Source: Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, spokesperson for the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine, during the briefing in Ukraine-Ukrinform Media Center

Quote: "Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion, 277 people have been killed by explosive devices, including 14 children. 608 citizens were injured, including 74 children.

Details: According to Khorunzhyi, since the beginning of the full-scale war, rescue workers have cleared 464,000 explosive devices. The most active mine clearance continues in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts. 

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Source: European Pravda; Reuters with reference to the press conference of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk

Details: "We are close to the belief that our actions can bring results, both the talks in Kyiv and Brussels (to end the blockade of the Ukrainian border)," he said.

On Sunday, Polish farmers suspended their protest at one of the border crossings while hauliers continued to block the other three.

"I do not think that we will achieve the maximum that the truckers want, but it seems that what can be achieved will allow us to relieve emotions and relieve blockades on the border." Tusk said.

Reminder:

• The blockade by Polish hauliers has been ongoing since 6 November. On Monday, 18 December, the hauliers resumed the blockade of the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint after it was temporarily halted due to a ban by local authorities.
• Among other things, the hauliers demand the reintroduction of commercial permits for Ukrainian companies for transporting freight, with the exception of humanitarian aid and supplies for the Ukrainian military.
• Representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland and the Ukrainian Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure agreed on an action plan to unblock the border during a meeting in Kyiv on 22 December.
• Earlier, the Polish government had suggested that the border could be unblocked by Christmas.

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Source: Zelenskyy at a meeting with defence industry workers

Quote from the President: "Ukraine's task is as clear as possible: we must make our state so strong and effective that Russia feels that every attack will be met by our response. This task can only be fulfilled on the basis of sufficient domestic arms production.

Today, our defence industry employs about 300,000 people. I am grateful to each and every one of them."

Details: As Zelenskyy said, this year alone, Ukraine has managed to produce "three times more weapons and equipment than last year; there is a very significant increase in the production of projectiles, in particular for artillery."

He added that Ukraine produces projectiles for domestically-made drones and its own missiles.

The President also said the share of private companies in the defence sector is growing. In particular, he said that 4 out of 5 defence companies are not state-owned.

Zelenskyy believes that the number of private companies in the defence industry should be increased even more.

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Source: Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology – Minister of Digital Transformation

"One of the largest ERP systems in the Russian Federation has stopped working due to attacks by the Ukrainian IT Army. The clients cannot use accounting services and work at full capacity," Fedorov said. 

It is noted that 1C-Rarus has 150,000 users, including technology giants and war sponsors such as Tatneft and VTB. As a result, customers in shops and petrol stations cannot make payments because the cash register is not working. And this means millions of losses for the Russian economy.

Background:

Ukrainian IT Army stopped the work of the largest airports in Russia.

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Source: nationwide sociological survey  conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation in cooperation with the Razumkov Centre sociological service from 8 to 15 December 2023

Details: The vast majority of Ukrainians continue to believe in the victory (88%), 63% of them definitely believe in the victory (last year, it was 78%), and only 5% of respondents doubt the victory.

Do you believe in Ukraine's victory in the war against Russia?

One answer: Yes, Rather yes, Rather no, I find it difficult to answer

The results of a sociological survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation in cooperation with the Razumkov Centre sociological service from 8 to 15 December 2023. 2019 respondents aged 18 and older were sutveyed. The margin error does not exceed 2.3%.

Created with Datawrapper

Infographics by Democratic Initiatives

Quote: "More than half of Ukrainians (58%) believe that Ukraine will win this war in the short term: 6% – in the next few months, 21% – by the summer of 2024, and another 31% - in 1-2 years.

15% of respondents believe that Ukraine will win in the medium term (3-5 years). At the same time, supporters of the most pessimistic scenario, who do not believe that victory will happen in their lifetime, are in the absolute minority (2.5%)."

Details: According to the survey, the number of those who believe in victory by the summer of 2024 is the lowest in the East (16%) and the highest in the South (25%).

