Overview
- In a nationally televised message, Zelensky said “May he perish,” widely read as a reference to Vladimir Putin, and urged prayers for frontline troops, prisoners and the fallen.
- Ukraine reported heavy pre-Christmas strikes with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles hitting energy infrastructure, while further drone attacks on Christmas night killed at least two people, according to officials and local reports.
- Zelensky outlined a U.S.-circulated 20-point framework that contemplates demilitarized or free economic zones along parts of the front under international monitoring and subject to Ukrainian approval by parliament or referendum.
- He said the toughest issues remain defining lines in Donetsk and Luhansk and setting governance for the Russian‑occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and that a Ukrainian presidential election would follow any deal.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the tone of the address and said Moscow is analyzing the draft proposal, with a formal response still pending.