A Ukrainian soldier near the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine (CNN/File)

Monday’s Coverage: Zelensky — “Please Take Care of Yourselves”

UPDATE 0857 GMT:

Just before the third set of Ukraine-Russia-US talks in Geneva, Russia has fired 29 missiles and almost 400 drones in its latest assault on energy infrastructure.

Nine civilians were injured, including children, amid attacks on 12 regions. More than 10 residential buildings and railway infrastructure were damaged.

In Odesa in southern Ukraine, tens of thousands of people are without heat and water.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted:

Partners must respond to all these strikes against life. Russia must be held to account for its aggression. Our diplomacy will be more effective if there is justice and strength.

Strength of pressure on the Russian Federation – sanctions pressure and steady, rapid support for the Ukrainian army and our air defense. For peace to be real and just, action must target the sole source of this aggression – because it is Moscow that continues the killings, massive attacks, and assaults.

UPDATE 0718 GMT:

Ukraine’s former Energy Minister
Herman Halushchenko has been charged with money laundering and organized crime over his alleged involvement in a $100 million corruption scandal.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced the charges on Monday. Halushenko was detained a day earlier as he tried to leave Ukraine by train.

Nine suspects have been charged over kickbacks allegedly paid by contractors seeking work for State nuclear power company Energoatom. Among them are Timur Mindich, a former close associate of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andrii Yermak.

Yermak was dismissed on November 29, a day after his apartment was raided by investigators.

Later on Monday, Halushchenko appeared in the High Anti-Corruption Court. His lawyers argued that his detention was illega. While their complaint was upheld in part, the Court refused to release the former minister.

Halushchenko was Energy Minister from 2021 to 2025 and appointed Justice Minister in July 2025. He was dismissed in November.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine recaptured more than 200 square km (78 square miles) of territory from Russia between Wednesday and Sunday, after Elon Musk’s Starlink was cut off for Moscow’s forces.

The Ukrainians advanced east of Zaporizhzhia city in the south of the country. Russia had gradually seized territory in the area since mid-2025.

However, Ukraine is facing renewed Russian assaults in the Donetsk region in the east, as Moscow tries to occupy more of the fortified area amid trilateral talks including thee US.

Earlier this month, Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked Musk to halt unauthorized use of the Starlink satellite service, which was aiding the Russians attack on the ground and with drones.

Musk agreed, and Ukraine is establishing a “whitelist” of approved terminals while blocking those that are unverified. Russian assaults on the frontline reportedly dropped by 1/3 to 1/2.

A Ukrainian cyber-warfare division claimed that it then tricked Russian soldiers into giving up sensitive battlefield data through the offer of a fake Starlink registration service.

The division said it received data regarding 2,420 Russian Starlink terminals, including their precise locations, as well as $5,870 from Russian troops paying for the fake service.

The recaptured area in the Zaporizhzhia region nearly equals Russian gains for all of December. It is the most land retaken by Kyiv’s forces in a short period since a June 2023 counter-offensive.

Russian Pressure on Donetsk

Despite the cut-off, Russia is stepping up its effort to overrun the 22% of the Donetsk region held by Ukraine.

The Russians are trying to complete the seizure of the towns of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, which they have attacked since July 2024.

Ukraine is reportedly resisting the Trump Administration’s demand that it withdraw from Donetsk, considered the “highway to Kyiv” if Russia renews its invasion in the future, in return for security guarantees for Kyiv.

The third set of Ukraine-Russia-US talks are in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In his nightly address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of Russia’s attempt to break Ukraine through attacks on enery infrastructure: “The more this evil comes from Russia, the harder it will be for everyone to reach any agreements with them.”