In terms of regional difference, the share of those who believe that victory will come in 1-2 years ranges from 27% in the South to 36% in the West.

Do you believe in Ukraine's victory in the war against Russia?

One answer: Yes, Rather yes, Rather no, Difficult to answer

Centre

East

West

South

The results of a sociological survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation in cooperation with the Razumkov Centre sociological service from 8 to 15 December 2023. 2019 respondents aged 18 and older were sutveyed. The theoretical sampling error does not exceed 2.3%.

Created with Datawrapper

Infographics by Democratic Initiatives

Reference: The survey was conducted by the face-to-face method in Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi Oblasts and the city of Kyiv (in Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson Oblasts, the survey was conducted only in the territories controlled by the Government of Ukraine and not subject to hostilities).

The survey was conducted using a stratified multi-stage sampling with random selection at the first stages of sampling and a quota method of selecting respondents at the final stage (when respondents were selected according to gender and age quotas).  The structure of the sample population reproduces the demographic structure of the adult population of the studied territories as of the beginning of 2022 (by age, sex, and type of settlement). 

2019 respondents over the age of 18 were surveyed. The theoretical sampling error does not exceed 2.3%. At the same time, additional systematic deviations of the sample may be caused by the consequences of the Russian aggression, in particular, the forced evacuation of millions of citizens.

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Source: European Pravda with reference to the the Ministry of Economy's response to a request from Sevim Dağdelen, a Bundestag MP and member of the Sahra Wagenknecht Union

Details: Compared to the previous year, arms exports increased by 40 per cent. More than a third of the approved exports of €4.15 billion goes to Ukraine.

This reportedly concerns the period from 1 January to 12 December 2023, during which Germany approved the export of military arms worth €6.15 billion and other military equipment worth €5.57 billion.

Almost 90% of these exports go to the EU, NATO, Ukraine and NATO allies such as Japan, Australia and South Korea.

The largest importers of German arms after Ukraine are Norway (€1.2 billion), Hungary (€1.03 billion), the United Kingdom (€654.9 million), the United States (€545.4 million), and Poland (€327.9 million).

Germany has also approved exports of arms and other military equipment of its own production worth €1.76 billion to Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Background:

• The German government updated the list of military aid for Ukraine on 22 December, announcing the supply of 3 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft systems with additional components in addition to the 49 systems supplied earlier.
• Earlier, the list of military aid to Ukraine included a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system and missiles for it.
• Before that, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that his country should be prepared to expand its support for Ukraine amid declining support from others.

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Source: European Pravda, with reference to Oleh Nikolenko, the speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, who commented on the words of the Prime Minister of Saxony that it is time for Ukraine to think about concessions for the sake of truce. 

Quote from Nikolenko: "If Ukraine accepts the temporary loss of territories, Russian troops will become closer to Germany and Saxony in particular. By the way, Putin is well aware of this region thanks to his service near Dresden." 

Details: He stressed that concessions of Ukrainian territory would certainly lead to greater Russian aggression, which would undoubtedly extend beyond Ukraine's borders, and that attempts to negotiate with Russia had already been made and failed.

Quote from Nikolenko: "We urge the German politician to face the truth: first, Chancellor Angela Merkel, and later Chancellor Olaf Scholz, made huge political efforts to convince Putin to stop the war. It didn't help. Just like any other concessions, it won't help. Its (Russia's – ed.) goal is to destroy Ukraine and destabilise the whole of Europe."

Details: He stressed that the path to peace in Europe lies through Moscow's defeat in the war against Ukraine and called on Germany to 

support Ukraine even more to defeat Russia.

Background:

• Michael Kretschmer, Prime Minister of the German state of Saxony, once again expressed the opinion that Ukraine should agree to temporary loss of territories for the sake of a truce, and the German government should change its policy towards Russia. 
• In November, Kretschmer called for the recognition of a "frozen conflict" in Ukraine, although he noted that he did not propose to recognise the territories seized by Moscow as "Russian". 

