These are important developments since day 1402 of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Published December 27, 2025
Here’s what happened on Saturday, December 27th.
finding
Ukraine’s capital Kiev came under a “massive” Russian attack early Saturday morning, with air defense systems activated and the military warning of impending missile deployment, according to reports. Witnesses said air defense systems were activated in the city. Military Telegram Channel reported that Russian cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were deployed targeting the city. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that Russian forces had captured the Ukrainian village of Kosivtsevo in southeastern Zaporizhzhia, adding that they had occupied more than 23 square kilometers (9 square miles) of territory to secure the village. The Ukrainian military has admitted that one of its units made a mistake in an “unfortunate incident” in which a group of just three infiltrated Russian soldiers tricked the Ukrainian military into abandoning a garrison in the city of Hryaipol, which includes Kosivtseve. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram that overnight Russian drone attacks damaged ships flagged by Slovakia, Palau and Liberia at ports in Ukraine’s Odessa and Mykolaiv regions. Kleba said there were no casualties in the attack. Kleba also said another drone attack damaged a locomotive and a freight car at Kobel station in the northwest, about 60 kilometers from the Polish border. A fire caused by a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Azov seaport of Temryuk has been extinguished, the local task force said. The port of Temryuk handles LPG, petroleum products and petrochemical products, as well as grains and other bulk foods. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the Russian military has shot down seven British-made Storm Shadow missiles in the past week, Russian news agencies reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of using ordinary apartment buildings on the territory of ally Belarus to attack Ukrainian targets and bypass Kiev’s defenses. “It is unfortunate that Belarus is abandoning its sovereignty in favor of Russia’s aggressive ambitions,” President Zelensky said. Poland has deployed fighter jets to intercept Russian reconnaissance planes flying near its Baltic Sea airspace, said dozens of flying objects believed to be balloons used by smugglers approached Polish airspace from Belarus overnight, and warned that isolated incidents over the holiday season could signal provocations by Russia.
regional security
Russia is likely deploying a new nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missile at a former air base in eastern Belarus, which could enhance Russia’s ability to strike targets in Europe, two American researchers have found in a study of satellite imagery, Reuters exclusively reports.
American researchers said a review of images from Planet Labs revealed a hastily constructed construction project between August 4 and 12 that showed features consistent with a Russian strategic missile base, the report added. According to Interfax news agency, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said Russia is “somewhat” delaying exports of Russian-made weapons and military equipment in order to prioritize deliveries to its own armed forces.
peace negotiations
President Zelensky said he would like to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida to discuss territorial disputes, a major hurdle in negotiations to end the war, as negotiations on a 20-point peace framework and security agreement near completion.
In a WhatsApp chat with reporters, President Zelensky said the security agreement between Ukraine and the United States was “almost ready” and that the draft of the 20-point plan was 90% complete.
In a separate interview with news site Axios, President Zelenskiy said the United States had offered a renewable 15-year security contract and Kiev wanted a long-term deal. Axios also reported that President Zelensky said that if the United States cannot get Ukraine to support Ukraine’s “strong” position on the peace plan’s land issue, he is willing to put the 20-point proposal to a referendum, as long as Russia agrees to a 60-day cease-fire to allow Ukraine to prepare and vote. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Kiev’s 20-point plan was fundamentally different from what Russia had been discussing with the United States, Interfax Russian news agency reported. Ryabkov also accused Ukraine of trying to “torpedo” the negotiations, adding that Russia’s “last push” to reach an agreement depended on “our own efforts and the political will of our partners.” Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported that President Vladimir Putin told top Russian businessmen that while he might be willing to trade some territory in Ukraine controlled by the Russian military, he wanted the entire Donbas in return.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with President Zelenskiy to discuss the latest developments in ongoing peace negotiations, according to a statement released by Carney’s office. In the call, Carney “stressed the need to maintain pressure on Russia to negotiate,” the statement added.
Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, took part in the talks with U.S. administration officials along with Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, Reuters reported, citing people close to the talks.
politics and diplomacy
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent New Year’s greetings to President Vladimir Putin, declaring that his country and Russia shared “blood, life and death” in the war in Ukraine. North Korea is sending thousands of troops to Russia to help fight Ukraine.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that a court in Moscow has sentenced former Russian diplomat Arseniy Konowalov to 12 years in prison in a high-security penal colony for selling secrets to US intelligence agencies while he was posted to the US.
According to Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, Konowalov worked in the United States from 2014 to 2017 as second secretary at the Russian consulate in Houston, Texas.
