Tuesday, December 24

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Servicemen of the 80th Separate Galician Air Assault Brigade present Ukrainian coat of arms made of Didukhs near the monument to the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko on December 23, 2024 in Lviv, Ukraine. Didukh is a Ukrainian Christmas decoration made from sheaves of wheat, a symbolic sacrifice taken from the best of the autumn harvest. (Stanislav Ivanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Over 3,000 North Korean troops killed, wounded in Kursk Oblast, Zelensky says. This estimation, coming from Ukraine’s intelligence, is a significant increase from other recent reports about the North Korean casualties.

Ukraine receives $1.1 billion from IMF. The funds come as already the sixth tranche disbursed to Ukraine under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, raising the amount provided so far to $9.8 billion.

Germany provides Ukraine with 15 Leopard 1 tanks, 2 IRIS-T systems, 2 Patriot launchers. Berlin supplied Ukraine with 15 Leopard 1A5 tanks, one short-range and one medium-range IRIS-T air defense system with missiles, two Patriot air defense launchers, and other aid in the latest delivery, the German government said on Dec. 23.

Ukraine receives 86 million euros from European Investment Bank to protect energy infrastructure from drone attacks. Anti-drone shelters will be constructed with the funding to protect electricity transmission equipment and make Ukraine’s energy grid more reliable and resilient, the EIB said in a statement.

Satellite imagery suggests North Korea to supply more arms to Russia, WSJ reports. North Korea appears to be preparing to supply more arms to Russia on top of some 20,000 containers it had already sent, the Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 23 based on its analysis of satellite images.

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US plans to impose more sanctions on Russian energy by year-end, Ukrainian official says. The U.S. is planning to impose additional sanctions on Russian energy by the end of the year, particularly targeting Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian president’s commissioner for sanctions, told public broadcaster Suspilne on Dec. 23.

North Korean troops deployed to aid Russia were Pyongyang’s idea, NYT reports. While some Western officials initially viewed the arrival of North Korean soldiers in Russia as evidence of the Kremlin’s desperation, U.S. agencies now reportedly believe the idea was North Korea’s initiative, quickly embraced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

‘Mysterious’ fire engulfs Russian Shahed warehouse, Ukrainian intelligence claims. A large-scale fire broke out at a Shahed drone warehouse at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia’s Tatarstan, destroying drone parts worth $16 million, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) said on Dec. 23.

More than two-thirds of Ukrainians favor idea of restoring nuclear arms arsenal, poll shows. Around half of the respondents said they would support the development of nuclear weapons even at the price of losing Western aid and coming under sanctions.

47% of Ukrainians back NATO accession even while territories stay occupied, survey shows. Nearly half of Ukrainians support Ukraine joining NATO even if some territories remain under Russian occupation at the time of accession, according to a new poll.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Over 3,000 North Korean troops killed, wounded in Kursk Oblast, Zelensky says

The number of killed and injured North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast has surpassed 3,000, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement shared on Telegram on Dec. 23.

Photo: Contributor/Getty Images

Ukraine ends year battered, with Russian troops pushing north, east, and south

The entire year 2024 saw Ukrainian troops on the back foot, losing territory to the advancing Russian troops in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast and eastern Donetsk Oblast.

Photo: Gaelle Girbes/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Australian citizen fighting for Ukraine allegedly captured by Russia. The man, who identifies himself as 32-year-old Australian citizen Oscar Jenkins, is seen in military fatigues, apparently tied up, and violently interrogated in a video shared on Russian Telegram channels.

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 3, injure 3 over past day. The Russian military attacked Ukraine with 72 Shahed-type drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles overnight on Dec. 23, Ukraine’s Air Force reported on Telegram.

Opinions and insights

Assassinations of pro-war figures seek to demoralize Russia, punish war criminals

Military officials, propagandists, and those seen as collaborators by Kyiv have been assassinated in Russia or the Ukrainian territories it occupies since the beginning of Russia’s all-out war in 2022.

Photo: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images

How Ukraine’s new drone-missile hybrids are changing long-range weapon technology

New technology behind Ukraine’s new “rocket-drones” is blurring the line between drones and cruise missiles.

Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

Moldova prepares for harsh winter, as Russian-occupied part of country runs out of gas

Moldova enacted a state of emergency, as the country gears up for an energy crisis at the start of 2025 following the end of Ukraine’s obligations to transport Russian gas through its territory.

Photo: Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

2025 – A Turning Point for Ukraine

This article is a special edition of the KI Insights’ The Week Ahead newsletter, looking at challenges and opportunities facing Ukraine in 2025.

Photo: Kyiv Independent

International response

Russia’s threat to Europe ‘much wider than we imagine,’ Italian PM warns. “It’s about our democracy, it’s about influencing our public opinion, it’s about what happens in Africa, it’s about raw materials, it’s about the instrumentalization of migration. We need to know it’s a very wide idea of security,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.

Moscow begins providing energy aid to Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region. The press service of the Abkhaz energy company Chernomorenergo reported that a schedule from Nov. 1, under which electricity will be unavailable for four hours per day, is in effect.

NATO chief defends Scholz, calls Zelensky’s criticism ‘unfair’. In the interview, Rutte said that Scholz’s contributions to Ukraine are commendable. The chancellor ensured that Germany ranks second after the U.S. in military support for Ukraine, something Kyiv could express its gratitude for, Rutte noted.

Cargo vessel sent to transport Russian military equipment from Syria breaks down in open sea, Ukraine’s intel claims. Concurrently, marine traffic monitors show a Vladivostok-bound cargo ship, Ursa Major, previously registered as Sparta III and visually matching the picture published by HUR, moving at a very low speed of little over 1 knot in the open sea between Spain and Algeria.

‘We don’t have to grovel before a mass murderer’ — Czechia blasts Fico over Moscow trip. The Czech government’s decision to wean itself off from Russian energy ensured that “we don’t have to grovel before a mass murderer,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Dec. 22, referring to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s visit to Moscow.

‘What is being paid to him, and what does he pay with?’ — Zelensky blasts Fico after Moscow visit. Zelensky called Fico’s pro-Russian energy policy “a big security issue” for Slovakia and Europe, asking: “Why is this leader so dependent on Moscow? What is being paid to him, and what does he pay with?”

First Ukrainian Legion unit trained in Poland deployed to Ukraine, ambassador says. The initiative aims to bolster Ukraine’s Armed Forces by recruiting Ukrainian men living in Poland and other EU countries.

In other news

Russian cyberattack: Breach occurred at ‘top-level account,’ MP says. Hackers could have used phishing or bribed employees to break into Justice Ministry registries during a Russian cyberattack last week, Oleksandr Fedienko, head of the parliamentary subcommittee on cybersecurity, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Dec. 23.

YouTube traffic in Russia drops 80% as authorities try to curb access. The ongoing slowdown, reportedly implemented by Russian regulators to restrict access to the service, has made the platform nearly unusable in the country.

Ukraine to prohibit withdrawal of foreign issuer securities amid efforts to curb bypasses to currency restrictions. Ukraine’s National Securities and Stock Market Commission announced on Dec. 23 that it will prohibit the withdrawal of foreign issuer securities, with the ban taking effect on Jan. 1.

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