10:09 Russia sees itself ahead in the arms race with the West

From its own perspective, Russia has the upper hand in the arms race triggered by the war in Ukraine. "I don't want to boast, but I can say that we started to step up and increase production earlier than the Western countries," said Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, who is responsible for armaments, according to the RIA news agency. The question is how long the race will continue. Manturov points out that the armaments plan for the years 2025-2034 is to be adopted next year. Funds for state defense contracts have doubled in the current year compared to 2022.

09:40 There is an air alert throughout Ukraine
There has been an air alert throughout Ukraine since around 9.30 a.m. our time. The Ukrainian air force warns of possible missile attacks.

09:10 Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on December 25 for the first time
For the first time, Orthodox Christians in Ukraine are celebrating Christmas mainly on December 25 instead of January 7. Many believers already took part in the Christmas Eve services yesterday. Ukraine had changed its holiday calendar in order to distance itself from Russia. Parliament abolished the national Christmas holiday on January 7. Only the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has long been linked to Moscow, is sticking to the old date.

Solemn procession on Christmas Eve in Lviv.

Servicemen and women of the 14th Brigade at the Christmas Eve service near the front line ...

Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, at the service in Kiev.

A woman prays in the kitchen of her home before Christmas dinner in the village of Kryworiwnja.

08:33 Foreign companies withdraw from Russian gas production
Foreign shareholders are putting their participation in Russian gas production Arctic LNG 2 on hold due to Western sanctions. This means they are foregoing investments and purchase agreements, reports the newspaper Kommersant. As a result, the gas has to be sold on the spot market. The Chinese oil giants CNOOC Ltd and China National Petroleum Corp each hold a ten percent stake in the project. TotalEnergies from France and a Japanese consortium are also involved in Arctic LNG 2. Gas production is controlled by Russia's Novatek, which owns 60 percent of Arctic LNG 2.

08:01 Ukraine: Air defense intercepts drones and missiles
Russia fired 31 drones and two missiles at Ukraine during the night, the Ukrainian military reports. The air defense intercepted 28 drones and both missiles. The air strikes targeted the regions of Odessa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kirovohrad and Khmelnytskyi.

07:24 Putin grants vacation: Dialogue with soldiers allegedly staged
According to the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian President Putin is trying to present himself as a benevolent leader who cares about the well-being of Russian military personnel on the one hand, and as an effective commander-in-chief of the armed forces on the other. An interaction between Putin and soldiers at a ceremony on December 19 was probably staged for this purpose, writes ISW. The footage in question was published by a Kremlin journalist on Christmas Eve. According to the footage, Putin spoke to Russian military personnel who said that they wanted to see their loved ones, but that their commanders had to give them leave. Putin replied: "Let them rest! The commander has already decided. That's me." Meanwhile, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov was also present and simply said "that's the way it is". This scene could also serve to push Gerasimov into the "role of an inefficient bureaucrat", the ISW explains. "Putin's seemingly spontaneous granting of leave to Russian military personnel is indicative of Putin's continued efforts to portray himself as a dedicated wartime leader, responsive to the wishes of his troops and rewarding those who are loyal to him, while reminding the Russian public that Gerasimov is subordinate to him."

06:47 Shepps warns West not to let Putin win
The West cannot afford to lose the war in Ukraine, says British Defense Secretary Grant Shepps in an interview with the Sunday Times. "If we allow Putin to win this war by dragging it out, and he somehow wins it by wearing down the rest, then we will suffer the consequences. And those consequences will be incredibly harsh for Europe, the UK and the world." Sheps concludes: "So we literally cannot afford not to win this war."

06:18 Communities in the north are under fire
According to regional authorities, the north-eastern Ukrainian region of Sumy, which borders Russia, is once again coming under massive shelling. According to the report, the Russian army fired rocket launchers, artillery, mortars and mines at seven communities on Christmas Eve. According to reports, 68 explosions were recorded. No injuries were reported.

