In the latest update on the Ukraine counteroffensive as of December 5 (Europe Edition), Major General Vladimir Zavadsky of Russia’s Northern Fleet’s 14th Army Corps is confirmed dead, possibly by his own land mines. Ukrainian forces strike Russian oil depots and ammo.
Russian kamikaze drones have reportedly entered Ukrainian airspace, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Multiple groups of attack UAVs have been observed over various Ukrainian oblasts, posing a threat to regions such as Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Mykolaiv.
Today marks the solemn 90th anniversary of the Holodomor-Genocide of 1932–1933, a harrowing chapter in Ukrainian history orchestrated by Stalin’s totalitarian regime. Renowned Polish lawyer Rafał Lemkin, a pioneer in genocide recognition, delivered a poignant speech in 1953.
Ukraine has repatriated 1002 children from the temporarily occupied territories and Russia, largely thanks to international assistance. Attempts to locate approximately 19,000 forcibly relocated children continue, according to Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets.
During the 8th Ukrainian Women’s Congress in Kyiv, the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska noted that 59% of businesses founded in Ukraine in 2024 were started by women. The participants discussed how women’s potential helps to overcome war-related challenges and how it essential this will be in Ukraine’s future reconstruction and modernization.
A further 160,000 people are to be drafted into the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which will raise the manning of units to 85%, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko said during a session of the Ukrainian parliament. According to Lytvynenko, 1,000,050 citizens have been drafted into the military so far since the beginning of martial law.
Ukraine’s population has declined by 10 million, or around a quarter, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion as a result of refugees leaving the country along with collapsing fertility and war deaths. This was confirmed by Florence Bauer, the Eastern Europe head at the UN Population Fund, who said at a Geneva news conference that the invasion had caused an already difficult demographic situation into something more severe.
Finland hosted a meeting dedicated to the 8th point of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, Environmental Security, at Ukraine’s request. The conference was held in hybrid and attended by representatives from 60 countries. The Joint Communiqué on strengthening environmental security in Ukraine published in connection with the conference stresses that it is important to assess and repair the damages caused by the war and that those guilty of crimes must be held accountable. The objective of the conference was to promote the reconstruction of Ukraine per the principles of sustainable development and the green transition.
As of 2025, Ukrainians with diabetes, bronchial asthma, and other illnesses in the occupied territories will lose access to free medications unless they acquire Russian passports, according to the Eastern Human Rights Group. This practice is already enforced in many of the occupied territories.
Ukraine will have the 2nd-strongest military in NATO on the European continent once it joins the alliance, according to Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, noting Ukraine’s “experience in battle” and a “clear political commitment to be the best.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has exposed serious shortcomings in the international community’s awareness of the region. Putin and other Russian officials have exploited this lack of knowledge to push an unashamedly imperialistic interpretation of Ukrainian history. They have used this weaponized historical narrative to justify the largest European invasion since WWII.
Ukraine has added online marriage to the capabilities of the national Dia app, making it the first country to have such a practice fully digitized. Through the app, soldiers can now marry while on the front line. At present, same-sex couples may only register their marriage proposals as a civil partnerships bill is bogged down in parliament.
English 
Ukrainian 
French 
German 
Spanish 
Chinese