- Russia-Ukraine Daily News
- Posts
- Weekend Briefing
Dear Reader, if you find this email interesting, helpful or of value, please do consider forwarding it to your friends or colleagues and encouraging them to subscribe. Thank you.
Morning Headlines
Reuters: Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were "getting a lot closer, maybe very close" to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging that the fate of the Donbas region remains a key unresolved issue.
ISW: Putin and Russian military commanders continue to discuss the need to form “buffer zones” in areas of Ukraine outside of the four oblasts Russia illegally annexed in 2022.
The Kyiv Independent: Explosions reportedly rocked the Khanskaya military airfield near the southern Russian city of Maykop as air defenses were engaged early on Dec. 29. Local residents reported explosions within the city and an attack on the nearby airfield.
Reuters: Russia's manufacturing sector contracted at its fastest rate since March 2022 in December, as output and new orders fell sharply, S&P Global reported on Monday.
28.12.2025
Reuters: The Kremlin said on Sunday that Putin and Trump do not support a European-Ukrainian push for a temporary ceasefire ahead of a settlement, and that Moscow thinks Kyiv needs to make a decision on Donbas.
The Kyiv Independent: Kherson came under a massive Russian artillery attack on the morning of Dec. 28. Russian troops opened artillery fire against the Kherson Thermal Power Plant, causing significant damage. The plant was the only source of heating for tens of thousands of apartments in the city. Russia attacks the station almost daily.
RBC-Ukraine: Russian forces carried out an airstrike on a residential area of Sloviansk, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, on the afternoon of December 28. One person was killed, and three others were injured, according to Vadym Liakh, head of the Sloviansk Military Administration.
Reuters: Switzerland cannot defend itself against a full-scale attack and must boost military spending given rising risks from Russia, the head of its armed forces said.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian and Russian troops have been publishing conflicting claims, and videos, of who controls the front-line town of Myrnohrad, located just northeast of embattled Pokrovsk.
Reuters: Ukraine's leading private energy provider said on Sunday that it had restored power to more than a million households in and around Kyiv a day after a Russian air attack had forced emergency outages.
ISW: Russian forces are currently unable to build out a strategic reserve and will therefore likely be constrained to grinding, slow advances at their current rate and scale in the coming year.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian drones attacked the Syzran Oil Refinery in Russia's Samara Oblast and a number of Russian military facilities in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine overnight on Dec. 28, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said.
Reuters: Russia opposes Taiwan’s independence in any form and considers the island an inseparable part of China, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published on Sunday.
27.12.2025
CBC: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax on Saturday during a stopover before heading to the U.S. to meet with Trump for talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Carney announced an additional $2.5 billion of economic aid for Ukraine.
The Guardian: Poland plans to complete a new set of anti-drone fortifications along its eastern borders within two years, a top defence official has said, after a massive incursion of unmanned Russian aerial combat vehicles into Polish airspace earlier this year.
RBC-Ukraine: Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov, in an interview with Suspilne, outlined Russia's main objectives for 2026, stating that Moscow intends to fully seize control of Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia region.
The Kyiv Independent: Kyiv came under a mass combined missile and drone attack overnight on Dec. 27. At least 32 people were injured, including two children.
ISW: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov reiterated that the Kremlin will not sign any peace agreements to end the war in Ukraine “right now.” Ryabkov demanded that any peace agreement must completely address the ultimatums that Russia issued to the West in late 2021.
The Kyiv Independent: One of the most prominent anti-Kremlin Russians fighting on Ukraine's side was killed during a combat mission in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southern Ukraine, the Russian Volunteer Corps militia reported on Dec. 27.
26.12.2025
Reuters: Moscow is likely stationing new nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missiles at a former airbase in eastern Belarus, a development that could bolster Russia’s ability to deliver missiles across Europe, two U.S. researchers have found by studying satellite imagery.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia is continuing to systematically recruit foreign nationals to fight in its war against Ukraine, officials from Ukraine's intelligence service said Dec. 26.
Axios: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios on Friday that he hopes to agree on a framework with President Trump for ending the war when they meet on Sunday. Zelensky also revealed he's willing to bring that plan up for a referendum if Russia agrees to a ceasefire of at least 60 days.
United24 Media: Russia is trying to bypass Ukraine’s drone interceptor defenses by routing Shahed attack drones through Belarusian territory with Belarusian technical support, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a press briefing on December 26.
The Kyiv Independent: Russian attacks on the cities of Uman and Kharkiv killed at least two, injured 14, local authorities reported on Dec. 26.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia overnight on Dec. 26 launched drone attacks at Ukraine's sea port and energy infrastructure in Odesa and Mykolaiv oblasts, as well as railway infrastructure in Volyn Oblast, authorities reported.
Reuters: Putin told some of Russia's top businessmen that he might be open to swapping some territory controlled by Russian forces in Ukraine but that he wanted the whole of Donbas, the Kommersant newspaper reported.
Russa-Ukraine Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Do you think your friend or colleague should know about this newsletter? Forward it to them, please. They can also sign up here.
Please consider supporting my work