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Source: This was stated by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, in a comment to the Financial Times.

Details: As Svyrydenko reported, Ukraine may have to delay the payment of salaries to 500,000 civil servants and 1.4 million teachers, as well as payments to 10 million pensioners.

She said the lack of external support will push the Ukrainian economy back to "survival mode" after it began to recover in 2023.

In particular, Ukraine will need US$37 billion in external support next year.

Svyrydenko hopes that the EU will approve the aid to Ukraine in February and disburse the funds by the end of March.

Svyrydenko also called on the new Polish government to stop blocking Ukrainian border crossings. Due to the Polish protests, Ukrainian exporters lost US$160 million, and importers lost US$700 million.

The FT writes that Ukraine is trying to change its spending priorities. In particular, the Cabinet of Ministers "has increased a windfall tax on banks to 50 per cent and transferred revenues from a 1.5 per cent supplemental income tax from local to central government".

The Deputy Prime Minister told the FT that in the first 11 months of 2023, Kyiv collected US$4.4 billion more in taxes than in the same period last year. However, Svyrydenko emphasises that this is not enough.

Reminder:

US President Joe Biden's request for $60 billion is currently stalled in Congress, and the EU's €50 billion support package is blocked due to Hungary's veto.

At the same time, the EU is preparing a contingency plan worth up to €20 billion for Ukraine, which does not require Hungary's consent.

It is also known that Ukrainian export routes are restricted by the war, and the border with Poland is blocked.

However, the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development and the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure have already agreed on an action plan to unblock the border.

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Source: the press service of NPC Ukrenergo, an electricity transmission system operator in Ukraine and the sole operator of the country's high-voltage transmission lines.

Details: It is noted that despite the shutdown of five TPP units, the electricity generated by power plants of all types is sufficient to ensure the energy supply of all legal and household consumers.

Ukrenergo reports that there is currently no electricity export. Instead, electricity is imported throughout the day from Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Moldova. The total volume is 11,808 MWh, with a maximum capacity of up to 1,120 MW in some hours.

In addition, 447 settlements remain without electricity due to combat action and other reasons.

Quote: "The situation in Kherson is difficult: more than 90,000 consumers are without electricity due to damage to the power company's networks after massive bombardments, and there are also blackouts in the settlements of the Oblast. More damage due to bombardments has been reported in the networks of power distribution companies in Donetsk and Kharkiv Oblasts," the statement said.

The company emphasises the importance of saving electricity, as the overall level of consumption remains high despite the warm weather.

Reminder:

Due to the Russian bombardments on 26 December, 70% of Kherson's subscribers are without electricity supply.

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Source: Security Service of Ukraine

Quote: "Among the destroyed tanks of the aggressor country are the cutting-edge T-90 and T-90M, the cost of which is almost US$5 million each.

First of all, the invaders used this equipment as part of the so-called "armoured fists" to storm Avdiivka and Bakhmut.

The invaders also brought heavy armoured vehicles to deter the counteroffensive operations of Ukrainian defenders on the Melitopol and Berdiansk fronts."

Details: According to the agency, the destruction of Russian tanks is the result of joint actions of the SSU and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For maximum damage, an arsenal of anti-tank weapons and modern unmanned aerial vehicles was involved.

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Source: Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office

Details: Investigators say Russian Armed Forces servicemen captured three Ukrainian defenders in December 2023 during a combat engagement with Ukraine’s Defence Forces near the village of Robotyne (Zaporizhzhia Oblast).

An hour later, the Russians shot them dead in violation of Article 3 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

A video of this has now emerged and spread on the Internet.

Quote: "Under the procedural supervision of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Prosecutor's Office, criminal proceedings were initiated over the violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder."

Background: Over the past month, a video of Russian soldiers executing Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered has been posted online.

There have also been reports of Ukrainian prisoners of war being used as human shields on the contact line.

Pre-trial investigations into the commission of war crimes by Russian military personnel are ongoing.

