Max Hunder is a business reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He previously worked as a business reporter at the Kyiv Post focusing on infrastructure and energy. He is a graduate of Eton College and University College London, and has reported for international publications from London, Kyiv and Yerevan.Read more
Norway will continue training Ukrainian F-16 pilots as part of its support for Ukraine’s defense and will relocate its training base from Denmark to Portugal, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram announced in a Dec. 13 press release.
Russia has lost 761,160 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. 14.
Ukrainian drones reportedly struck an oil depot in the city of Oryol overnight on Dec. 14, causing a large fire. Governor Andrey Klychkov later said that 11 drones were downed over the Oryol region.
At least two AN-124 heavy military transport planes were spotted at Khmeimim air base, located in Latakia on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, with their nose cones lifted, signaling readiness to load cargo, according to satellite images collected by Maxar.
The proposed measures target more than a dozen individuals and three entities, including Russian intelligence officers and media entrepreneurs, according to Bloomberg. The sanctions aim to counter destabilizing operations globally.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to raise the possibility of deploying European soldiers to Ukraine at the upcoming EU leaders' summit on Dec. 18-19, if a ceasefire deal is eventually reached between Russia and Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on Dec. 13, citing EU diplomats.
Members of President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration have held discussions with White House officials as part of the incoming administration's ongoing effort to establish a ceasefire once Trump is inaugurated in January, NBC News reported on Dec. 13, citing sources familiar with the talks.
"I truly believe this will be resolved in the next few months," Kellogg said in an interview on Fox Business. "The only person who can do this is President Donald Trump, and he will do it. They're tired of killing each other out there. This is time," Kellogg added.
The unnamed official said that Russia wanted to use the weapon to intimidate Ukraine and its supporters, but the Oreshnik "does not change the rules of the game on the battlefield."
Ukrainian forces are enjoying success in the Kupiansk sector, where two Russian bridgeheads that emerged during the crossing of the Oskil River were destroyed, Estonian intelligence said.
Regarding U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s repeated promises to quickly end the war, Yermak said, "There is no plan yet, and we have not seen it for sure. We know that several opinions and positions are being discussed."
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has rejected Russia's appeal, upholding a decision by the Hague Arbitration Court requiring Russia to pay $5 billion in compensation to Ukraine’s state-owned Naftogaz for misappropriated assets in occupied Crimea, Naftogaz reported on Dec. 13.
"I hope to talk about peace, about peacekeeping, as soon as possible in Ukraine, but also in Gaza and Lebanon," Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told journalists in Madrid when asked about the possibility of Rome deploying peacekeepers in Ukraine.