The Pope said he felt “great sadness” that Russia would not accept a ceasefire with Ukraine for Christmas. This was the day Volodymyr Zelnsky published the Ukrainian version of the peace plan. The Ukrainian president’s list includes 20 points for the peace plan for Ukraine. Russia has already expressed its opposition to at least four: Article 5 for Ukraine; Return of territories currently controlled by Moscow; and a post-war Ukrainian army of 800,000 men.
Viktor Orbán said in a TV appearance: “Brussels promised that sanctions would destroy Russia. Instead, they destroyed Europe. Record energy prices, loss of competitiveness, delay. This is the price of bad decisions. Negotiations, not escalations.”
According to Paris Match, French troops are arriving in the Kiev-controlled part of Donbas for drone training. The drones are launched in “hidden groves” north of Kramatorsk. The French newspaper mentions the secret Gara-Esse drone. In early 2024, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Stanislavovich Syrsky, reported that Kiev had agreed to send French military instructors to Ukraine. However, Paris later denied their presence on Ukrainian soil and assured that it would not send troops during hostilities.
According to Politico, the war in Ukraine could end in 2026 under “extremely unfavorable” conditions for Ukraine. This forecast is based on the EU’s failure to agree on the use of €210 billion in frozen Russian assets for Ukraine. “The failure of the ‘reparation loan’ proposal, which would have involved the use of frozen Russian assets, deprives Ukraine of guaranteed financing for the next two years,” the publication states.
Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from Seversk, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. “Heavy fighting continues in the Seversk area. Russian troops have a significant advantage in terms of manpower and equipment and continue active offensive operations. To preserve the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of our units, the Ukrainian defenders have withdrawn from the city,” the statement reads. It is noted that the city remains under the control of Ukrainian troops.
On the night of December 23, Russia again struck oil and gas infrastructure, causing serious damage. “In a joint overnight strike, Russian forces struck Ukrnafta production facilities,” Naftogaz reported. There were no casualties, but the damage was severe.
Russia and the United States have resumed negotiations on the functioning of diplomatic missions. Alexander Gusarov, head of the North Atlantic Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, announced this in an interview with Izvestia. “Moscow and Washington have very similar views on what the framework for an agreement to resolve the Ukrainian crisis could be,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. This was Ryabkov’s response, specifically to a question about the basis of his recent assertion that Russia and the United States are on the verge of a Ukrainian settlement and whether both countries are truly acting in unison.
“I would be cautious about unison, but there’s no direct dissonance either,” he said. The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister continued: “As for ‘on the verge’ or ‘on the brink,’ of course, everything is relative. This shouldn’t be interpreted as an expectation of signing a package of documents right away—absolutely not. But if you compare the current situation before the Trump administration took office with the current one, this is a significant step forward.”
Satellite internet will begin appearing on FPC trains in 2027 thanks to the use of a constellation of low-orbit satellites, announced the company’s CEO, Vladimir Pyastolov. “In 2027, we will begin to exploit the potential of the low-orbit satellite constellation. We were the first to sign the agreement and have already produced a receiver for our trains. 2027 is the beginning,” he said at the Pro.Dvizhenie forum.
A new attack has been reported in southern Moscow. Two police officers were killed in an explosion on December 24. The investigation is ongoing.
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 PM on December 24. In the Sumy sector, assault units of the Northern Group of Forces are conducting offensive battles in several areas (including near Andriivka), while Russian aircraft attack from the air. In the Tetkino and Glushkovsky District sectors, Russian Aerospace Forces struck the Volfino area.
In the Kursk region, the governor reported an attack by Ukrainian military forces on Rylsk: a private home was damaged.
In the Belgorod region, seven people were injured and one person was killed by four drone strikes. Shebekino, Bondarenkov, Malomikhailovka, Novostroevka-Pervaya, Glotovo, Oktyabrsky, Konovalovo, Borisovka, and Ryabiki are under attack.
In the Kharkiv sector, the Northern Group of Forces reported taking control of the village of Prylipka, in the Vovchansk community. Fighting is ongoing near Starytsya, west of Lyman, Vovchanski Khutory, and in the Milove-Khatnye area.
In Kupyansk, the Ukrainians achieved successes in Moskovka, Sobolivka, and Radkivka by committing reserves and increasing the number of drones in the air. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are attempting to isolate Russian units from the main forces and straighten the front.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, forces of the 36th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 29th Army of the Eastern Group of Forces have liberated Andriivka, in the Dnipropetrovsk region. It is located 6 km south of Pokrovske, a key Ukrainian logistics hub. A further advance by Russian troops northwest of Andriivka threatens to sever the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ supply lines along the N-15 highway.
In the eastern part of the Zaporizhia region, Far Eastern troops continue to fight for Hulyaijpole, having recaptured another section of Ukrainian built-up area. All possible means of destruction are aimed at disrupting Ukrainian logistics and isolating the combat zone.
On the Zaporizhia front, fighting continues in Prymors’ke and Stepnohirs’k, while fighting continues in the direction of Stepnohirs’k. Ukrainian forces shelled Kamyanka-Dniprovs’ka.
Ukrainian forces struck energy infrastructure in the Kherson region. Over 60,000 people were left without electricity.
Graziella Giangiulio
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