President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the European Commission's recommendation that Ukraine be granted official candidate status to join the EU. "It's the first step on the EU membership path that will certainly bring our victory closer," he wrote on Twitter. All 27 EU member states must approve the final decision to grant the status.
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Top anti-Putin Russian commander killed fighting for Ukraine
'It was horrifying, like an earthquake' – Kyiv recovering from mass Russian attack that left 2 killed, 32 injured, ahead of peace talks
Trump's Mar-a-Lago meeting with Zelensky ends without agreement on how peace in Ukraine should look
Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Syzran Oil Refinery, General Staff confirms
This place in Ukraine keeps birds safe from the war
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Monday, December 29
"I told (Trump) that we would like to consider guarantees for 30, 40, or even 50 years, and that would be a historic decision by president Trump. The president said he would think about it," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
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Explosions reportedly rocked the Khanskaya military airfield near the southern Russian city of Maykop as air defenses were engaged late on Dec. 29.
(Updated: )Peace Plan
Trump's Mar-a-Lago meeting with Zelensky ends without agreement on how peace in Ukraine should look.
"They're going to be helping. Russia is going to be helping," U.S. President Donald Trump said when asked if Moscow would hold any responsibility for Ukraine's reconstruction.
Sunday, December 28
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Dec. 28 that he held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russian troops opened artillery fire against the Kherson Thermal Power Plant (TPP), causing significant damage, head of Ukraine's Naftogaz said on Dec. 28.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi thanked "both sides" for agreeing to a temporary "window of silence," which is "part of ongoing efforts to prevent a nuclear accident during military conflict."
In this year-end wrap-up of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur looks back at the moments that defined 2025, the fourth year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine — from stalled peace efforts and escalating Russian attacks to mass anti-corruption protests and political upheaval at home.
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The refinery was attacked multiple times in the night, residents claimed. An electrical substation in Syzran was also hit, causing blackouts in the city.
Ukrainian and Russian troops have been publishing conflicting claims and videos about who controls the front-line town of Myrnohrad, located just northeast of the embattled town of Pokrovsk.
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.
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Without security guarantees, Ukraine cannot take any steps towards peace or hold presidential elections, which Trump's administration has pressured Zelensky to implement.
