Over the past 24 hours, six Russian drones and one cruise missile were reportedly downed and 30 Russian infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed.
A source close to the Ukrainian delegation told the Kyiv Independent that they don't know how the meeting will unfold and are ready for "all scenarios."
Russia has lost around 1,204,510 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. 28.
The refinery was attacked multiple times in the night, residents claimed. An electrical substation in Syzran was also hit, causing blackouts in the city.
Without security guarantees, Ukraine cannot take any steps towards peace or hold presidential elections, which Trump's administration has pressured Zelensky to implement.
Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast and Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast are not under Russian control, Ukraine's General Staff said, dismissing the Kremlin's claims as "the weapon of disinformation."
Canada will provide Ukraine with $2.5 billion Canadian dollars ($1.8 billion) in economic aid to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Dec. 27.
Russia has fulfilled its mobilization goals in 2025 and has set its mobilization target to recruit 409,000 Russian soldiers in 2026, Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Suspilne in a year-end interview.
Elections have been floated as part of a peace or ceasefire deal that Ukraine has been discussing with the U.S., but voting in the occupied territories complicates the process.
Several waves of explosions were heard across the capital, according to Kyiv Independent reporters on the ground, as well as in Kyiv Oblast, where power outages were reported in the town of Brovary and surrounding areas following the strikes.
Russia launched nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles overnight on Dec. 26-27, largely targeting Kyiv’s energy and civilian infrastructure.
Denis Kapustin, also known by his nom de guerre "White Rex," led the right-wing Russian Volunteer Corps until he was killed by an FPV drone on the southern front, according to preliminary reports. More details are expected later.
The number includes 1,240 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
"I think they want to do it now, and I think that Russia wants to do it. But every time one wants to do it, the other doesn’t," Trump told the New York Post in a Dec. 26 phone call.
