The Estonian Defence Forces Intelligence Centre predicts that Russia will intensify its offensive against Ukraine in the next few weeks, despite significant losses, as evidenced by the regrouping of the invaders. Source
Russia & Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy convened a regular meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, pointing out that the main task of the state is to prevent the Russian forces from taking the initiative in the winter. Source
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that nearly 40 more Ukrainian citizens have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip. Source
Vasyl Maliuk, Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), disclosed the details of a special operation to destroy the Russian headquarters in Polissia and aid in the liberation of Kyiv Oblast that took place in March 2022. Source
About 20 representatives of the Ukrainian community in Finland came to the countrys Ministry of Justice on 8 December, protesting against its refusal to extradite Russian militant Yan Petrovsky. Source
Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu has commended Ukraine for making changes to its national minority laws in line with suggestions from the EU and the Council of Europe. Source
The foreign ministers of Estonia and Lithuania, Margus Tsahkna and Gabrielius Landsbergis, have criticised the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow the Russians to participate in the 2024 Olympics in Paris as neutrals, as this is against everything the Olympics should stand for. Source
Ukraine has managed to bring back 387 of the nearly 20,000 children abducted by Russia. Source
If the US stops supporting Ukraine and Russia comes to NATO’s borders, it will have to act in accordance with NATOs Article 5 and pay with the blood of Americans. Source
Reports from a pro-Russian TG channel suggest a MiG-29 fighter jet of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Airborne Forces was shot down by an R-37M air-to-air missile Source
The Russians want to build a so-called special military operation museum in occupied Crimea [special military operation is what Russian propaganda calls the war in Ukraine – ed.]. Source
Russian forces conducted offensive operations near Avdiivka and confirmed their advance by seizing Avdiivkas sewage treatment plant on 8 December. Source
In the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation, near the settlement of Klintsi, the S-400 air defense system launched a devastating missile strike on Kyiv. Source
Up to 800,000 Russian citizens have arrived illegally in Crimea since 2014, and about 100,000 Ukrainians have left the peninsula. Source
Ukrainian forces have repelled 35 Russian assaults on the Avdiivka front and 24 on the Marinka front over the course of the past 24 hours. Source
The Russian occupiers lost another 900 soldiers in Ukraine over the course of 8 December. Source
The Ukrainian Air Force warned there was a threat of a missile attack in five oblasts on the morning of 9 December, with the warning being in place for more than 20 minutes. Source
Mykolaiv was hit by a missile late in the evening on 8 December. The Russians struck an open area in the citys suburbs. Source
The Russian Ministry of Defense [RuMoD] released a new video – a Russian drone shoots down a Ukrainian 'Baba Yaga' drone in the air above Bakhmut in Donetsk. Source
Forty-seven per cent of Americans believe that US aid to Ukraine should remain at the same level or be increased. Source