Monday, December 9

Russia’s war against Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron (C), President-elect Donald Trump (R), and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) after their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on Dec. 7, 2024. (Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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28 drones intercepted, 46 lost in Russia’s overnight attack on Ukraine, Air Force reports. The drones targeted multiple oblasts, with debris from downed drones causing damage to residential buildings.

Trump urges Putin it’s ‘time to act’ on ceasefire negotiations with Zelensky. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take action toward negotiating a truce, saying on Dec. 8: “I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!”

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Zelensky ready to ‘make a deal’ on the war in Ukraine, Trump says after meeting in Paris. Trump and Zelensky met in Paris as world leaders gathered in the city for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Assad regime collapse in Syria exposes weakness of Russia, Iran, EU’s top diplomat says. In a post on X, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas described Assad’s fall as a “positive and long-awaited development,“ saying that the collapse “shows the weakness of Assad’s backers, Russia and Iran.”

Russia-backed Assad regime collapses in Syria

Syria’s Assad, his family have arrived in Moscow after being granted asylum, sources tell Russian news agencies. Russian news agencies reported on Dec. 8 that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Russia, where they have been granted asylum on “humanitarian grounds.”

Russia withdraws ships, weapons from Syria, Ukrainian intelligence reports. The withdrawal comes as rebels advancing from Damascus push toward Syria’s coastal provinces, including Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russian military bases are located, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said.

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Ukraine war latest: Situation in Zaporizhzhia Oblast ‘difficult,’ but ‘predicted,’ Freedom of Russia Legion spokesperson says

The situation on the Zaporizhzhia front is becoming “very difficult and tense,” but the development was “predicted,” Freedom of Russia Legion spokesperson Kostiantyn Denysov said on Dec. 7.

Image: Stanislav Ivanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Trump-Zelensky meeting and Johnny Harris controversy

Human cost of war

Russia’s attack on Kherson Oblast kills 1, injures 7. A 73-year-old man in a town of Kindiika close to Kherson died after explosives were dropped from the drone on Dec. 8.

Ukraine has lost 43,000 soldiers in action since start of invasion, Zelensky says. This figure contrasts a claim made earlier the same day on Dec. 8 by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who wrote on his Truth Social platform that Ukrainian military losses had reached “400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians.”

General Staff: Russia has lost 753,370 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,460 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff reported.

International Response

Trump tells NBC News Ukraine should likely prepare for reduced US aid. Trump reiterated that he is working to end the hostilities in Ukraine, reinforcing his earlier campaign claim that he could resolve the war within 24 hours if he were in charge.

EU Defense Commissioner proposes $105 billion defense budget allocation, Politico reports. European Union Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius, has proposed allocating 100 billion euros ($105 billion) for defense in the next seven-year EU budget, Politico reported on Dec. 8.

In other news

Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina posthumously receives Prix Voltaire Special Award. Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina was posthumously honored with the Special Prix Voltaire Award at the 34th International Publishers Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, PEN Ukraine reported on Dec. 6.

Georgian PM announces new law banning face-coverings at protests. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced plans to introduce a law banning participants in rallies and counter-rallies from covering their faces, Georgia Today reported on Dec. 8.

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