Russia launched five ballistic missiles against Ukraine's capital on the morning of Dec. 20, highlighting the stark contrast between the approaching holiday season and the realities of war. Though Ukraine's Air Force reported that all projectiles were downed, missile debris fell in at least four of Kyiv’s districts, starting
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed seven people and injured at least 34 others over the past day, regional authorities said on Dec. 20.
"Commander-in-Chief (Oleksandr Syrskyi) decided to withdraw Defense Forces units from the said area to avoid encirclement," the Khortytsia group of forces said.
The reports come amid an anticipated large-scale Russian advance in Kherson Oblast. In early December, Russian troops were carrying out assaults in the southern region to gain a foothold on islands in the Dnipro River delta.
In the largest cyberattack in recent months, several government services were targeted, including state registers the Ministry of Justice oversees. Russia has regularly targeted Ukrainian companies and government institutions with cyberattacks since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
This number includes 2,200 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
The U.K.'s latest estimate are in line with figures from Ukraine's General Staff, which, as of Dec. 19, sits at 768,220 troops lost since the start of the war. The figures do not specify killed or wounded, though the overall consensus is that it includes dead, wounded, missing, and captured.
Russia attacked the capital with five ballistic missiles of the Iskander-M or the North Korean KN-23 model, the Air Force said. All five missiles were reportedly shot down, with debris falling in several districts of the city.
In a wide ranging interview with MSNBC on Dec. 19, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about prospects for a potential ceasefire in Ukraine as well as support for the embattled country ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in January.
A Russian missile struck a two-story residential building in the city of Kryvyi Rih overnight on Dec. 19, injuring six people, including a child.
When asked what he would have done differently if he could go back to February 2022, the month Russia launched its all-out war against Ukraine, Putin responded, "Knowing what's happening now, back in 2022, I would've thought the decision ought to have been taken earlier."
"Only Ukraine as the aggressed country can legitimately define what peace means — and if and when the conditions are met for credible negotiations," said Antonio Costa, president of the European Council.
Key developments on Dec. 19: * Zelensky blasts Putin’s Oreshnik threats, calling him ‘dumbass’ * Zelensky dismisses ceasefire as Putin’s ploy to regroup, seeks coordinated peace plan * Ukraine strikes 'only oil refinery operating' in Russia's Rostov Oblast, military says * Putin acknowledges sanctions have impact on Russia's economy * Ukraine’s Special
Discussions reportedly include lowering the current $60-per-barrel cap to approximately $40 or even implementing a complete ban on Russian oil supplies.
As the outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden rushes to provide last-minute aid to Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office in January, the State Department has recently announced a $266 million maintenance sales package for Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets. Trump has made no public comments about the Ukrainian
Two Belarusians and one Ukrainian were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 11 to 25 years by Belarusian authorities for their alleged involvement in preparing terrorist acts, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported on Dec. 19.
Warning: This article contains descriptions of graphic scenes. For a moment, Oksana Latanska could not believe her eyes when she looked down at a cold, little body, gray from dust and ashes. It hardly resembled the little boy that she knew so well and whom she saw almost every weekend
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces reported on Dec. 19 that they had killed 12 North Korean soldiers and injured 20 others, preventing their advance in Russia's Kursk Oblast.
“We will not engage in extending the transit of Russian gas. We will not give (Russia) the opportunity to earn additional billions on our blood,” Zelensky said.
North Korean troops fighting in Kursk Oblast are especially vulnerable to drones but still managed to help Moscow advance a few kilometers in the partially Ukrainian-occupied region in southwest Russia, according to Western military experts analyzing open-source data. The assessment of drone vulnerability differs from an on-the-ground testimony obtained by
“We need coordinated work for a lasting peace, not just the suspension of hostilities that Putin seeks in order to buy time,” Zelensky said.
The announcement comes amid intensified Russian attacks against Ukraine, including one of the largest aerial strikes on Dec. 13, which targeted energy infrastructure across Ukraine.
At a press conference in Brussels on Dec. 19, President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent threats of using the new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile against Kyiv to test Western air defense systems in what he called a "high-tech duel" with the West.
A court in Ternopil took into custody Colonel Oleh Poberezhniuk, commander of the 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade, suspected of abuse of power, the Prosecutor General's Office reported.
Ukraine's economy has adapted itself well to the realities of the full-scale war while Russia's economy faces increasingly unfavorable forecasts, The Economist wrote on Dec. 19.
Starting Jan. 1, Ukraine will introduce new expert commissions in major hospitals for assessing people's medical status based on a new, "modern system," MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.
Moscow has already built a 40-kilometer-long segment between the Russian city of Taganrog and occupied Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We simply have no right to limit the strength of our army in any case," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"The Ukrainian defense forces in heavy battles did not allow the Russians to breach the defense and achieve operational success on any of the directions," Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 45 of the 85 Shahed-type drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles launched overnight, the Air Force reported. Forty drones were reportedly lost across Ukraine thanks to electronic warfare countermeasures.
"(The visit to Ukraine) will take place in early January. We are waiting for Mr. Kellogg, and then we will talk about what he had meant," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Brussels.
Jonah Leff said that the researchers from his group examined remnants of four North Korean missiles recovered in Ukraine in July and August. One of them had marks showing it was procured in 2024, according to the researcher.
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