13 border guards were killed defending Ukraine’s Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island) in the Black Sea.

"A Budapest-style piece of paper will not satisfy Ukraine. Ukraine does not need a Minsk-style meticulously drafted trap. My signature will be under a strong agreement," Zelensky said in his address on Dec. 31.

Early in the morning on Dec. 31, the Finnish telecommunications service provider Elisa reported that an undersea cable linking Finland and Estonia had been damaged. The cargo ship Fitburg, sailing from Russia, may have been responsible.

The four independent members of the new board have been unanimously approved, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said. Three additional state representatives will be selected for the board in the beginning of January 2026.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, speaking to Reuters, called the footage "laughable."

Ukraine's military reportedly struck oil depots in the various Russian and Russian-occupied regions late on Dec. 30, Russian Telegram media channels reported.

Targets included Russia's Tuapse Oil Refinery, the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal, a Rosreserv oil base, a temporary military base for river boats, and ammunition depots in occupied Ukraine, the General Staff said.

The operation targeted a large oil depot in Rybinsk, a city 160 miles north of Moscow in Yaroslavl Oblast, the sources said.

The Kyiv Independent's Tim Zadorozhnyy speaks with Meaghan Mobbs, head of the R.T. Weatherman Foundation and the daughter of President Donald Trump's outgoing special envoy on Ukraine, Keith Kellogg.

Over 170,000 people are without power after the attack, Ukraine's Energy Ministry said on Wednesday morning.

Romania will contribute 50 million euros ($59 million), according to a press release by the Romanian government.

The number includes 1,000 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported intercepting 101 of the 127 drones launched by Russia overnight.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Dec. 29 that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him Ukraine had tried to attack Putin's residence, an allegation Kyiv has denied. "I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it," Trump said.