UK, German leaders reaffirm support for Ukraine.

"We would secure a demilitarized zone between the belligerent parties and, to be specific, we would also move against corresponding Russian violations and attacks," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

Explosions rocked an oil refinery in the Russian city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban amid a Ukrainian drone attack overnight on Dec. 17, media reported.

The bill would impose targeted sanctions on anyone dealing in Russian oil, effectively barring them from the U.S. financial system.

Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko reported at the time of the attack that air defenses were operating in the Obolonskyi district.

Alexander Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor originally from Ukraine, and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda, whose parents immigrated to Australia from Ukraine, were both killed in the terrorist attack on Dec. 14.

Ukraine requires its partners to cover half of its projected $120 billion of defense spending to stay in the fight against Russia in 2026, Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Dec. 16.

The funds will be used to purchase "thousands of air defense systems, missiles, and automated turrets to shoot down drones," U.K. Defense Minister John Healey said.

European leaders will decide on Dec. 18–19 whether to proceed with a "reparations loan," a plan to lend up to 210 billion euros in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.

The incident comes as Ankara rebukes both Kyiv and Moscow over escalating hostilities in the Black Sea amid Russia's all-out war against Ukraine.

Bakhmutka River emerges as Siversk’s last line of defense as Russia presses assault

The prices dropped to just over $40 per barrel on average for Russian crude shipped from the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Kozmino port in the Far East, Bloomberg reported.