Overview
- Ukraine reported 148 combat engagements on December 19, with 38 Russian assault attempts on the Pokrovsk axis and 19 on the Kostiantynivka sector, while no clashes were recorded near Kramatorsk.
- Odesa faced widespread outages after overnight strikes, with roughly 65,000 households without power and about 85,000 without heat, and damage reported at the Odessa-East railway station where a worker was injured.
- A drone strike damaged the Mayaky bridge on the Odesa–Reni route, killing a woman and injuring her three children, triggering partial border closures and lengthy reroutes as authorities assessed the structure and restricted heavy traffic.
- EU leaders approved a €90 billion package for 2026–2027 as an EU‑backed loan rather than using frozen Russian assets, a move Poland’s prime minister said gives Ukraine stronger leverage in talks.
- Vladimir Putin claimed Russian control of multiple towns including Kupiansk and Siversk, but Ukrainian officials and ISW disputed those assertions, with ISW estimating Russia’s 2025 gains at about 4,700 sq km, roughly 1.04% of Ukraine’s territory.