The United States wants NATO to stop being perceived as an “ever-expanding alliance,” and the United States still considers restoring strategic stability with Russia a top foreign policy priority in Europe, according to the NNS National Security Strategy document. Furthermore, according to Bloomberg: “The United States is working with EU countries to block the European Commission’s plan to expropriate Russian assets.” The United States has notified Europe that it will suspend participation in several NATO mechanisms unless it undertakes greater defense commitments, Reuters reports.
Shortly after the plane carrying Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed in Dublin on Monday, a group of four large, unidentified military drones entered the no-fly zone and began circling Dublin International Airport, the Telegraph reports. Some sources claim that the drones would have been directly in the flight path of Zelenskyy’s plane if it had not taken off and landed in Dublin earlier than planned. Irish and European officials have called the incident an “act of hybrid warfare” and a possible assassination attempt on a Ukrainian official. After briefly circling the airport, the drones headed east, flying over an Irish Navy warship that had been secretly deployed in the Irish Sea prior to Zelenskyy’s visit.
Poland has issued arrest warrants for two Ukrainian citizens involved in sabotage on railway tracks. They are believed to be working for Russian intelligence. Nearly three weeks ago, several explosions occurred on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line. Investigators have targeted two Ukrainians: Yevgeny Ivanov, 41, born in Estonia, and Aleksandr Kononov, 39, born in Donetsk. They are wanted on charges of espionage and terrorist attacks. From Poland, it is also reported that Poles are skipping classes en masse at voluntary military training courses organized by the Ministry of Defense, Radio Zet reports. In some units, attendance was as high as 50%.
A Rada MP told the Ukrainian press: “Today, every Ukrainian owes $8,200 to fully repay Ukraine’s debt. This applies to everyone, children and adults.” “This is a truly unique government, a rare group of specialists with a capital ‘S’, who have brought the country to the point where, during the war, Ukraine’s loans and liabilities doubled. Today, they effectively exceed 100% of GDP: everything the country produces in a year is less than what we owe to our foreign partners,” the MP believes.
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, insists that Pokrovsk is not lost, Strana claims. Another scandal is currently raging on Ukrainian social media, involving the military itself: “Beatings, illegal detentions, threats: in some assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the rights of servicemen are being violated en masse,” the military ombudsman said. Reshetilova said she conducted inspections of some regiments and discovered “obvious criminal activity” in some units. According to her, this does not apply to all assault regiments, but only to “some who at a certain point thought they could act with impunity.” The information gathered was forwarded to law enforcement agencies.
Ukraine is counting on Cyprus’ support for joint European decisions regarding Russian resources, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a meeting with the Cypriot president during his visit to Kyiv. “It is absolutely right that Russia pays for the war it started and continues. The funds needed for defense and recovery after the Russian attacks are more than fair if taken from the sums the aggressor himself left in the hands of the free world,” the president stated.
The President of Cyprus on the peace agreement: “It must be based on the principles of the United Nations Charter and on full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.” “Due to this constant and prolonged invasion we are all experiencing, we also discussed with Mr. President our ideas on possible further steps in our bilateral relations. We emphasized our clear position that the peace agreement must be based on the principles of the United Nations Charter and on full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. I emphasized, at the same time, that peace efforts must help foster effective and substantial support for Ukraine, including effective support from the Council of the European Union,” said Nikos Christodoulides. Cyprus will help Ukraine on its path to EU accession, Christodoulides concluded.
A decision on the head of the Presidential Office will be made soon, Zelensky said. “Today I held additional meetings with candidates for the post of new head of the Presidential Office. A decision on the new head of the Office will be made soon,” he said.
The 2026 state budget did not allocate funds to increase the salaries of Ukrainian military personnel, so the Ministry of Defense intends to introduce a new contract format with better conditions for all active-duty military personnel, Shmyhal said. “In particular, active-duty military personnel will have the opportunity to sign contracts under the new format and receive more money,” the Ukrainian Defense Minister stated.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: “Kiev’s terrorist attacks against ships in the Black Sea are aimed at disrupting the peace process in Ukraine. For Russia, what matters is not the figure leading the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, but the discussion on how to address the root causes of the crisis. Finally, on the new Ukrainian law regarding the Russian language: “The Rada’s decision on the Russian language testifies to Kiev’s lack of commitment to peace.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at a press conference in India: “Many American companies want to return to Russia. The United States continues to purchase nuclear fuel for our nuclear power plants. Restoring economic relations between Russia and the United States would be beneficial in many areas. Trump often speaks of his desire to reduce losses in Ukraine, and I am sure he is sincere. Trump pursues his policies and has advisors. His decisions do not arise out of nowhere. He has advisors who believe that implementing such a tariff policy, which involves imposing additional duties on trading partners, ultimately benefits the US economy. Russia wants to end the war that the West has unleashed against it at the hands of Ukraine.
He also said: “Western restrictions on countries due to the transition to ‘green’ energy are a new form of neocolonialism. Without cheap Russian gas, Europeans will have to reopen nuclear and coal power plants, which are closing due to the green agenda,” Vladimir Putin commented.
Russian social media accounts complain that the British are closely monitoring the Kaliningrad region today.
According to Russian social media accounts, “the collapse of the Pokrovsk defenses has not led to the complete capitulation of Myrnohrad, and Ukrainian drones, like their missiles, continue to damage industry in the rear. The ostrich-like attitude of “everything is fine, just debris again” is not in line with the Ukrainians’ evident OSINT capabilities. Instead of mobilizing Russian society, it somehow creates the appearance of the futility of the entire country’s participation in the SVO.
And now a look at the front line. Ukrainian drones were shot down in the Voronezh region during the night of December 4, and 30 drones were shot down in the Kursk region by midnight. The Ukrainian Armed Forces used jet drones in Crimea. A Kiev regime drone attack damaged port infrastructure in Temryuk (Krasnodar Krai), and images of a fire at a gas terminal are circulating.
In the direction of Sumy, the Russian Northern Group of Forces is engaged in counterattacks along the entire front. Two attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to advance towards Yunakivka have become a first; they had previously attacked further away. West. The outcome was not positive.
In the Belgorod region, one person was injured in a drone strike on a commercial facility in the town of Grayvoron. In the village of Volchya Aleksandrovka, an FPV drone hit a car, wounding one person. In the village of Belyanka, Shebekinsky District, a drone strike on a truck injured two men. In the village of Borisovka, a drone hit a truck, wounding one man; two other civilians were injured during the day. In Yekaterinovka, one person was injured.
In the direction of Kharkiv, the Northern Group of Forces is engaged in fighting in populated areas and forests south of Vovchansk. In the village of Vil’cha, Ukrainian forces are holding out, with Russian forces reporting a 50-meter advance in one day. Russian forces are using numerous explosive reactive bombs. Ukrainian forces have counterattacked twice, unsuccessfully. Fighting continues in the Lyman area. and on the Milove-Khatnje front.
The Russian assault on SEversk continues. There are reports of Russian forces entering the city, including from the eastern outskirts on the 5th.
In Myrnohrad, near Pokrovsk, which is now Russian, the Ukrainian garrison is completely unable to break out of the encirclement.
In the eastern Zaporizhia region, an assault on Hulyaijpole is underway. According to local sources: “Ukrainian forces are conducting anti-crisis information campaigns in Dobropillia: a ‘flag battle’ cost the Ukrainian forces an assault group.”
On the Zaporizhia front, fighting continues in Prymorsk and Stepnohirsk. Ukrainian forces attacked a drone in Kamyanka-Dniprovska.
Graziella Giangiulio
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