L to R: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Berlin, December 15, 2025

Monday’s Coverage: Russia Murders 6, Including Child, and Injures 31 in Kharkiv

UPDATE 1657 GMT:

Meeting French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the conference in Paris with “Coalition of the Willing” partners, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has posted:

A draft statement from Kyiv and its partners confirms, “There will be a continuous, reliable ceasefire monitoring system. This will be led by the US with international participation.

The “European-led” multinational force to be deployed after a ceasefire will provide “reassurance measures in the air, at sea and on land” and ensure the “regeneration of the armed forces of Ukraine”.

American participation includes “US capabilities such as intelligence and logistics” and “a US commitment to support the force in case of attack” by Russia.

“Binding commitments to support Ukraine in the case of a future armed attack by Russia…may include the use of military capabilities, intelligence and logistical support, diplomatic initiatives, adoption of additional sanctions.”

UPDATE 1644 GMT:

Ukraine’s State security service SBU has confirmed overnight long-range drone strikes on an ammunition depot and oil facility in central Russia.

An official said special forces struck a large Russian arsenal near the town of Neya in the Kostroma region, northeast of Moscow and more than 900 km (558 miles) from Ukrainian-held areas. Explosions from the secondary detonations of ammunition “rang out all night”.

Ukraine’s General State said, “The facility functions as a hub of accounting, maintenance, storage, and preparation for shipment of artillery ammunition, as well as tactical and operational-tactical level missiles.”

The damaged oil facility is near the city of Usman in the Lipetsk region, south of Moscow and around 250 km (155 MILES) from Ukrainian-controlled areas.

UPDATE 0749 GMT:

The Zelensky Government has appointed Chrystia Freeland, the former Canadian Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, as an advisor on Ukraine’s economic development.

Freeland, whose mother was born in a Ukrainian refugee camp in Germany, posted:

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said:

Thank you Chrystia for your important work as Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine. You are uniquely qualified for this important new role. It is a further credit to Canada’s steadfast support for Ukraine that a Canadian is taking on this role at this crucial moment for Ukraine’s future.

UPDATE 0738 GMT:

Two Russian sources tell Reuters that the Kremlin wants a “spheres of influence” agreement with Donald Trump, in which the US will control Venezuela and Russia will control Ukraine.

“A senior Russian source” said, “Russia has lost an ally in Latin America. But if this is an example of Trump’s Monroe Doctrine in action, as it seems to be, then Russia also has its own sphere of influence.”

Fiona Hill, who served on the National Security Council from 2017 to 2019, testified to Congress that Russia proposed to first Trump Administration that the US “exchange Venezuela for Ukraine”. She summarized the Kremlin’s position: “You want us out of your backyard. But actually, we’re in a similar situation. You’re in our backyard.”

UPDATE 0715 GMT:

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of Russia’s latest strikes on civilians from Kyiv to Kharkiv to Dnipro.

He noted the attacks on a hospital in the capital, killing a patient and injuring three people, including two women aged 77 and 97 who were seriously wounded. Staff evacuated patients to other hospitals in the area.

A man was killed elsewhere in the Kyiv region.

In Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, where six civilians were slain and 31 injured on Saturday, a person was injured amid five Russian missile strikes. Heating was cut off amid freezing temperatures.

In the Zaporizhzia region in the south, a man was murdered amid attacks on 29 settlements. In the neighboring Kherson region, emergency services worked to restore power.

In Dnipro, a sunflower oil processing plant was damaged.

Zelensky summarized:

Russia does not take seriously the diplomatic efforts that civilized countries are trying to pursue with it. Russia is dragging out the war and trying to inflict as much damage on Ukraine as possible. Their strategy is unchanged.

Our strategy — the strategy of protecting life — will be unchanged.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders gather in Paris on Tuesday, hoping to complete proposals to end Russia’s 47 1/2-month full-scale invasion.

Zelensky and the Europeans will hope to confirm agreement with the Trump Administration, represented by real estate developer Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Ukraine and Europe have obtained a US commitment to security guarantees for Kyiv, details of which were discussed by military commanders on Monday. Trump has accepted 15 years, while Zelensky and European partners want up to 50.

Other issues to be resolved include the status of the strategic Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine; the funding of Ukraine’s reconstruction; and control of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, in southern Ukraine.

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky said: