Military actions in Donetsk region, 117 combat clashes, enemy shelling, appeal of the Pope. How will the 1033rd day of the full-scale war be remembered?
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports that as of 16:00 on December 22, there were 117 combat clashes.
In the Vremevsky direction, the occupiers attacked positions 23 times our troops near Novoselka, Konstantinopolskoye, Yantarny, Uspenovka, Razliv, Razdolnoye, Novoselka, Blagovatnoye and Vremevka.
In the operational zone in Kursk region, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 10 attacks by Russian invaders during the day, another 11 attacks were ongoing as of 16:00. The enemy carried out about 300 attacks.
More details about the operational situation as of the evening of December 22 – in the news.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated the Ukrainian diplomatic service workers on their professional holiday and thanked them for their work in the interests of Ukraine and the people. The head of state outlined the main tasks of diplomats for 2025.
“To be an ambassador of Ukraine, to be a Ukrainian diplomat means to be a person who can answer absolutely specifically the question of what exactly you have done to bring peace closer, to protect the interests of Ukraine and Ukrainians. The next year will be key in terms of this task. It has become a year of peace for Ukraine,” Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized.
More details in the news.
Over the past 24 hours, 150,000 people left Ukraine. Border guards note that this is a record passenger flow in recent years, the State Border Service reports.
“The pre-Christmas period has caused a record number of crossings of the state border. Over the past 24 hours, 150,000 citizens crossed it – this is one of the highest figures in recent years,” the report says.
According to the State Tax Service, passenger traffic has increased in all directions, but most people cross the border at checkpoints with Poland. They also add that there are no significant differences between entering and leaving Ukraine. An average of 75,000 people cross the border in both directions every day.
But Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has arrived in Moscow, Russian media reported.
It is noted that Fico has already met with Vladimir Putin. The topic of their conversation is probably the agreement on the transportation of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe, which expires at the end of December.
The day before, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he unofficially learned about the planned visit of the head of the Slovak government Robert Fico to Russia, since Ukraine will stop the transit of Russian gas from January 1, 2025.
Pope Francis has once again reminded the world of Ukraine's suffering from war and called for a “Christmas truce” throughout the world, Vatican News reports.
“Suffering Ukraine continues to suffer from the shelling of cities, which sometimes damages schools, hospitals, churches. Let the guns fall silent and let the Christmas carols ring out! We pray that there will be a ceasefire on all military fronts at Christmas, in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, throughout the Middle East and throughout the world,” the Pope said.
He also mentioned the Gaza Strip, recalling children dying from bullets, bombing of schools and hospitals, and expressed concern about the situation in Mozambique.
US President-elect Donald Trump said during a public speech in Phoenix broadcast by Fox News that he was waiting for a meeting with Vladimir Putin to negotiate with him to end the war in Ukraine.
“One of the things I want to do, and quickly, and President Putin said he wants to meet with me as soon as possible. He also noted that the death toll in the war is in the millions and that it would not have started if he had been president of the United States at the time it began. Earlier, on December 19, Putin said that he had not spoken to Trump for four years, was ready to contact him, but did not know when this might happen.
The most complete today's picture is on our website. We hope that tomorrow there will be more good news.
We hold on and bring Victory closer!
