[Korrespondent] 22.18 French President Emmanuel Macron held a conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte regarding the situation in Ukraine and the continuation of the work of the Coalition of the Willing in January.
"Starting in January in Paris, we will continue the work begun in this format to provide Ukraine with strong security guarantees, which are a necessary prerequisite for achieving a strong and lasting peace," Macron noted.
21.46 On December 24, Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal had a telephone conversation with the Head of the Swedish Ministry of Defense, Poul Jonsson. In particular, the parties discussed in detail the progress in the issue of the supply of Gripen fighters. The press service of the Defense Ministry reported this on the website.
20.34 Russian occupiers managed to gain a foothold in Grabovske in the border area of ​​Sumy region. There are about a hundred enemies there, it is difficult to name the exact number - Russian soldiers are constantly moving across the border, crossing it simply on foot. The occupiers there are not the "elite" of the Russian army, but they are not yesterday's "mobs", said the spokesman for the United Forces Group Viktor Tregubov on the air of United News.
20.01 Russian troops struck Kharkiv with a Molniya drone. This was reported by the city's mayor, Igor Terekhov.
"We have information about the shooting down of an enemy Molniya-type UAV in the Slobidskyi district of Kharkiv," the mayor noted.
He added that the attack damaged cars and windows in a multi-story building.
"Fortunately, there were no casualties," Terekhov noted.
Information about a hit in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kharkiv has also been confirmed. A fire is raging at the scene.
19.21 As of today, 34,482 civilians remain in the zone of active hostilities in the Donetsk region. This was reported by Serhiy Honcharov, head of the Department of Civil Defense, Mobilization and Defense Work of the Donetsk Regional State Administration, Ukrinform reports.
18.52 Russian war criminals attacked the local cemetery and the Alley of Heroes in Cherkasy. This was announced by Cherkasy City Mayor Anatoliy Bondarenko on his Facebook page.
17.54 Ukraine shares Pope Leo XIV's disappointment over Russia's refusal to accept a recent proposal for a Christmas truce. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The head of state stressed that Russia not only rejected the proposal to stop the killings at least on this holy day; it launched a massive missile and drone strike on Ukraine's energy system, causing a power outage, and continues to storm the front.
17.49 Russia will demand significant changes to the draft "peace plan" agreed upon by Ukraine and the US. Bloomberg reports this, citing a "source close to the Kremlin".
17.16 In Chernihiv, Russian troops fired on a residential high-rise building, a fire broke out in one of the apartments. A car is also on fire next to the building.
There are hits in the region. In particular, in Chernihiv, tens of thousands of subscribers lost power due to an attack on a power facility.
16.58 Russian occupiers have increased pressure on Mirnograd, as they are unable to take control of Pokrovsk. However, Ukrainian soldiers have strengthened their defense there. This was reported by the 7th Airborne Assault Corps in Telegram.
16.46 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy heard a report by the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, Oleh Ivashchenko, which concerned a number of key security threats.
According to the president, one of the priorities remains to counter Russia's attempts to remove its energy companies from international sanctions. To do this, the Russian Federation uses fictitious legal schemes and temporary nominal owners. Ukrainian intelligence is monitoring such manipulations, and they plan to pass the information received to international partners so that the sanctions pressure remains effective and Russia cannot finance the war.
The second important issue, Zelenskyy called the deployment of Oreshnik missile systems on the territory of Belarus. According to intelligence, additional information about these plans was obtained. Ukraine considers the aggressive spread of such weapons a global threat and a dangerous precedent, therefore, together with partners, it is preparing possible response options.
16.18 The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has recorded the facts of China providing Russia with satellite intelligence data for missile strikes on Ukraine, in particular on energy facilities. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Head of State heard a report by the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, Oleg Ivashchenko, on the state of Russian military production, cooperation with companies and entities from other countries.
"In particular, we record an increase in Russia's ties with those entities in China that can provide space intelligence data. Unfortunately, there were correlations between the filming of the territory of Ukraine by Chinese satellites and Russian hits on the relevant energy facilities. We consider such cases as activities that allow Russia to drag out the war and make approaches to diplomacy less serious," Zelensky said.
14.58 Russian troops on the afternoon of December 24 attacked energy infrastructure in Chernihiv with strike drones. An important energy facility has been damaged. This was reported by the press service of the Chernihiv City Council. Earlier, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine warned about the movement of enemy drones in the direction of Chernihiv from the northwest. According to ChernihivOblenergo, an important energy facility in the Chernihiv district was damaged as a result of Russian shelling. Tens of thousands of subscribers were left without electricity.
14.32 The Defense Forces have struck the facilities of the Efremov Synthetic Rubber Plant in the Tula Region of the Russian Federation, which specializes in the production of components for plastic explosives and solid rocket fuel, as well as a storage and maintenance site for unmanned boats in the Mirny area of ​​temporarily occupied Crimea. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on December 24.
14.20 In the Donetsk region, the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the positions of Russian drone operators in Siversk and Pokrovsk. This was reported by the East group of forces on December 24. 1,217 UAVs of various types and 105 units of other weapons and equipment, including one tank, were also destroyed. In addition, 28 crews of Russian unmanned aerial systems were hit during the day. Units of the missile forces and artillery carried out 836 fire missions.
13.59 In Donetsk region, children will be forcibly evacuated from 19 settlements together with their parents. This was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine - Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba. According to him, a separate decision was made to evacuate about 200 people with reduced mobility from residential institutions in Zaporizhia region to Chernivtsi region.
