance Industries have finalized a landmark agreement to supply 500,000 barrels of oil daily for the next 10 years, Reuters reported on Dec. 12.

4:35 PM

Poland 'dismisses speculation' on peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, PM says.

During a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron on Dec. 12, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed speculation about a possible peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, emphasizing that no such actions are currently planned.

4:17 PM

Hungary did not discuss any Christmas truce, prisoner swap with Ukraine, Presidential Office says.

The Hungarian side "did not discuss anything" with Ukraine and "did not warn about its contacts with Moscow," said Dmytro Lytvyn, the presidential communications adviser, referring to Viktor Orban’s recent phone call with Vladimir Putin.

3:59 PM

Business

Spend With Ukraine wants to ‘build a better brand’ for the country

3:23 PM

Trump hints he won't 'abandon' Kyiv but opposes Ukraine launching US missiles inside Russia.

"I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that?" Donald Trump told Time.

6:29 PM  (Updated:  December 12, 2024 2:49 pm)

Defense tech

Ukraine builds drone parts at home as China weaponizes supply chain

1:53 PM

Ukraine's intelligence kills senior Russian missile scientist near Moscow, source claims.

Mikhail Shatsky, a Russian expert involved in modernizing missiles launched against Ukraine, was shot dead near Moscow, a Defense Forces source told the Kyiv Independent on Dec. 12.

1:30 PM

Scholz ready to talk to Putin again despite 'frustrating' phone call.

"I will do it again. But we must not have any illusions about it," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, according to Zeit.

1:13 PM

Russian snipers use Western rifles, ammunition despite sanctions, media investigation says.

Russia uses Western sniper rifles and ammunition despite sanctions, obtaining the arms via third-party countries, according to a joint media investigation published by The Insider on Dec. 11.

12:40 PM

NATO members mull raising defense spending benchmark to 3% GDP, FT reports.

European NATO foreign ministers began discussing a plan to gradually increase the alliance’s defense spending target from 2% of their GDP to 3% by 2030, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 12, citing undisclosed sources.

12:16 PM

Russia has built only 7 out of 108 planned airliners since 2022, BBC reports.

Russia's Comprehensive Program for the Development of the Air Transport Industry until 2030 envisioned producing 1,032 passenger aircraft between 2022 and the end of the decade.

11:18 AM

Macron, Tusk to discuss deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine after ceasefire, Bloomberg reports.

French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting Warsaw on Dec. 12 to brief the Polish prime minister on his meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump last week and to discuss Europe's support for Ukraine and ways to end Russia's war.

10:46 AM

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 1, injure 11 over past day.

Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least one civilian and injured at least 11 over the past day, regional authorities reported early on Dec. 12.

9:41 AM

US lawmakers ask for intelligence report on impact of cutting Ukraine aid.

Lawmakers from both chambers of the U.S. legislature requested the director of national intelligence, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to compile a report on different policy impacts on Ukraine and U.S. security, according to The Hill.

9:24 AM

US House passes 2025 defense spending bill without Ukraine lend-lease extension.

The $895 billion U.S. defense budget passed by the House of Representatives did not include a provision to extend the lend-lease act for Ukraine despite the efforts of Ukrainian diplomats, Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, said on Dec. 12.

8:25 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 758,730 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.

This number includes 1,390 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

7:13 AM

Russia advises its citizens to avoid travel to US, Western nations.

Russian citizens are at risk of being "hunted" by Western authorities when traveling, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed.