EP resolution on Russia
The European Parliament has passed a resolution in which MEPs "condemned the current large Russian military build-up along the borders with Ukraine and rejected any Russian justification for it; recalled that this is the second such occurrence this year; underscored that this military build-up has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in belligerent rhetoric on the Russian side".
They all "demanded that the Russian Federation immediately and fully withdraw its military forces, cease its threat against the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which has a destabilising effect for the whole region and beyond, stop all measures that further aggravate the conflict and de-escalate tensions in line with Russia’s international obligations; emphasised the need for a peaceful political solution to the conflict".
Zelenskyy warns of multi-million losses in case of invasion
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said at a joint briefing with Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that Russia has pushed Ukraine towards NATO by its aggressive actions.
Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine has a powerful army, but it is much smaller than the army of the aggressor state.
"We are confident that we will defend our state... We clearly understand that if there is a full-scale war, we understand the numbers - thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of victims. That is why we do not want that," he said.
Russia's attempts to intimidate Ukraine and the EU, the president added, look provocative and dangerous.
"NATO does not owe us anything, NATO will, if our army folds, owe all its countries. Because NATO defends NATO members, and it happens today that its outpost is Ukraine. Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO," he added.
Russian court spills beans
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has commented on the ruling of a Russian court that disclosed information on food supplies to the Russian military in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said in a commentary to the Lb.ua news and analysis website that by this decision, the court "signed Russia's confession".
"The recognition by the Russian court ruling of the presence of the Russian armed forces in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine is another convincing debunking of Moscow's key argument about the alleged 'internal Ukrainian' nature of the conflict in Donbas. This time the Russian Federation itself has set a legal precedent that has clearly registered the conflict," Nikolenko said.
Israel
Israel will donate 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Ukraine. The shipment will be provided as part of the COVAX programme, the Israeli embassy in Ukraine has said.
Economy
Ukraine will soon receive $350m from the World Bank, as well as 150m dollars to fight the coronavirus, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said, as quoted by Ukrinform.
"We will also receive now - this is new information - $350m from the World Bank plus $150m to fight COVID," he said.
He also noted that Ukraine expects investment growth next year and that the government expects foreign investment to reach $6.5bn by the end of this year.
Donbas
A Ukrainian serviceman was wounded in Donbas amid four ceasefire violations by Russia-backed militants, the Joint Forces Operation HQ has said.
Journalists' probe
The Slidstvo.info website has said that the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, Kyrylo Budanov, may share a house with Oleksandr Gogilashvili, who was dismissed from the post of deputy interior minister earlier this week over his bullish argument with a police patrol. According to some media, Gogilashvili may have Russian citizenship.
In a commentary to Bihus.info, Budanov confirmed living in the same house. He added it was a temporary arrangement while his own flat is being repaired.
Crime
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had exposed a cell of the Islamic State terrorist organization in Kyiv. It consisted of 12 people, including five Russians. Its leader, Georgian Tsezar Tokhosashvili (aka Al Bara Shishani), was extradited in 2020.