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Source: Minister Serhii Marchenko, during the Business Breakfast, the Forbes’s YouTube project

"I would allow the General Staff, together with the Ministry of Defence, to find approaches to this issue and propose their own solutions to optimisation of expenditures… Because I have already pointed out several times that we have exhausted our internal potential to finance military needs, and increasing the amount [of money] artificially, so to say, will not work", Serhii Marchenko said.

According to Marchenko, the Ministry of Finance is waiting for information on the scale of mobilisation and timing and the necessary expenses.

The previously announced amount of funding - UAH 500 billion (approx. US$13 million), in case of conscription of up to 500,000 people – is correct, the minister believes.

However, he stressed that many factors affect these calculations, particularly the timing of mobilisation and demobilisation and the provision of units.

The minister suggested that this will require finding additional internal sources of funding. 

"We do not rule out that we will have to look for additional internal funding sources," Marchenko said.

"I can say for sure, given the current situation, there will be no additional need in funds for the first quarter [of 2024]," he added.

Background:

• Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that the military command of Ukraine, on an ongoing basis, forms its requests for ammunition, weapons and human resources, but it didn't send a request for a specific number of people to be mobilised.
• At the same time, a few days earlier, Davyd Arakhamia, the leader of the Servant of the People party faction in the parliament, said that the Cabinet of Ministers was supposed to submit a bill on mobilisation to the Parliament on 25 December. Arakhamia reported that the military leadership requested the mobilisation of 500,000 military personnel.

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Source: Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office

Quote: "Following a public charge by prosecutors of the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office, a citizen of Ukraine was sentenced for encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine and collaboration.

He was sentenced in absentia to the maximum penalty of 15 years in prison with no right to hold positions in state authorities, public administration, local authorities related to the provision of public services, the performance of organisational, administrative and economic functions for 15 years, with confiscation of property."

Details: The prosecutor's office noted that Pushilin convened and held an extraordinary meeting of the fake "DPR council".

During the meeting, the illegitimate parliamentary body adopted the so-called law "on the 'DPR' referendum on joining the Russian Federation". Subsequently, the sham leader repeatedly emphasised in the controlled media the need for the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk Oblast to join the Russian Federation, i.e. he called for Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territory.

Eventually, based on a null and void act signed by the "head", an illegal "people's will exertion" was held in the temporarily occupied territories in the presence of armed Russian troops.

This defendant signed a "treaty" with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 30 September 2022 on the quasi-republic and the newly occupied territories of Donetsk Oblast joining the Russian Federation, supposedly as a subject.

On 24 February 2022, under the pretext of protecting the "DPR" from "the Kyiv regime", the Russian army launched what was called a "special military operation". In the course of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia violated its sovereignty, ruined dozens of settlements, and continues to kill and terrorise civilians.

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Source: European Pravda

Details: Immediately after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán arrived back from the December summit in Brussels, Hungarians began receiving letters from the government calling for participation in the so-called national consultation, where 4 out of 11 questions are dedicated to Ukraine and its EU membership.

Since most eligible voters ignored previous similar consultations, Orbán's government decided to focus on online voting and is sending out "electronic ballots" to all those in the government's databases.

European Pravda has evidence that Ukrainians who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Hungary and provided their personal data to the government received such invitations.

The practical check also revealed that anyone can vote in the "referendum" on the website nemzetikonzultacio.kormany.hu.

No restrictions were found on vote fraud or foreigners voting.

If you tick the box "I am a Hungarian citizen", no identity checks are performed.

The system easily accepted the Ukrainian phone number and gave access to the voting questionnaire, where an editor of European Pravda sought to slightly spoil the government's statistics and voted in support of Ukraine.

When he sent the questionnaire, he received an invitation to visit the "survey" page again to take part in the sham referendum, and he did so using the same address and phone number.

