Ukraine war latest: 75% of Ukrainians reject peace plan requiring Donbas withdrawal, no security guarantee, poll shows
Hello, this is Francis Farrell reporting from Kyiv on day 1,391 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Today's top story so far:
A new poll found Ukrainians remain willing open to a deal with security guarantees — but overwhelmingly reject a plan that would force a pullback from Donbas without concrete protections.
A strong majority of Ukrainians — 75% — rejected a proposed peace plan that would involve the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas, military restrictions, and no concrete security guarantees, according to a new public opinion poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), published on Dec. 15. 63% of 547 adults surveyed across the country — a slight increase from 62% in September this year — said they were ready to endure the war "as long as necessary."
The numbers come despite a difficult situation on the front line, constant Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and strong U.S. pressure on Kyiv to accept Moscow's demands for Ukraine to withdraw from the remainder of Donetsk Oblast.
Closely reflecting Kyiv's public position at talks with the U.S. and European partners, 72% of respondents said they were ready to accept a peace deal that froze territorial control at the current line of contact, included robust security guarantees, and did not involve the formal recognition of any of the occupied territories as Russian.
The poll also examined domestic political sentiments. Despite the fallout from the major corruption scandal that unfolded over the past months and resulted in the resignation of Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak, 61% of respondents said they trusted President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Meanwhile, in a clear rebuttal of the persistent calls from the Trump administration, only 9% of respondents said they wanted elections before the end of hostilities.
Poland mulls sending additional 6-8 MiG-29 jets to Ukraine
Poland could provide Ukraine with between six and eight MiG-29 fighter jets that are scheduled for retirement this month, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said in an interview with the TVN24 news channel on Dec. 14.
"They could either end up in a museum, be sold for scrap, or be sent to Ukraine and used to kill our enemies," Tomczyk said, defending the move.
The comments come after Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz floated the idea of transferring Warsaw's remaining Soviet-designed MiG-29s to Kyiv in exchange for Ukraine's drone and anti-drone technology.
The issue could be discussed during President Volodymyr Zelensky's planned visit to Poland on Dec. 19, Kosiniak-Kamysz noted.
According to Tomczyk, the jets are to be decommissioned by the end of December, and, according to the law, they cannot be used by the Polish Armed Forces thereafter.
Belgorod power plant hit as overnight drone wave hits multiple Russian regions, officials say
A drone strike damaged the Luch thermal power plant in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast overnight on Dec. 15, regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said, as Russia reported intercepting 146 drones in an overnight wave that it said hit at least 12 regions.
The plant supplies about 10% of Belgorod’s heat, and the oblast borders Ukraine and is regularly used as a staging area for Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory.
Footage of the aftermath published by the local outlet Pepel and geolocated by Astra OSINT showed the plant was struck during the night. Gladkov said “serious damage” was reported to engineering infrastructure and that no injuries were reported.
The strike was part of a broader overnight drone campaign that affected at least 12 Russian regions. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 146 drones were intercepted overnight. The ministry later reported that an additional 16 drones were shot down around 8:30 a.m., extending the attacks into the morning hours.
Meanwhile, in Rostov Oblast, local authorities reported damage to residential buildings and a high-voltage power line in the Kamensky district, Meduza reported. Water pumping stations were shut down, leaving several communities without access to water.
At least 2 killed, 28 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day
At least 2 people have been killed and 21 others injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities reported on Dec. 15.
Russia launched 153 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force reported. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 133 of the drones, with 17 successful strikes reported.
In Donetsk Oblast, one civilian was killed in the city of Druzhkivka, with four others in the region wounded as a result of Russian attacks, according to the regional military administration. The weapons used in the attacks were not specified.
One 62-year-old man was killed and another injured in Sumy Oblast, the regional military administration reported. Both casualties came at the hands of Russian drones, which regularly target civilians across the front line and state border in the region.
Fourteen civilians were injured in Zaporizhzhia Oblast after Russian forces attacked a supermarket in the regional capital of Zaporizhzhia with a glide bomb, regional governor Ivan Fedorov reported.
In Kherson Oblast, a total of six people were injured as Russian forces attacked dozens of settlements along the western bank of the Dnipro River, according to regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
Five civilians were wounded in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, two of whom were targeted by drones in the Mykolaiv community, and another three by Grad multiple-launch rocket systems in the Nikopol district, regional authorities said.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,189,470 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost around 1,189,470 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Dec. 11.
The number includes 980 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,412 tanks, 23,731 armored fighting vehicles, 70,005 vehicles and fuel tanks, 35,105 artillery systems, 1,570 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,261 air defense systems, 432 airplanes, 347 helicopters, 90,777 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
