Here is where things stand on Sunday, December 21:Fighting
The death toll from a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s port city of Odesa rose from seven to eight, with at least 30 others wounded, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in Odesa as “harsh” and accused Russia of trying to block Kyiv’s access to the Black Sea.
The Ukrainian leader also said that he is looking to replace the head of the Southern Air Command, Dmytro Karpenko, over the Russian strikes on Odesa.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said Russian forces also attacked the nearby port of Pivdennyi on Saturday, hitting several reservoirs.
Ukraine’s military said its special forces carried out a drone attack on a Lukoil oil rig in the Caspian Sea on Friday, along with the Russian military patrol ship Okhotnik. The military also said that the Filanovsky oil rig, which had been targeted twice this month, was damaged in the strike.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces took control of the villages of Svitle and Vysoke, located in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and the northeastern Luhansk region, respectively.
Diplomacy and ceasefire talks
Zelenskyy said the United States proposed a new format for talks with Russia, comprised of three-way talks at the level of national security advisers from Ukraine, Russia, and the US.
The Ukrainian leader expressed scepticism that the talks would result in “anything new”, but added that he believes that US-led talks have the best chance of success.
He added that he would su …
