Friday, December 13
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Firefighters are seen extinguishing a fire in a garage following Russian shelling in the city of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine on Dec. 12, 2024. The attack caused significant damage to residential areas and facilities. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Trump hints he won’t ‘abandon’ Kyiv but opposes Ukraine launching US missiles inside Russia. “I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that?” Donald Trump told Time.
Ukraine’s intelligence kills senior Russian missile scientist near Moscow, source claims. Mikhail Shatsky, a Russian expert involved in modernizing missiles launched against Ukraine, was shot dead near Moscow, a Defense Forces source told the Kyiv Independent on Dec. 12.
Russian snipers use Western rifles, ammunition despite sanctions, media investigation says. Russia uses Western sniper rifles and ammunition despite sanctions, obtaining the arms via third-party countries, according to a joint media investigation published by The Insider on Dec. 11.
Ukraine’s largest steelmaker suspends operations at Pokrovsk coal mine. The closure comes amid an increasingly dangerous Russian advance towards Pokrovsk, where Ukraine has lost key positions in recent days.
Russian guided bomb attacks fall sharply after ATACMS, Storm Shadow strikes, analysts say. Russian attacks against Ukraine with guided aerial bombs have reportedly fallen by over 50% since Western partners allowed Kyiv to target Russia with long-range missiles.
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White House announces new $500 million weapons package for Kyiv. “This additional assistance, provided under previous drawdowns from Department of Defense stocks, is valued at $500 million,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Dec. 12.
Hungary did not discuss any Christmas truce, prisoner swap with Ukraine, Presidential Office says. The Hungarian side “did not discuss anything” with Ukraine and “did not warn about its contacts with Moscow,” said Dmytro Lytvyn, the presidential communications adviser, referring to Viktor Orban’s recent phone call with Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine sentences Russian Duma chairman Volodin to 15 years in absentia. Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia’s State Duma, has been sentenced in absentia to 15 years by a Ukrainian court, Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) reported on Dec. 12.
Russian occupation court sentences Ukrainian to 11 years for alleged espionage. A Russian-controlled court in occupied Donetsk Oblast sentenced 20-year-old Mikhail Karimov, a resident of Mariupol, to 11 years in a strict regime penal colony, Mariupol City Council reported on Dec. 12.
301 Ukrainian women held in Russian captivity, rights group reports. As of December 2024, 301 Ukrainian civilian women are in Russian captivity, with 25 detained before Russia’s full-scale invasion and 276 taken since, according to Olha Skrypnyk, head of the Crimean Human Rights Group (CHRG), speaking on Dec. 11.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Trump hints he won’t ‘abandon’ Kyiv but opposes launching US missiles inside Russia
Members of Trump’s inner circle previously criticized the outgoing Biden administration’s decision to ease restrictions on long-range strikes, though this is the first time the president-elect has spoken against it publicly himself.
Photo: Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images
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Human cost of war
Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 1, injure 11 over past day. Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least one civilian and injured at least 11 over the past day, regional authorities reported early on Dec. 12.
General Staff: Russia has lost 758,730 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,390 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Can You Hear Me? The invisible battles of Ukrainian military medics
International response
Scholz ready to talk to Putin again despite ‘frustrating’ phone call. “I will do it again. But we must not have any illusions about it,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, according to Zeit.
Poland ‘dismisses speculation’ on peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, PM says. During a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron on Dec. 12, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed speculation about a possible peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, emphasizing that no such actions are currently planned.
French ambassador to Ukraine assures continued support for Kyiv under new government. French Ambassador to Ukraine Gael Veyssiere expressed confidence that France’s policy of assistance to Ukraine would remain unchanged following the appointment of a new prime minister, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Dec. 12.
US House passes 2025 defense spending bill without Ukraine lend-lease extension. The $895 billion U.S. defense budget passed by the House of Representatives did not include a provision to extend the lend-lease act for Ukraine despite the efforts of Ukrainian diplomats, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, said on Dec. 12.
US announces over $440 million in economic aid for Ukraine. The economic aid package is comprised of four key parts, including $223 million to rebuild transportation, infrastructure, and logistics.
US lawmakers ask for intelligence report on impact of cutting Ukraine aid. Lawmakers from both chambers of the U.S. legislature requested the director of national intelligence, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to compile a report on different policy impacts on Ukraine and U.S. security, according to The Hill.
NATO chief warns alliance ‘unprepared’ for Russian threats, calls for increased defense spending. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Dec. 12 that the alliance is not ready for the threats it will face from Russia in the coming years, urging a shift to a wartime mindset with significantly higher defense spending.
Xi Jinping reaffirms China’s stance on Ukraine war settlement. Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated China’s position on resolving the war in Ukraine during a meeting with Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, on Dec. 12, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
In other news
Russia, India sign record oil supply deal, Reuters reports. Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft and Indian refining giant Reliance Industries have finalized a landmark agreement to supply 500,000 barrels of oil daily for the next 10 years, Reuters reported on Dec. 12.
Russia has built only 7 out of 108 planned airliners since 2022, BBC reports. Russia’s Comprehensive Program for the Development of the Air Transport Industry until 2030 envisioned producing 1,032 passenger aircraft between 2022 and the end of the decade.
EBRD co-launches $116 million guarantee for Ukraine war-risk insurance. The EBRD’s new Ukraine Recovery and Reconstruction Guarantee Facility will initially help reinsurance companies cover risks connected to land-based transport, focusing on small and medium businesses.
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