Thursday, December 12
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Rescue workers conduct search and rescue operations at the site of a Russian missile strike on a private medical facility on Dec. 11, 2024 in Zaporizhzhia. On Dec. 10, Russia launched a missile strike on the city, resulting in the destruction of a private clinic and damage to nearby buildings. The death toll rose to 10 people, with 22 others injured. (Elena Tita/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
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Ukraine has arms to resist at least until mid-2025 if US cuts aid, finance minister says. “I believe that we have enough funds, enough weapons, missiles, and artillery shells to resist at least during the first half of 2025,” Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said.
Russia continues to suffer record losses in December, Zelensky says. “As in November, the Russian military is using a record number of its men in December in battles and assaults,” President Zelensky said.
Zelensky emphasized security guarantees in talks with Trump, Reuters reports. President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump did not discuss specifics of any concrete peace plan during their talks with Paris, with Trump calling for an immediate ceasefire, Reuters reported on Dec. 11, citing undisclosed sources.
Russia may launch new Oreshnik missile against Ukraine in ‘coming days,’ US intelligence says. Washington still sees the experimental Oreshnik missile more as “an attempt at intimidation than a game-changer on the battlefield in Ukraine,” a U.S. official said.
Tough battles, lost positions in Pokrovsk demand ‘non-standard decisions,’ Syrskyi says. Battles in the front-line city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast is “exceptionally tough,” requiring Ukraine’s military leadership to make “non-standard decisions,” Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Dec. 11.
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Hungary’s Orban calls Putin to discuss Ukraine. The Hungarian government has not yet commented on the call, which appears to have taken place after Orban’s visit to Trump’s Florida residence.
Zelensky slams Orban for phone call with Putin. President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Dec. 11 following his hour-long call to Russian President Vladimir Putin during which the two discussed the war in Ukraine.
Russian proxies sentence 9 Azovstal defenders to 24 years, life in prison. Russian occupation authorities in Donetsk jailed nine Ukrainian soldiers captured after defending Mariupol to between 24 years and a life sentence, the city’s exiled authorities reported on Dec. 11.
Drones attack Chechnya, hitting police building, Kadyrov claims. The attack damaged the roof of the building, shattered windows, and lightly injured four men on guard duty, Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov claimed.
Ukraine’s tax hike, G7 loan enough for planned defense expenses in 2025, Finance Ministry says. A recently signed tax hike and parts of the G7’s $50 billion loan will be sufficient to cover Ukraine’s defense expenses included in the 2025 budget, the Finance Ministry said on Dec. 11.
Read our exclusives
‘Russian colonialism is not reformable,’ says historian Botakoz Kassymbekova
“Russian dissidents want to retain the empire, which means they want to maintain the status quo,” Kassymbekova alleges. “This status quo will never bring democracy, simply because an empire is an authoritarian system.”
Photo: Contributor/Getty Images
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Ukraine war latest: Russia continues to suffer record losses in December, Zelensky says
Russian forces have incurred record-high casualties in manpower during hostilities in both November and December, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 11 after hearing a report from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Photo: Volodymyr Zelensky/Presidential Office
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What Russia’s army in Syria stands to lose after fall of Assad
The Kremlin had invested heavily in propping up the regime in Syria with military support since 2015, when Russian air raids on rebel forces helped the Assad regime to solidify its grip on power. In exchange, Russia got a staging ground for military operations, including two permanent bases.
Photo: Aaref Watad / AFP via Getty Images
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The Kyiv Independent’s picks for best Ukraine-related books of 2024
The Kyiv Independent has curated a selection of the 10 most compelling books on Ukraine from 2024. This list serves as a guide rather than a definitive ranking, offering readers a foundation to engage with the year’s literary highlights while anticipating the Ukraine-related publications slated for 2025.
Photo: The Kyiv Independent
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Human cost of war
Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 8, injure 57 over past day. Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least eight civilians and injured at least 57 over the past day, regional authorities reported early on Dec. 11.
Russia killed at least 109 Ukrainian POWs in 2024, ombudsman says. “In 2024 alone, we can confirm that Russian troops shot 109 Ukrainian prisoners of war,” Lubinets said.
General Staff: Russia has lost 757,340 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,400 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
How the downfall of Russia-backed Assad in Syria may affect Ukraine
International response
Biden approves new memorandum on national security ahead of Trump taking office. The document will not be published due to the “sensitivity of some of its findings,” the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity under White House ground rules, told the Associated Press.
EU approves 15th sanction package against Russia, targeting ‘shadow fleet’. EU ambassadors agreed on a 15th package of sanctions against Russia, the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU announced on Dec. 11.
EU to allocate 170 million euros to six countries bordering Russia and Belarus. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced 170 million euros ($178 million) in financial support for six European countries bordering Russia and Belarus to bolster their border protection efforts.
Austrian OMV company terminates contract with Gazprom Export. Austrian oil and gas company OMV has terminated its long-term gas supply contract with Russia’s Gazprom Export, the OMV website reported on Dec. 11.
Trump invites Xi to inauguration, CBS News reports. Trump’s team is also considering inviting other world leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Opinions and insights
YouTuber Johnny Harris’ lens on Eastern Europe is distorted and irresponsible
“Something is wrong with YouTuber Johnny Harris’ lens — not the one he uses to film himself, but his view of Eastern European history,” writes Jason Blevins, creative director at the Kyiv Independent.
Screenshot: Johnny Harris/YouTube
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As military options dwindle, US support is key to Ukraine’s peace negotiations
“The U.S. has the leverage to compel the Kremlin to negotiate and to force meaningful concessions,” write Bartosz Wieliński, deputy editor of Gazeta Wyborcza, and Oleksiy Sorokin, deputy chief editor at the Kyiv Independent.
Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
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In other news
Syria’s ousted dictator Assad in Russia, Russian official confirms. This comes as the first official confirmation of speculations that Assad and his family fled to Moscow following the collapse of the dictator’s regime in Syria.
Police raid Ukrainian Railways over suspected criminal scheme. “The actions of the defendants led to significant losses and the creation of an artificial shortage of tickets for the most popular routes on the market,” the police’s statement read.
Russian-occupied Abkhazia left without electricity due to hydroelectric station shutdown. The region has recently faced energy restrictions aggravated by a growing spat with its Russian patrons.
Russia convinced Assad to flee Syria amid rebel offensive, Bloomberg reports. Moscow persuaded Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to flee to Russia with his family after realizing his regime was bound to lose to the opposition’s rapid advance, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 11.
Ukrainian airline SkyUp launches flights from Moldova in April 2025. SkyUp chose the Chisinau Airport in Moldova as it is the closest international hub to Ukraine.
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