UK Intelligence: Lukashenko ‘likely balancing’ support for Russia’s war with desire to avoid direct military participation.

3:47 AM

Russia studying allocation of frozen gold reserves to Global South for climate change.

Russian officials at the COP28 summit in Dubai said Moscow is studying whether some of its gold reserves, frozen by the West after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, could be used to help the Global South combat climate change.

2:25 AM

Hungarian truckers to join Polish, Slovak protests on border with Ukraine.

Hungarian freight carriers starting on Dec. 11 will begin an official demonstration and block the Záhony-Chop checkpoint on the border with Ukraine, local media reported citing the Association of Hungarian Road Carriers.

1:26 AM

Rada's new freedom of speech chief criticizes TV marathon.

Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, the newly appointed chief of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Freedom of Speech, questioned the effectiveness of Ukraine's TV marathon introduced after Russia's full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022, Interfax reports.

12:18 AM

First Lady: Ukraine in 'mortal danger' without financial aid.

Ukraine is in "mortal danger" if it does not continue receiving financial aid from Western countries, First Lady Olena Zelenska told the BBC on Dec. 9, one day after a Ukraine aid bill failed to pass in Washington.

11:45 PM

Zelensky, en route to Argentina, holds meeting with leader of Cabo Verde.

President Volodymyr Zelensky held his first-ever meeting with Cabo Verdean Prime Minister José Ulisses Correia e Silva while on his way to the inauguration of Argentina’s president-elect, Javier Milei.

11:00 PM

Covid on the rise in Ukraine, deputy health minister warns.

Deputy Health Minister Ihor Kuzin warned that the country is suffering from peak coronavirus and flu numbers. The rising epidemic has seen 1.3 million citizens fall ill, 40% more than last year.

9:32 PM

Kyiv denounces Russian election plans in occupied Ukrainian territories as 'gross violation of international law.'

The day before, Moscow claimed occupied Crimea, and parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts would be included in the upcoming Russian elections on March 15-17, 2024.

8:02 PM

Russian missile shot down over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, two drones damage buildings.

An air raid siren sounded shortly before 6 p.m. in the Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts after the Air Force warned of aviation activity over the Azov Sea. No injuries or deaths were reported.

6:57 PM

Foreign Ministry condemns IOC decision to let Russian athletes compete at Paris Olympics.

"The IOC plans to give the international sports arena to athletes who not only sympathize with the murders of Ukrainian women and children but are also probably directly involved in these terrible crimes," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry wrote on Dec. 9.

6:50 PM

Human story

War in Ukraine puts sex workers at higher risk of violence, disease

6:18 PM

Prosecutor's Office: Russian attacks on Kupiansk district kill 2, injure 2.

Russian forces struck Kupiansk and the village of Podoly nearby, killing two people and wounding another two, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Dec. 9.

5:33 PM

Scholz on Ukraine aid: Germany should be prepared to do more 'when others are faltering'.

Germany should be prepared to increase its support for Ukraine "when others are faltering," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Dec. 9, apparently referring to the uncertainty over further aid to Ukraine in the U.S.

4:06 PM

Authorities: Russian attack on Kherson injures 2.

One of the victims, a 58-year-old woman, was hospitalized with an explosive wound and a head injury, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported.

3:33 PM

European Parliament members urge Duda, EU leaders to take action on Polish border blockade.

A group of European Parliament members called on Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and EU leaders “to act decisively" to end the blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border.

2:16 PM

US, South Korea, Japan pledge to increase cooperation, pressure on North Korea.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the three countries planned to increase their trilateral cooperation to create a united front against the spectrum of North Korean hostile actions towards its neighbors in the region and the larger world. In particular, the officials said that North Korea was using cyber activities to fund its nuclear program.

12:44 PM

Russian drone strike in Kherson Oblast kills 1, injures 1.

A Russian drone dropped explosives on the city of Beryslav, Kherson Oblast, on the morning of Dec. 9, killing one and injuring another, the regional prosecutor's office reported.

12:23 PM

Warsaw denies claim that border blockade prevents delivery of military aid to Ukraine.

Polish Vice Minister of National Defense Marcin Ociepa was responding to a Dec. 7 story by The New York Times in which a Ukrainian soldier, known only as Oleksandr, said that the blockade had prevented his unit from receiving much-needed night vision devices.

11:47 AM

Poll: Nearly 50% of Republicans think US provides too much aid to Ukraine.

As with other polls gauging Americans' support for Ukraine, there was a significant partisan divide. Only 16% of Democrats thought the U.S. was providing too much aid, while 39% thought it was about right, and 24% said it was not enough.

11:15 AM

Up to 800,000 Russians have reportedly moved to Crimea since occupation in 2014.

Up to 800,000 Russians have moved to occupied Crimea since its illegal annexation in 2014, and around 100,000 Ukrainians have left, in what amounts to a larger Russian project of remaking the peninsula's demography, said Vladyslav Miroshnychenko, an analyst for the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union on Dec. 6.

10:15 AM

Kyiv authorities begin dismantling prominent Soviet-era statue in city center.

Authorities in Kyiv have begun dismantling a statue of Red Army commander Mykola Shchors located on one of the main streets in the center of the capital, the Kyiv City State Administration announced on Dec. 9.

9:14 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 338,120 troops in Ukraine.

According to the report, this figure includes 900 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

7:40 AM

White House: Costs of not supporting Ukraine too high to pay.

"If you think the cost of supporting Ukraine is high now, think about how high it’s going to be in national treasure and in American blood if we have to start acting on our Article Five commitments," U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

6:23 AM

German drone manufacturer joins Diia City to produce drones in Ukraine.

Quantum Systems hopes its residency in Diia City will help it establish drone production facilities in Ukraine and launch a research and development center.

5:35 AM

Russian cities cancel New Year celebrations to save money for war.

Various officials have pledged to scale back traditional holiday festivities and fireworks displays in order to purchase military equipment to supply Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

4:21 AM

Hackers impersonated Ukrainian agencies in emails to Polish officials.

Government employees in Poland and Ukraine received emails with subject lines related to "debts" and "legal claims," according to an investigation carried out by the Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine.