Fighting in Ukraine Escalates
• Casualties from Russian Attacks: Russian shelling in Nikopol, central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, resulted in the deaths of two people and injuries to five others. In a separate incident, a Russian missile attack on a residential building in Kryvyi Rih claimed the life of one woman and injured 14 civilians.
• Ukrainian Drone Strikes in Russia: A Ukrainian drone attack triggered a fire in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov.
• Territory Gains: Russian forces reportedly captured the settlement of Kolisnykivka in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, as announced by Russia’s Ministry of Defence.
• Frontline Updates: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that nearly 50,000 Russian troops are stationed in Russia’s Kursk region. He also noted that Ukraine is reinforcing its positions on the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts in the east, where the most intense fighting is currently concentrated.
• EU Support: The European Union has provided Ukraine with more than 980,000 shells and aims to surpass the 1 million mark by year’s end, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
North Korean Troops and Russia-Ukraine Alliance
• Mutual Defense Treaty with Russia: North Korea ratified a mutual defense treaty with Russia, originally signed by the two countries’ leaders in June. The agreement stipulates that each nation will come to the other’s aid in the event of an armed attack, North Korea’s state media, KCNA, reported.
International Diplomacy and Reactions
• Kremlin Denial of Trump-Putin Contact: The Kremlin dismissed rumors that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling such reports “pure fiction.” This follows anonymous claims suggesting Trump had advised Putin against escalating the Ukraine conflict.
• Calls for Caution on Trump’s Ukraine Policy: France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot, urged allies not to “prejudge” Trump’s stance on the Ukraine war. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated their support for Kyiv in recent discussions in Paris.
• Finnish Foreign Minister’s Warning: Finland’s Foreign Minister, Elina Valtonen, cautioned that forcing neutrality on Ukraine would not resolve the conflict, stressing that Russia could not be trusted to uphold any peace agreement it signs.