Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,400

Here is wherever things basal connected Thursday, December 25:

Fighting

• An detonation successful Moscow killed 3 people, including 2 constabulary officers, conscionable days aft a car weaponry killed a high-ranking Russian wide successful the aforesaid country of the capital.
• An authoritative from Ukraine’s subject intelligence, known arsenic GUR, told The Associated Press quality bureau that the onslaught had been carried retired arsenic portion of a Ukrainian cognition and the 2 constabulary officers were targeted for taking portion successful Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine.
• ‍Russian aerial ‍defence units downed 16 Ukrainian drones en way to Moscow passim Wednesday, the capital’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
• Sobyanin said the drones were repelled ​over a play of astir 17 hours, and exigency ‍crews were examining fragments wherever the drones deed the ground, but nary harm was reported.
• Two of 4 large airports ‍servicing Moscow were forced to bounds operations for a clip owed to the drone attacks, Russia’s civilian aviation authorization said connected Telegram.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its aerial defence units destroyed 172 Ukrainian drones overnight, astir fractional of them implicit regions bordering Ukraine.

• Ukraine said its drones ​had struck the Yefremov synthetic rubber works ‌in Russia’s Tula region, southbound of Moscow, and a retention installation for marine drones successful Russian-occupied Crimea.
• Tula determination governor, Dmitry Milyaev, said ‌debris from a downed Ukrainian drone ignited a occurrence astatine an concern ‌site, and Russian aerial defence units destroyed 12 Ukrainian drones implicit the region.
• A sunflower lipid spill, caused by Russian aerial bombardments, has contaminated the shoreline astir the confederate Ukrainian metropolis of Odesa, sidesplitting wildlife and triggering warnings from conservationists, the AFP quality bureau reports.
• “The origin was harm to sunflower lipid tanks arsenic a effect of monolithic force attacks connected larboard infrastructure, causing immoderate of the lipid to spill,” Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said successful a statement. The Pivdenny larboard successful the portion was temporarily closed connected Wednesday to assistance with the cleanup.
• A Russian-backed tribunal successful occupied Ukraine sentenced a Colombian antheral to 19 years successful situation for warring for Kyiv’s army.
• Russia’s Prosecutor General said the Supreme Court successful the Russian-controlled country of Ukraine’s Donetsk portion sentenced Oscar Mauricio Blanco Lopez, 42, to 19 years successful jail. The Colombian arrived successful Ukraine successful May 2024 to motion up with the Ukrainian service and had been “taken captive by Russian servicemen” successful December 2025.

Ceasefire talks

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed for the archetypal clip details of an statement betwixt the United States and Ukrainian negotiators connected ending the warfare with Russia. The 20-point plan, agreed connected by US and Ukrainian negotiators aft marathon talks, is present being reviewed by Moscow.
• As portion of the plan, President Zelenskyy said Ukraine would beryllium consenting to retreat troops from the country’s eastbound concern heartland if Moscow besides pulled backmost and the country becomes a demilitarised portion monitored by planetary forces.
• A akin statement could beryllium imaginable for the country astir the Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness plant, which is presently nether Russian control, Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian person said that immoderate bid program would request to beryllium enactment to a referendum successful Ukraine.

• Asked astir the latest improvement successful ceasefire talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would determine its presumption based connected accusation received by Russian statesmanlike envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with US envoys successful Florida implicit the weekend.
• Russia has fixed nary denotation that it volition hold to immoderate benignant of withdrawal from onshore it has seized successful Ukraine. Moscow has besides insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it inactive holds successful the Donbas. Russia has captured astir of Luhansk and astir 70 percent of Donetsk – the 2 areas that marque up the Donbas.

Politics and diplomacy

• A bulk of Russians expect the warfare successful Ukraine to extremity successful 2026, Russia’s authorities pollster VTsIOM said, successful a motion that the Kremlin could beryllium investigating nationalist absorption to a imaginable bid colony arsenic diplomatic efforts ⁠to extremity the struggle intensify.
• During the pollster’s year-end presentation, VTsIOM Deputy Head Mikhail Mamonov said 70 percent of the 1,600 respondents ​saw 2026 arsenic a much “successful” twelvemonth for Russia than 2025, portion for 55 percent that anticipation ‍was linked to a imaginable extremity to Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine.
• A Russian tribunal has scheduled the archetypal nationalist proceeding successful a transgression lawsuit against German sculptor Jacques Tilly, who is accused of discrediting the Russian subject done his satirical Carnival floats depicting Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
• The tribunal successful Moscow said the proceedings volition statesman connected December 30 and proceedings volition beryllium held successful absentia, arsenic Tilly – who faces up to 10 years successful jailhouse oregon a good – is not successful Russia.
• Zelenskyy said successful his Christmas code connected Wednesday that contempt marking the vacation astatine a “difficult” time, the nation’s unity remains intact. “Ukrainians are unneurotic tonight,” Zelenskyy said, adding the state had “without a doubt” been changed by the war. “It hardly matters what dishes are connected the array – what matters is who is astatine the table,” helium said.

Artillerymen of the 44th Separate Artillery Brigade occurrence a M777 Howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia’s onslaught connected Ukraine, successful Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, connected December 24, 2025 [Reuters]

Regional security

• France’s ‍President Emmanuel Macron said helium spoke ⁠with NATO ​chief Mark Rutte to ‍discuss the concern successful Ukraine and ‍the enactment undertaken ⁠by the “coalition of the willing”. “Starting successful January successful Paris, we ​will ‌continue the enactment begun wrong this model to supply ‌Ukraine with coagulated information ‌guarantees, a ⁠prerequisite for a robust and lasting peace,” Macron ‌said connected societal media.
• Democratic senators successful the US person urged President ‍Donald Trump to ‍reverse a callback of astir 30 vocation ambassadors, informing the determination leaves a unsafe enactment vacuum that allows adversaries similar Russia and China to grow their influence. The Trump medication successful caller days has ordered vocation diplomats serving crossed Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America backmost to Washington to guarantee US missions overseas bespeak its “America First” priorities.

Economics

• Kazakhstan’s exports of its flagship CPC Blend of lipid volition beryllium their lowest successful 14 months successful December, arsenic atrocious upwind delays efforts to repair Russian loading infrastructure aft Ukrainian drone strikes past month, 2 sources told the Reuters quality agency.
• On November 29, Ukrainian drones deed the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal located adjacent ‍Russia’s Black Sea larboard ⁠of Novorossiysk, leaving conscionable 1 retired of 3 jetties operational and prolonging export delays. Poor upwind has added to the trouble of carrying retired attraction enactment indispensable to let exports to recover.
• Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance said ‍it ‍completed the colony of a woody to restructure $2.6bn of growth-linked debt.