05:43 Ex-NATO Supreme Allied Commander: "We can afford military aid for Ukraine"
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis calls for more help for Ukraine. "It's a very dangerous situation and the real action is not actually taking place in Kiev. The real action is taking place in Washington," Stavridis said on the radio program "Cats Roundtable". "We need to provide military support to Ukraine. Their cause is just." Stavridis calculates that half of the Russian army has been destroyed without US soldiers being "killed or even endangered" and that the country has done so with "the equivalent of five percent" of the annual US defense budget. "We can afford it and we should do it. So I'm only worried about the war in Ukraine if the US and our European allies don't fulfill our obligation to support Ukraine," Stavridis continues.

04:58 Ukraine: Russian SU-34 fighter jet shot down
The Ukrainian air force commander Mykola Oleschuk announces on Telegram that the armed forces have destroyed a Russian SU-34 fighter-bomber that was heading towards Mariupol. "It has been confirmed that our air defense missile system hit the SU-34 fighter-bomber heading towards Mariupol. It did not return to the airfield," writes Oleschuk. At the same time, the air force commander reports that combat missions against Russian SU-30s are taking place in the Black Sea in the direction of Odessa.

03:36 Russians report dead and injured in Donetsk
In the Russian-occupied areas of the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, one woman has been killed and six civilians injured in Ukrainian shelling of the town of Horlivka, a Russian official says. A shopping center and several buildings were destroyed.

02:37 Five dead after Russian shelling in Kherson
According to Ukrainian reports, five civilians have been killed in Russian attacks in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson. Three people died in the shelling of a residential building and an apartment in the city of Kherson, a woman was killed in a drone attack in a small town south of Kherson and another woman was killed when a town further north came under heavy shelling, according to the regional police. Gas and water supplies were also partially disrupted by the attacks, which also hit a medical facility, said the head of the press office of the Kherson regional military administration, Oleksandr Tolokonnikov.

01:37 EU counts 4.1 million Ukrainian refugees
According to the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA), the number of asylum seekers in Germany and Europe has risen massively this year. In October alone, the agency registered around 123,000 applications, the highest monthly figure for seven years, EUAA Director Nina Gregori told the Funke Mediengruppe newspaper. The total number of asylum applications in the EU will be "well over one million" in 2023. The number of refugees from Ukraine has also continued to rise. At the end of October, 4.16 million Ukrainians were registered in the EU as enjoying temporary protection - 320,000 more than in January, says Gregori. At the end of October, Germany was the most important host country in the EU with around 1.17 million Ukrainian refugees, while Poland was the second most important with 957,000 Ukrainians.

23:37 Another break with Moscow: Ukraine celebrates Christmas on 25.12.
Orthodox Christians in Ukraine have prepared to celebrate Christmas on December 25 instead of January 7 for the first time. Many believers already took part in the Christmas Eve services on Sunday. The majority of them supported Kiev's decision last summer to postpone the date for Christmas in order to distance itself from Russia. In his Christmas message recorded in the famous Cave Monastery in Kiev, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized in the evening that all Ukrainians celebrate Christmas "together", "on the same day, as one big family, as one nation, as one united country". The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, spoke of a "local turning point". For the first time, Ukraine was celebrating "Christmas together with the whole world on December 25", Makeiev explained in the online service X.

22:40 Girkin supporters gather in Moscow
Hundreds of supporters of imprisoned former separatist leader Igor Girkin have gathered in Moscow to support his candidacy for next year's Russian presidential election. Over 300 of them gathered in a hotel in the Russian capital to campaign for Girkin. Among them were many women, elderly people and military veterans. Some wore T-shirts with Girkin's face and the slogan "Freedom for Strelkov", his pseudonym. The military blogger supports the current Russian offensive in Ukraine, but strongly condemns its military strategy as not tough enough.

22:04 Russians step up attacks on Dnipro bridgeheads
On December 24, the Russian armed forces apparently stepped up their attacks on the left bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine. This is according to information from the Ukrainian High Command. According to the information, the defenders repelled 23 Russian attacks. However, the Russian attackers received a "good thrashing" and suffered "considerable losses", according to the army command. The Ukrainians held the front line and their positions. Yesterday, Saturday, the defenders reported 15 repulsed attacks from there. Ukrainian units have established bridgeheads on the southern bank of the Dnipro.

You can read all previous developments here.