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Overnight on Dec. 9, the Russian military attacked Ukraine with two Kh-59/69 cruise missiles from the Black Sea. During the night attack, Russia also launched 37 Shaheds and other unidentified drones, Ukraine’s Air Force reported.
The skirmish took place overnight on Dec. 6 in Kerch Bay, east of the occupied peninsula, when Russian helicopters, planes, and Raptor-class patrol boats attempted to intercept the drones, the SBU said in a statement.
"The purpose of my visit is to learn about the current state of defense in the country," Friedrich Merz said upon arrival. "I am looking forward to a meeting with President (Volodymyr Zelensky) again."
Russia has spent at least $200 billion on its war with Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at a conference on Dec. 7 in California.
"Additionally, Russia's support for Assad also failed. And that's because Ukraine, backed by our American allies, has put up a wall of resistance against invading Russian forces, inflicting massive damage on the Russian forces," U.S. President Joe Biden said.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced plans to introduce a law banning participants in rallies and counter-rallies from covering their faces, Georgia Today reported on Dec. 8.
Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina was posthumously honored with the Special Prix Voltaire Award at the 34th International Publishers Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, PEN Ukraine reported on Dec. 6.
European Union Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius, has proposed allocating 100 billion euros ($105 billion) for defense in the next seven-year EU budget, Politico reported on Dec. 8.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take action toward negotiating a truce, saying on Dec. 8: "I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!"
Russian news agencies reported on Dec. 8 that Syria's Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Russia, where they have been granted asylum on "humanitarian grounds."
Trump reiterated that he is working to end the hostilities in Ukraine, reinforcing his earlier campaign claim that he could resolve the war within 24 hours if he were in charge.
In a post on X, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas described Assad’s fall as a “positive and long-awaited development," saying that the collapse "shows the weakness of Assad’s backers, Russia and Iran."
The withdrawal comes as rebels advancing from Damascus push toward Syria's coastal provinces, including Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russian military bases are located, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.
This figure contrasts a claim made earlier the same day on Dec. 8 by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who wrote on his Truth Social platform that Ukrainian military losses had reached "400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians."
Reuters on Dec. 8 reported, citing its Syrian sources that "there was a very high probability that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have been killed in a plane crash" as he was fleeing Damascus following its capture by rebels. Reuters later deleted the information from its reporting.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad boarded a plane out of Damascus on Dec. 8 as rebel forces swept into the capital, two senior army officers told Reuters.