Key developments on Dec. 30:
- Ukraine brings back 189 people from Russian captivity in prisoner swap
- Biden announces $2.5 billion security assistance package for Ukraine
- Russian military suffers 427,000 casualties in 2024, Syrskyi claims
- Russia launched over 1,300 drone strikes, 250 missiles at Kyiv in 2024
Ukraine brought back 189 Ukrainian citizens from Russian captivity on Dec. 30 in one of the largest prisoner exchanges during the full-scale war.
Eighty-seven Armed Forces service members, 43 National Guard members, 33 border guards, 24 sailors, and two civilians were among those released. The freed captives included soldiers who defended Azovstal and Mariupol, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the Snake Island, and other sections of the front.
At the same time, 150 Russian military service members were released from Ukrainian captivity as part of the exchange, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Some of the freed captives have been held by Russia for more than two and half years and suffer chronic diseases and injuries, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said.
As of Dec. 30, Ukraine freed 3,956 people from Russian captivity since the start of the full-scale war, including 1,358 who were released this year.
Ukraine and Russia held numerous prisoner exchanges throughout the full-scale war with the mediation of a third-party country. The previous swap occurred in mid-October, with each side bringing back 95 prisoners.
Biden announces $2.5 billion security assistance package for Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden announced a new security assistance package for Ukraine worth nearly $2.5 billion on Dec. 30.
The package includes a $1.25 billion "drawdown package" of military equipment for Ukraine and $1.22 billion under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), a Pentagon-led program that procures arms for Ukraine through contracts with U.S. defense companies.
According to a White House statement, the resources will provide both immediate and long-term military support, including air defense systems, artillery, and other critical weaponry.
"As I committed earlier this year, the Department of Defense has now allocated all remaining USAI funds appropriated by Congress in the supplemental that I signed in April, and my Administration is fully utilizing the funding appropriated by Congress to support the drawdown of U.S. equipment for Ukraine," Biden said in the statement.
"I’ve directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible — including drawing down older U.S. equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons," he added.
The announcement comes just weeks before Donald Trump takes office next month.
Simon Johnson
Russian military suffers 427,000 casualties in 2024, Syrskyi claims
Russian forces have suffered around 427,000 soldiers killed or wounded this year, mainly in battles in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Dec. 30.
"Russia continues to carry out constant 'human wave' assaults, suffering record losses. Last week, Russian forces have been losing around 1,700 people killed and wounded every day," Syrskyi said on Telegram after visiting units deployed in Donetsk Oblast.
Russian forces have been advancing at a rapid pace in late 2024, closing in on key Donetsk Oblast towns like Pokrovsk, Toretsk, or Kurakhove at the cost of record losses. Heavy battles continue also in Russia's Kursk Oblast, and Kyiv has warned about possible Russian advances in Ukraine's south.
Martin Fornusek
Ukraine claimed that Moscow's troops suffered their highest casualties in November and December, putting Russia's overall losses throughout the full-scale war at nearly 790,000 by the end of the year.
The figures could not be independently verified. Moscow does not reveal the scale of its war losses but alleges they are lower than those of Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had lost 43,000 soldiers on the battlefield since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, in addition to 370,000 injuries.
Russia launched over 1,300 drone strikes, 250 missiles at Kyiv in 2024
Russia launched more than 1,300 drones and over 250 missiles of various types against Kyiv in 2024, Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, announced on Dec. 30.
Throughout the year, the capital endured over 500 air raid alerts and nearly 200 airstrikes.
Among the missiles targeting Kyiv were over 200 cruise missiles — including Kh-101, Kh-59, Kh-69, Iskander-K, and Kalibr — 24 ballistic missiles such as the Iskander-M and KN-23, 22 air-launched ballistic missiles, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and seven Zircon hypersonic missiles, according to Popko.
"These are terrifying numbers. But the most horrifying fact is that these rockets and drones killed our residents and destroyed our homes," Popko wrote on Telegram.
Nearly 550 residential buildings in Kyiv were damaged by Russian attacks in 2024, leaving around 120 people homeless, Popko said.
"But the state will rebuild everything, ensuring housing for all, including Kyivans whose homes were destroyed by Russia and internally displaced Ukrainians who have made the capital their home," he added, noting that Kyiv saw an increase of nearly 11,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) over the past year.
Energy infrastructure was also heavily targeted, forcing Kyiv residents to endure approximately 100 days of power outages, with daily blackouts averaging nine hours, according to Popko.
"Although Kyiv has officially not been considered a zone of potential hostilities for two years, the war 'reminds' us of itself every day," he wrote.
