Initially, SBU drones attacked the facility to distract Russian air defenses, providing a "window" for Ukrainian missiles to strike the facility, an SBU source said.
At least 100 North Korean troops have been killed while fighting for Russia against Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker said after an intelligence briefing, the BBC reported on Dec. 19.
"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.
This number includes 1,530 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
According to media reports, the package includes over 92 million pound ($115 million) in equipment to support Ukraine's navy, including small boats as well as reconnaissance drones. A further 39 million pounds ($49 million) will be used to supply over 1,000 counter-drone electronic warfare systems.
Ukraine is "discussing ideas with European leaders" on the potential deployment of European peacekeeping forces to the embattled country, President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters during a press briefing on Dec. 18.
Key developments on Dec. 18: * 'Couple hundred' North Korean troops lost fighting for Russia against Ukraine, AP reports * Sweden 'does not exclude' more direct physical presence in Ukraine to bolster defense * Russia detains two suspects over assassination of General Igor Kirillov, Kremlin media reports * Peace talks with Russia only possible
U.S. General Keith Kellogg, nominated as Ukraine peace envoy by President-elect Donald Trump, criticized the recent assassination of Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov during an interview with Fox News on Dec. 18.
“It was at the start of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ military operation in Kursk Oblast. I believe the Kursk operation provided strong arguments in favor of Ukraine,” Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers discreetly dethroned the former czar of drone purchases — Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov — as the result of a one-sided power struggle from the Head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, allege observers. A new decree shifted a key office in the drone purchasing process
In response to a question over whether Sweden would potentially take part in a more direct physical presence in Ukraine amid talks of potentially deploying peacekeepers to monitor a possible ceasefire, Jonson said he doesn't "exclude that possibility."
The Ukrainian military has proven to be a pioneer in drone technology, using innovative ways to undermine Russia's material and numerical advantage.
In the call, a nurse at a Moscow hospital tells her husband, a soldier fighting in Kursk Oblast, that wounded fighters are being brought in by the trainload.
Although the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden plans to allocate some funds from the presidential drawdown authority, it is unlikely to spend the whole amount.
"Real negotiations for a lasting peace will begin only when the enemy no longer has the resources to continue the war," Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, said on Dec. 17.
Russian Telegram channel 112 said the suspects had already confessed to authorities.
A senior U.S. military official did not give an exact figure but said the high casualty rate was in part due to the soldiers' lack of battle experience.
This number includes 1,580 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has received an order to supply Ukraine with 20 additional Marder infantry fighting vehicles, the company announced on Dec. 17.
The Trump administration's incoming Ukraine peace envoy, Keith Kellogg, plans to visit Kyiv and several European capitals in early January as part of the new administration’s effort to address the Russia-Ukraine war.
NATO has assumed responsibility for coordinating Western military aid to Ukraine through the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine center, Reuters reported on Dec. 17, citing its sources.
LATEST: Russia detains two suspects over assassination of General Igor Kirillov, Kremlin media reports Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov met his demise in Moscow on Dec. 17, reportedly killed by a bomb attached to a scooter planted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). "Kirillov was a war criminal and a
"For the third day, Russian forces have been conducting intensive offensive operations in Kursk Oblast, actively using North Korean units," Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
While the Latvian Defense Ministry said that the drills are "not related to changes in the security environment," the exercises take place amid surging tensions between NATO and Russia.
Ukraine's Special Operations Forces killed 50 North Korean soldiers and injured 47 others in three days of fighting in Russia's Kursk Oblast, the unit said on Dec. 17.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and another Russian service member were reportedly killed in an explosion in Moscow on the morning of Dec. 17.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on Dec. 16 ordered an investigation into the alleged abuse, extortion, and humiliation of soldiers in the 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade by their commanders.
This number includes 1,600 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
"Russia is not only involving North Korean soldiers in assaults on Ukrainian positions, but is also trying to hide the losses of these people," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 16.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, eight years after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula and led an armed aggression in Ukraine’s east.
In February 2014, almost immediately following the end of the EuroMaidan Revolution in Ukraine, Russia swiftly moved to annex and occupy Crimea. Within months, Russian proxy forces took control of parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
By the start of 2022, Russia had amassed nearly 200,000 troops on Ukraine’s border. At 4:50 a.m. on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a speech that Russia was to carry out “a special military operation.” Within minutes, missile strikes were launched on Ukrainian cities and the full-scale invasion had begun.
