20 Dec 2024
- At least one person has been killed and several wounded in a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
- Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry says the Albanian, Argentine, North Macedonian, Palestinian, Portuguese and Montenegrin diplomatic missions were also damaged in the attack.
- Ukrainian officials report missile attacks in the southern city of Kherson, where one person was killed, as well as several other cities and towns.
- Russia says its forces hit military targets in Ukraine with long-range high-precision weapons in response to an attack on its Rostov region this week, in which Ukraine used US-made long-range ATACMS missiles and four UK-made Storm Shadow missiles.
- This comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a marathon news conference, suggested a missile “duel” with the US that would show how Russia’s new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile could defeat any US missile defence system.
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he needed Europe and the US on board to secure a durable peace, as he huddled with EU leaders at their final summit before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump next month.
- At least one person was reported killed in a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the head of the city’s military administration, Sergiy Popko, said on Telegram. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko added that “as a result of the enemy attack”, two people were hospitalised and debris fell in four areas.
- A Russian missile attack has killed three people and wounded three more in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, the national police said. It added that more than 10 houses were damaged in the attack.
- Ukraine launched six United States-made long-range ATACMS missiles and four United Kingdom-made Storm Shadow missiles at Russia’s southern Rostov region, the Russian defence ministry said. Russian forces downed all of the ATACMS and three out of four of the Storm Shadows, the ministry said, adding that Moscow would respond to the attacks.
- At least 100 North Korean soldiers deployed to support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine have been killed since entering combat in December, a South Korean politician said. Pyongyang has sent thousands of soldiers to reinforce the Russian military, including to the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces seized territory this year.
- Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with Donald Trump on ending the war and had no conditions for starting talks with the Ukrainian authorities.
- Putin has published a decree allowing foreign buyers of Russian gas to pay in roubles in other Russian banks, not only via the US-sanctioned Gazprombank, until April 1, in an attempt to bypass sanctions.
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he needed Europe and the US on board to secure a durable peace, as he huddled with EU leaders at their final summit before Trump’s inauguration.
- Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Trump have agreed that Russia’s war on Ukraine had gone on for “far too long”. Scholz told Trump in a phone call that he would continue to back Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression as long as necessary.
- The European Union will deliver an additional 30 billion euros ($31.09bn) of financial support to Ukraine in 2025, EU Council President Antonio Costa announced after meeting with EU leaders in Brussels.
- A court in Moscow has ordered the suspect in the killing of top Russian general Igor Kirillov to be sent to pre-trial detention for two months. The suspect, a native of Uzbekistan, was charged with an act of terrorism resulting in the death of a person.
- Russia and countries that support it will remain a danger to Europe even after the war in Ukraine has ended, Finland’s Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen warned. Finland is a neighbour to Russia, sharing a more than 1,300km (800-mile) border that is currently closed to all travellers as Helsinki accuses Moscow of funnelling undocumented migration to Europe.
- A Russian military court has jailed two people for 21 years, accusing them of planning attacks on the orders of Ukraine. Viktoria Shinkarchuk, a former local government official in the Belgorod region bordering Russia, was convicted as well as Alexander Kholodkov, the TASS state news agency reported.
- Russia has carried out a mass cyberattack on Ukraine’s state registries, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said, adding that it resulted in a temporary suspension of services. The registries contain vital information about Ukrainian citizens such as births, deaths, marriages and property ownership.
US to announce final package of new arms for Ukraine: Report
The Biden administration will announce its final package of security assistance to Ukraine in the coming days, Reuters has reported.
The $1.2 billion package could be among the last from the US to Ukraine, as incoming US President Donald Trump has publicly questioned military aid and vowed to end the Ukraine war.
The Biden administration is expected to use remaining funds set aside for Ukraine to buy new weapons, including air defense interceptors and artillery munitions. The military equipment is procured from the defence industry or partners, rather than drawn from existing US stocks, meaning that it can take months or years to arrive on the battlefield.
The State Department and Pentagon declined to comment on the upcoming announcement.
Military assistance to Ukraine has been a boon for US defence contractors, who have been able to book orders for newly manufactured weapons and establish new revenue streams.
Ukraine recovers bodies of 503 dead soldiers
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War says in a statement on Facebook that the vast majority of the bodies, 403, were recovered from Donetsk.
Twelve were recovered from Luhansk, 57 from Zaporizhia and 31 “were returned from the morgues on the territory of the Russian Federation”, the statement says.
The organisation also expressed gratitude to the International Committee of the Red Cross for assistance in the recovery operation, and said that efforts are being made to identify all of the bodies.
EU to send additional $31bn to Ukraine in 2025
The bloc will deliver an additional 35 billion euros ($31.18 billion) of financial support to Ukraine in 2025.Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, made the comment on Thursday after meeting European Union leaders in Brussels.
He said the bloc has already delivered about 130 billion euros of financial assistance to the country.
“The European Union stands united in its support to Ukraine to win a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, not any peace, not capitulation,” Costa said.
“Now is not the time to speculate about different scenarios. Now is the time to strengthen Ukraine for all scenarios.”