Sunday, December 29

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Carolers dressed in traditional Hutsul attire perform the Christmas koliada, a local custom, in Kryvorivnya village in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine on Dec. 25, 2024. (Vitalii Poberezhnyi / The Kyiv Independent)

Putin names Ukraine main source of ‘extremism’ in new decree. Russia’s updated anti-extremism strategy names Ukraine among the “main sources of extremism” and enshrines the concept of “Russophobia” for the first time.

Zelensky teases multiple ‘important personnel decisions’ coming soon. “We are preparing several important personnel decisions,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said via his official Telegram channel the evening of Dec. 28. “The decrees will be announced soon.”

Ukraine receives 1st shipment of US LNG. “Despite Russia’s attempts to destroy our energy system during the war, we have won another victory on the energy front,” Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, said on Dec. 28.

Ukrainian drones made up over 96% of UAVs military used in 2024, defense minister says. The domestic drone industry “reached unprecedented production volumes” in 2024, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Dec. 28.

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Putin ‘appears to have ordered Slovakia’s Fico to open second energy front against Ukraine,’ Zelensky says. Zelensky said this was “the only possible meaning” of Fico’s threats to cut off Ukraine’s emergency power supply in the winter, given Russian attacks on power plants and the distribution network.

Russia detains suspect allegedly planning to assassinate defense official, pro-war blogger, Russian media report. Russia claimed that the detained man was acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence.

Ukraine destroys drone storage facility in Russia’s Oryol Oblast, General Staff reports. Ukraine’s General Staff said this combat operation “significantly reduced the enemy’s ability to carry out airstrikes using kamikaze drones against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.”

Russian airport suspends flights after Ukraine drone attack, official claims. Operations at the airport were suspended at 6 a.m. amid a Ukrainian drone attack allegedly targeting the Russian regions of Voronezh, Rostov, and Belgorod.

Read our exclusives

How climate change threatens Christmas traditions in Ukrainian Hutsul region

Snow and frost on winter holidays now come as a surprise to Ukrainians. Due to climate change, winters in Ukraine can feel like a very extended November. Instead of snowing, it’s raining, and instead of ice, it’s mud.

Photo: Vitalii Poberezhnyi / The Kyiv Independent

Azerbaijan Airlines crash highlights Russia’s failure to close airspace amid war

While Ukraine banned civilian flights over its territory hours before full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has limited itself to banning civilian flights over regions bordering Ukraine, as well as some regions not far from the Ukrainian border.

Photo: Issa Tazhenbayev / AFP via Getty Images

Russian-friendly politician reinvents himself in Ukraine as election speculation loom

An energy minister under pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych, Yuriy Boyko ended his tenure in government as the country’s deputy prime minister during the EuroMaidan Revolution that ousted Yanukovych and his government.

Photo: Yekaterina Shtukina  / Sputnik / AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian shelling in Kherson Oblast injures 8, including 2 teens. The wounded victims, including a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, have been hospitalized, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.

Russia suffered 421,000 casualties in 2024, ‘highest price’ since start of invasion, Syrskyi says. The figure includes both dead and wounded and is part of the total losses of approximately 785,000 Russian troops since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022.

International response

Telegram blocks Russian state-owned media channels in several EU countries. A number of major Russian news outlets had their Telegram channels blocked across several European Union countries on Dec. 28. Users attempting to access these channels now see a notice saying that the content has been restricted and is no longer available.

Greece to deliver 24 Sea Sparrow missiles to Ukraine, media reports. Sea Sparrows are U.S.-made short-range missiles that can be launched from the sea or ground to intercept cruise missiles or aircraft.

German FM warns of Russian ‘shadow fleet’ amid undersea cable incidents, calls for sanctions. “Almost every month, ships are currently damaging important undersea cables in the Baltic Sea,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told Funke media group on Dec. 28. “This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us.”

Russia will reach 1 million of killed and wounded soldiers in 2025, Latvian foreign minister says

In other news

Oil spill in Black Sea sparks environmental emergency near Crimea. Authorities estimate the tankers were carrying 9,200 tons of fuel oil, of which approximately 40% potentially leaked into the sea. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the situation as “truly critical.”

Russia officially halts gas supplies to Moldova’s Transnistria. Russia’s energy giant Gazprom claimed the decision was related to Moldova’s outstanding debt, not problems with transit via Ukraine.

Pro-Russian hackers launch cyberattack against Italy’s Foreign Ministry, Milan airports. The websites had to shut down temporarily, Italy’s cybersecurity agency said, but no flights were disrupted. A pro-Russian hacker group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

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