Overview
- President Volodymyr Zelensky said national security advisers from the coalition of the willing will meet in Kyiv on 3 January, followed by a leaders’ meeting in France on 6 January to advance security guarantees.
- European leaders urged Zelensky to secure any U.S. commitments “on paper” and to avoid premature territorial concessions, according to a Spiegel account of their pre‑meeting teleconference.
- Italy’s Council of Ministers approved a decree extending assistance to Ukraine into 2026 with language prioritizing civilian aid and defensive capabilities after coalition negotiations over the text.
- Ukraine will forgo about €3.6 billion from the EU’s Ukraine Facility in 2025 due to unmet structural benchmarks, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said.
- Russia’s claim of a mass Ukrainian drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s Valdai residence was dismissed by Zelensky as a fake and assessed by ISW as unsupported by evidence.