News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe

In a joint statement issued Dec. 15, European leaders outlined a six-point security and recovery framework for Ukraine, committing to long-term military support, a European-led and U.S.-supported multinational force operating inside Ukraine, and legally binding measures to respond to any future attack.

Ukrainian forces hit the Astrakhan gas processing plant on Dec. 15, targeting what Kyiv described as a "key enterprise in Russia's oil and gas industry," the General Staff reported.

Kyiv and Washington made "real progress" toward peace in Ukraine during two-day talks in Berlin, top security official and negotiator Rustem Umerov said on Dec. 15.

Quantum Systems and Frontline Robotics announced on Dec. 15 a joint Ukrainian-German venture to launch the first "industrial-scale" foreign-based production of drones for Ukraine's military.

Encircled Russian troops in Kupiansk are still getting limited drone drops — and a Ukrainian official says some included flags, not food.

For the first time, Ukrainian underwater drones have successfully attacked a Russian submarine, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on Dec. 15.

Nadya Tolokonnikova, a co-founder of the group, said the verdict aims "to erase Pussy Riot's very existence from the Russian consciousness."

A KIIS poll found 75% of Ukrainians rejected a Donbas pullback plan without security guarantees, while most supported freezing the front line with strong protections.

Ukraine’s Security Service said its long-range drones struck Russian offshore oil platforms in the Caspian Sea for the third time in a week, halting operations at one site.

Less than one-tenth of Ukrainians support holding immediate elections, even in the absence of a ceasefire with Russia, according to a recent poll.

A thermal power plant in Belgorod, known as "Luch", was damaged during a wave of drone attacks on Russian territory overnight on Dec. 15, Astra reported, citing local residents.