13.10 Kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev reported to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on the results of negotiations with the US delegation in Miami regarding Ukraine. This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
He refused to disclose the contents of the documents that Dmitriev brought from the United States and which relate to the peaceful settlement of the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine.
Moscow will continue contacts with the United States through existing channels in the near future. Russia's position will be formulated on the basis of information received from Dmitriev, the Kremlin spokesman said.
12.20 The Defense Forces will receive 3 million FPV drones by the end of the year, which is almost 2.5 times more than the number of such drones delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine last year. The vast majority of drones already in the arsenal of Ukrainian soldiers are domestically produced.
This year, the Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine delivered 2.4 million FPV drones to the military. Most of them are drones under direct contracts with manufacturers. The military received another 200 thousand UAVs through the DOT-Chain Defence IT system, which was launched at the end of July.
11.48 If a peace agreement is signed between Ukraine, the US, Russia and Europe, mobilization may be canceled or carried out partially. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Mobilization can be transformed or not done in conditions where there is an agreement and it is being implemented, or maybe done partially and partially demobilized people," the head of state said.
According to the president, the most important thing is not to lose the army for any period of time, not to lose positions. "This is very dangerous," Zelensky said.
11.32 As a result of new Russian attacks, as of the morning of December 24, there are power outages in Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions.
11.16 Ukraine estimates the losses from the war started by Russia at $800 billion. The draft peace agreement provides that the country will receive funds for reconstruction from various sources. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The ninth point of the draft plan to end the war in Ukraine envisages the creation of several funds to address the issues of restoring the Ukrainian economy, the goal will be to attract $800 billion through equity capital, grants, debt obligations, and private sector contributions.
"$800 billion is our overall estimate of the losses from this Russian war. This is what we are talking about with partners," Zelensky said.
10.58 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the details of 20 points of the draft basic document between Ukraine, the US, Russia and Europe on the end of the war.
10.26 As a result of the Russian attack on Zaporizhia at night, the number of injured people has increased to four people. This was reported by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on December 24. It is noted that women aged 75, 66 and 35 and a 46-year-old man were injured.
10.14 In the territories of Sumy region, which are located near the border with Russia, the security situation is dynamic - the possibility of safe departure may become more difficult.
Evacuation from border communities in Sumy region has been ongoing since 2023. More than 16,000 residents were subject to evacuation from the 5-kilometer border zone. Currently, about 4,000 people still remain in these territories and refuse to evacuate.
The largest share of residents who have not yet left the territories closest to the border are in the communities of the Shostka district.
9.53 In Russia, the proportion of citizens who want the war in Ukraine to continue has fallen to 25% - the lowest figure since the full-scale invasion. At the same time, two-thirds of those surveyed are in favor of a transition to peace talks. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the Russian Levada Center. The proportion of those who believe that it is necessary to move to peace talks now has increased in recent months and reached two-thirds of those surveyed (66%). At the same time, the proportion of those who think that military actions should be continued is decreasing - to a quarter of those surveyed (25%) - this is the minimum value for the entire period of observations.
9.41 Pope Leo XIV is saddened by Russia's refusal to accept a Christmas truce in the war with Ukraine.
"Among the things that cause me great sadness is that, apparently, Russia has refused the request for a truce," the pontiff said.
Speaking of conflicts in general, the Pope added: "I once again appeal to people of good will to respect at least Christmas as a day of peace. Perhaps they will listen to us and at least for 24 hours there will be peace throughout the world."
9.15 Air defense forces neutralized 60 of the 116 drones used by the Russians to attack Ukraine. The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this. 48 strike drones were recorded being hit at 19 locations.
8.56 At the front, over the past 24 hours, 126 combat clashes with the enemy were recorded at the front, the largest number in the Pokrovsky direction - 34. The General Staff reported this on December 24.
8.32 In the Kherson region, one person was killed and five others were injured as a result of Russian strikes over the past 24 hours. This was reported by the head of the Kherson OVA, Oleksandr Prokudin, on December 24. It is noted that the region was under drone attack, air strikes and artillery shelling by the Russian military. In particular, Bilozerka, Beryslav, Antonivka, Komyshany, Sadovo, Novovorontsovka, Kyzomys, Zolota Balka, Krasny Mayak, Shyroka Balka, Novoraysk, Dudchany, Osokorivka, Tokarivka, Naddnipryanske, Burgunka, as well as the city of Kherson were under fire.
8.12 The number of victims of the enemy attack on Zaporizhia has increased to three people. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhia OVA, Ivan Fedorov, on December 24. Women aged 75 and 35, and a 46-year-old man, sought medical attention.
7.45 The Ukrainian Defense Forces neutralized 1,090 Russian invaders over the past 24 hours, and the total losses of enemy personnel in the war exceeded 1 million 200 thousand people. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
7.23 Several explosions were heard in Kharkiv on December 24. An enemy missile or an air bomb was flying towards the city. This was reported by Telegram Suspilne Kharkiv and the channel of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
05.01 Russians dropped three KABs on Zaporizhzhia. A residential building was damaged, two people were injured. As a result of the attack, garages and cars caught fire.
03.30 American negotiators are trying to understand what Russia is most willing to do. At the same time, work is underway on documents with Ukraine. "This is a 20-point peace plan, as well as a kind of multilateral security guarantees, security guarantees from the United States, as well as a plan for economic growth and prosperity after peace is established," said US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker.
01.12 The Russians captured the village of Grabovske in the Sumy region, from which they had previously taken out 52 local residents, the DeepState project.