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Source: European Pravda; Spiegel, citing Marco Buschmann, Germany’s Federal Minister of Justice, in an interview with DPA news agency 

Details: The official said the individuals suspected of the bombardments and the officers responsible had been identified.

"If we catch the perpetrators, we will press charges. And if Ukraine or another country we cooperate with catches these people, we will provide evidence so that charges can be successfully pursued," Buschmann said.

Ahead of the opening of this particular investigation, the German Federal Prosecutor's Office had launched what it called a structural investigation into suspected war crimes during Russia's aggression against Ukraine in March 2022.

The idea is to initially gather evidence without identifying specific defendants, for example, by interviewing witnesses seeking asylum in Germany. A similar approach has been taken in relation to war crimes in Syria, where several convictions have been passed.

The German authorities have issued calls in Ukrainian, Russian and English to persuade people to share their experiences with the police.

Background:

• On 19 December, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court confirmed that it had received an appeal from former Russian intelligence colonel Igor Salikov, who fled to the Netherlands and declared his readiness to testify about Russian war crimes.
• Earlier, reports emerged that a former Russian intelligence colonel, Igor Salikov, 60, had travelled to the Netherlands and expressed his desire to testify before the International Criminal Court.
• Salikov claimed to have served 25 years, first in the Russian army and then in the Wagner Private Military Company, on whose side he fought in Syria and several African countries. He was also involved in Russia's aggression against Ukraine, first in 2014 and later in 2022.
• The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office later said that they had been investigating the information received from Salikov for more than six months.

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Source: European Pravda; Brink on Twitter

Quote: "Last night, Russians brutally shelled the Kherson railway station as over 100 civilians were trying to evacuate after enduring hours of attacks. It is another reminder when most people are at home marking the holidays with family, Russia’s barbaric attacks continue in Ukraine."

Last night, Russians brutally shelled the Kherson railway station as over 100 civilians were trying to evacuate after enduring hours of attacks. It is another reminder when most people are at home marking the holidays with family, Russia’s barbaric attacks continue in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/1RRZSC2nOd

— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) December 27, 2023

Background:

• Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Council of Europe Secretary General, also condemned the Russian attack.
• At around 18:00 on 26 December, Ukrainska Pravda reported that Russian forces attacked a railway station in Kherson, killing a police officer and injuring two of his colleagues and two civilians.
• Passengers of the train, which could not run away, were sent to Mykolaiv on buses.

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Source: Oleh Kiper, Head of Odesa Oblast Military Administration; Odesa Oblast Prosecutor's Office

Quote from Kiper: "Four casualties were identified in the suburbs of Odesa, including a teenager, 17. A civilian died on the spot, and another man, who was taken to hospital in critical condition, died. The teenager remains in hospital; a woman and a man are being treated on an outpatient basis."

More details: The official added that the six-year-old child reported earlier was injured in a domestic fire unrelated to the UAV attack.

The Odesa Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported that two people were killed and three injured in the attack on Odesa Oblast overnight.

A downed drone fell on dachas (summer houses) in the suburbs of Odesa, causing destruction, and a fire broke out.

The aftermath of drone crash in the suburbs of Odesa

Photo: Odesa Oblast Prosecutor's Office

The aftermath of drone crash in the suburbs of Odesa

PHOTO: ODESA OBLAST PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

And in Odesa itself, the wreckage of a drone damaged one of the uninhabited new buildings. There were no casualties.

The aftermath of drone crash in the suburbs of Odesa

PHOTO: ODESA OBLAST PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

The aftermath of drone crash in the suburbs of Odesa

PHOTO: ODESA OBLAST PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

A pre-trial investigation was initiated in criminal proceedings on the violation of the laws and customs of war (Article 438.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

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Source: Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Details: The video features extensive damage to the station's facade, the premises inside, and the crater created by the attack.

Prokudin stressed that the Russians had been targeting the city's residential areas for several hours.

Background: On the evening of 26 December, the Russian army attacked a railway station in Kherson, killing a police officer and injuring two of his colleagues and two civilians.

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