Firefighters battle a blaze set by a Russian attack on Odesa in southern Ukraine, December 16, 2025

EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Ukraine and Europe Push Back Putin’s “Nazi Piglets” Invasion

EA on RTE: Ukraine Strikes Russian Military in Heart of Moscow

Monday’s Coverage: “Constructive” Ukraine-US Talks in Florida

UPDATE 1744 GMT:

Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the small town of Siversk in the Donetsk region in the east of the country.

The General Staff said the withdrawal was to preserve the lives of our soldiers and the combat readiness of our units”. Heavy fighting continues in the area, and the town “remains under fire control” of Ukrainian troops.

“Enemy units are being blocked to prevent their further advance,” the General Staff said.

Siversk had a pre-invasion population of around 11,000.

UPDATE 1630 GMT:

A Russian official has told the Washington Post, “A banking crisis is possible….A nonpayments crisis is possible. I don’t want to think about a continuation of the war or an escalation.”

Analysts say the US sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies are having a serious effect, with Moscow’s revenues projected to fall by up to half this year.

“The upstream oil industry is sliding into a crisis, and the most recent sanctions are going to accelerate that,” said Craig Kennedy, a former Vice Chairman of Bank of America Merrill Lynch who is now based at Harvard University.

In a recent videoconference for the independent Russian outlet The Bell, economist Alexandra Prokopenko, a former advisor to the Russian Central Bank, said the economy “is frozen, and fundamentally it looks to me unsustainable”.

The closest analogy would be like a car idling in neutral with the engine overheating….The car isn’t moving forward or backward, but the longer it sits there, the more damage accumulates under the hood.

UPDATE 1219 GMT:

At least three civilians have been murdered, including a toddler, by Russia’s overnight attacks.

The Russians launched more than 650 drones and 30 missiles, targeting energy infrastructure across 13 regions and triggering emergency blackouts.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky commented:

This Russian strike sends an extremely clear signal about Russia’s priorities. An attack ahead of Christmas, when people simply want to be with their families, at home, and safe. An attack carried out essentially in the midst of negotiations aimed at ending this war. Putin still cannot accept that he must stop killing. And that means that the world is not putting enough pressure on Russia. Now is the time to respond. Russia must be pushed toward peace and guaranteed security.

Estonia Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna added:

During a holiday season meant to bring people together in celebration, reflection, and goodwill, Russia continues to escalate its attacks against Ukraine , striking energy infrastructure and deliberately endangering innocent civilians who are simply trying to spend time with their families.

This must stop. The international community’s pressure on Russia must not only be maintained but intensified.

These crimes will not go unanswered.

UPDATE 1146 GMT:

Drawing upon interviews with more than a dozen current and former U.S. and European officials, NBC News details how Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, tried to keep Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the dark as the real estate developer colluded with the Kremlin on an ultimatum to Ukraine.

At the end of October, Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner collaborated with Vladimir Putin’s top financial advisor Kirill Dmitriev on the 28-page ultimatum to Kyiv.

With reports circulating about the document, Rubio was scheduled to meet Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva. Witkoff set off early, trying to get to the delegations first, and did not inform the Secretary of State or other State Department officials.

Three US officials confirmed that Rubio got to Geneva before Witkoff could meet alone with the Ukrainians.

But after the Geneva talks, Witkoff arranged a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Florida and did not tell Rubio. The Secretary of State only learned of the development when the Ukrainians asked his team about it.

A “senior administration official” said, “It is so clear that Rubio has been cut out of this. He should be the guy leading all of this.”

The episode was the latest attempt by Witkoff to cut out Rubio and the State Department. In April, the real estate developer — already being courted by the Kremlin, based on their psychological profiles of Trump officials — flew to Paris to see French President Emmanuel Macron, pre-empting Rubio’s scheduled meetings on Ukraine.

Rubio asked to join the session with Macron, but the French Foreign Ministry said Witkoff needed to sign off on the change. In the end, Rubio tracked down the real estate developer, who agreed to allow the Secretary of State’s presence.

UPDATE 1015 GMT:

A 4-year-old child has been murdered and five people injured by Russian shelling of the Zhytomyr region in northern Ukraine.

Residential buildings, private civilian enterprises, and a store were damaged.

UPDATE 0828 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that 52 residents, including the elderly and several children, were abducted by Russian troops from a border village in northeast Ukraine.

The Russians invaded Hrabovske in the Sumy region last Thursday.

“I think they simply didn’t expect Russian troops to simply walk in and take them away as prisoners,” Zelensky said. “But that’s what happened.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia carried out widespread missile and drone attacks on western Ukraine overnight.

Explosions were heard in Rivne, the towns of Burshtyn and Rohatyn, and the outskirts of the city of Cherkasy.

Air raid alerts were activated in almost all regions of the country the Ukraine Air Force warned of the launch of hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles. The Energy Ministry said emergency power outages were implemented in several regions.

“As soon as the security situation allows, rescue teams and energy specialists will begin addressing the consequences of the attack to restore electricity supply in the regions as quickly as possible,” the Ministry said.

Acting Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov added, “As a result of Russia’s massive attack on energy infrastructure, nuclear power plants were forced to reduce their generation capacity. Output will be gradually increased to nominal levels as soon as energy workers restore the networks damaged by the enemy.”

He noted that the Russian strikes are a violation of nuclear safety standards.

“This must not go unnoticed by the international community. Russia’s policy of energy terror must be stopped,” Nekrasov said.

On Monday night Russia struck Odesa in southern Ukraine for the second time within 24 hours. Port facilities and a civilian vessel under the flag of Lebanon were damaged.

The earlier assault targeted port and energy infrastructure, setting a fire and disrupting electricity to tens of thousands of people.

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned, “It is [the Russians’] nature to make some kind of massive strike on our Christmas. We are again raising the issue of air defense and the protection of our communities, especially on December 23, 24, and 25.”

The Kremlin rejected Kyiv’s proposal of a Christmas truce, saying it would give Ukraine a respite from Russian attacks.

Zelensky: US Must “Elicit A Response by Russia”

In his national address to the nation, Zelensky reported on the three-day talks in Florida between his senior officials and Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

He emphasized, “It is important that the American side be able to elicit a response from Russia – a genuine willingness by that state to focus on something other than aggression.”

It is hard to believe that [Vladimir] Putin can live without killings or invasions.

But lowering the price of Russian oil, strong global sanctions, and continuing all other forms of pressure — that’s what will convince even such as stubborn person.