Right here is the place issues stand on Sunday, December 21:
Combating
- The dying toll from a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s port metropolis of Odesa rose from seven to eight, with at the very least 30 others wounded, in keeping with Ukrainian authorities.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the state of affairs in Odesa as “harsh” and accused Russia of attempting to dam Kyiv’s entry to the Black Sea.
- The Ukrainian chief additionally mentioned that he’s trying to exchange the pinnacle of the Southern Air Command, Dmytro Karpenko, over the Russian strikes on Odesa.
- Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba mentioned Russian forces additionally attacked the close by port of Pivdennyi on Saturday, hitting a number of reservoirs.
- Ukraine’s army mentioned its particular forces carried out a drone assault on a Lukoil oil rig within the Caspian Sea on Friday, together with the Russian army patrol ship Okhotnik. The army additionally mentioned that the Filanovsky oil rig, which had been focused twice this month, was broken within the strike.
- Russia’s Ministry of Defence mentioned its forces took management of the villages of Svitle and Vysoke, situated in Ukraine’s jap Donetsk area and the northeastern Luhansk area, respectively.
Diplomacy and ceasefire talks
- Zelenskyy mentioned the USA proposed a brand new format for talks with Russia, comprised of three-way talks on the degree of nationwide safety advisers from Ukraine, Russia, and the US.
- The Ukrainian chief expressed scepticism that the talks would end in “something new”, however added that he believes that US-led talks have the very best likelihood of success.
- He added that he would help trilateral discussions in the event that they led to progress in areas comparable to prisoner swaps or a gathering of nationwide leaders. “If such a assembly might be held now to permit for swaps of prisoners of struggle, or if a gathering of nationwide safety advisers achieves settlement on a leaders’ assembly… I can’t be opposed. We might help such a US proposal. Let’s see how issues go,” he mentioned.
- Zelenskyy additionally pushed again towards requires Ukraine to hold elections because the struggle drags on, stating that voting can not happen in Russian-occupied areas and that safety situations should first enhance. “It’s not [Russian President Vladimir] Putin who decides when and in what format the elections in Ukraine will happen,” Zelenskyy mentioned.
- Zelenskyy urged European leaders to approve a measure to grab frozen Russian assets and use them to fund Ukraine’s struggle effort, saying that doing so will strengthen Ukraine’s leverage on the negotiating desk. The Worldwide Financial Fund has estimated that Ukraine will want about 137 billion euros ($161bn) in 2026 and 2027, because the calls for of the struggle proceed to pressure the country’s economy.
- Russian particular envoy Kirill Dmitriev held talks together with his US counterpart, Steve Witkoff, and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, within the metropolis of Miami.
- “The discussions are continuing constructively. They started earlier and will proceed right now, and also will proceed tomorrow,” Dmitriev mentioned
- Russian Minister of International Affairs Sergey Lavrov attended a summit in Cairo, held to advance nearer cooperation between Russia and African nations, and attended by greater than 50 nations. Lavrov pitched Russia as a “dependable associate” to African nations in areas comparable to safety and nationwide sovereignty.
Weapons
- Ukrainian presidential aide Oleksandr Kamyshin introduced a take care of Portugal on the joint manufacturing of maritime drones, saying it might assist “defend Europe from the ocean”.
