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The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Polish President Karol Nawrocki and President Volodymyr Zelensky inspect the Polish Army Representative Regiment during the welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, on December 19, 2025. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Russia attacks Odesa Oblast with ballistic missiles, at least 7 killed, 15 injured. Russian ballistic missiles “massively attacked” a port facility in the region, Governor Oleh Kiper said. Seven are dead and 15 injured victims have been hospitalized.
Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s shadow fleet tanker in Mediterranean Sea for the first time, source says. In “a new unprecedented special operation” in neutral waters more than 2,000 kilometers from Ukraine, Russia’s QENDIL tanker sustained “critical damage” and can no longer be used for its intended purpose, the source claimed.
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Ukraine says 1,003 bodies of fallen soldiers return home. Ukraine will conduct necessary examinations to identify the bodies, which Russia says belong to Ukrainian soldiers, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported.
Ukraine’s delegation meets American officials in US for new round of talks. “We agreed with our American partners on further steps and the continuation of our joint work in the near future,” delegation leader Rustem Umerov said after the meeting.
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Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s oil platform in the Caspian Sea and shadow fleet tanker in the Mediterranean
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) struck a Russian oil platform in the Caspian Sea with drones for a fourth time in recent weeks, a source in the agency said on Dec. 19. The SBU’s Alpha Special Operations Center’s drones hit an oil rig run by Russian oil giant Lukoil, the source said.
“The SBU continues to systematically reduce oil dollar revenues to the Russian war budget,” the Security Service source told the Kyiv Independent. “All facilities that provide funding for the aggression against Ukraine are absolutely legitimate targets.”
Image: Ukraine’s Security Service
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Investigation: Sick Ukrainian children exploited in fraudulent charity campaigns linked to US, Israel
When scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, one may come across ads showing a crying child in a hospital bed, accompanied by a heartbreaking plea for donations to treat the child’s cancer. The message is always urgent, stating that a child suffers from a severe form of cancer and needs treatment in the U.S.
The Kyiv Independent identified several children and their parents featured in these campaigns and found that they live in Ukraine with no plans to receive treatment in the U.S. Each family has received less than $2,000 out of the $600,000 to $700,000 intended to be raised.
Photo: Karolina Gulshani / The Kyiv Independent
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International response
‘Without independent Ukraine, Russia will come for Poland,’ Zelensky says as he meets Nawrocki. “There are sometimes difficult moments in our societies, but as presidents, we must define policies that keep us united. Without our independence, Moscow will inevitably push further into Europe and will come for Poland,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Warsaw.
Opinions and insights
Fact-check: Debunking Russian propaganda about ‘persecution of Christians’ in Ukraine
The supposed “persecution of Christians” in Ukraine ranks among the most popular tropes of Russian disinformation. Kremlin propaganda has sought to cast the state’s push to limit the influence of the Kremlin-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) — whose clergymen have aided Russia during the war — as an assault on Christians.
Image: Roman Pilipey / AFP / Getty Images
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Putin says Russia never attacked Ukraine, outlines conditions for war with Europe
Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual end-of-year press conference on Dec. 19 to reaffirm the Kremlin’s maximalist demands for ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, rejecting territorial compromise while repeating false claims about the invasion. Opening the tightly choreographed event, Putin said Moscow remains willing to engage in peace talks only on the terms he first outlined last year.
Photo: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images
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In other news
US launches large-scale strike in Syria targeting ISIS. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X.
US ‘not concerned’ about Russia as it ramps up aggression against Venezuela, Rubio says. “We’re not concerned about an escalation with Russia, with regards to Venezuela … I think they have their hands full in Ukraine,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Dec. 19.
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