UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
❗️President Zelenskyy heard reports from Umerov and Hnatov following negotiations in the United States.
20 Points of Ukraine’s Peace Plan: Security Guarantees, Reconstruction, EU Membership (united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/20-points-of-ukraines-peace-plan-security-guarantees-reconstruction-eu-membership-14517)
While discussing the issue of a peace agreement, Ukraine has prepared a framework agreement—a draft of a basic document on ending the war. It contains 20 points addressing a ceasefire, security guarantees, Ukraine’s future for decades ahead, and other key issues that have been raised previously.
🪖 Russians are approaching a strategic stalemate in the war against Ukraine
Commander of the 3rd Army Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andrii Biletsky, said that according to Ukrainian and allied intelligence, Russian troops are exhausted and degraded, and are approaching a strategic stalemate.
According to him, the infiltration tactics Russia prides itself on are, in practice, leading to massive losses — six to eight times higher than Ukrainian losses. The situation with armored vehicles and artillery systems is also deteriorating.
Biletsky added that, realizing this impasse, the occupiers are attempting to seize Donbas by non-military means, using KGB-era influence tools to create the illusion that they are capable of fighting for several more years.
“I believe that in the near future — within three to five months — significant changes will occur. If Ukraine intensifies combat training, accelerates the introduction and scaling of new technological solutions on the battlefield, and replaces people as much as possible with machines — UAVs, robotic systems, technical reconnaissance and protection tools — there is every chance the Russians will be stopped. Then we will be able to sit down at the table calmly and secure not ideal, but acceptable conditions at this stage,” Biletsky emphasized.
💪 F-16 fighters shot down most of the cruise missiles during [yesterday's] Russian attack.
“Kinzhal missiles, although not intercepted by Patriot systems, did not reach their targets. Of the 35 cruise missiles launched, 34 were shot down, mainly by F-16 aircraft. For this, we thank our valiant pilots,” said the head of the communications department of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, civilian deaths in the first 11 months of 2025 were 26% higher than in the same period of 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
In November alone, at least 226 civilians were killed and 952 injured. Almost half of the casualties were recorded in frontline regions, where the main threats were short-range drones, artillery, and air strikes.
About half of the victims were caused by long-range missile attacks. In November, Russia also carried out five large-scale strikes on Ukraine’s power system, leading to prolonged power outages across the country.
🛢 A “traffic jam” of tankers carrying Russian oil is forming at sea, Bloomberg reports.
According to the agency, at least 20 tankers loaded with Russian oil are waiting for permission to unload off the coasts of China and India, with some shipments taking months to arrive. Despite record export volumes of about 3.9 million barrels per day, Russia is struggling to physically unload its oil due to sanctions.
The volume of Russian oil stored on tankers has risen by nearly 50% since the end of August. The situation has been worsened by intensified US actions against ships transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil, prompting shippers and buyers to fear similar measures against Russian cargoes.
Amid oversupply and weak demand, prices for Russian crude grades continue to fall, forcing Moscow to offer ever larger discounts to attract buyers.
Dozens of executives and employees of Russian defense companies have been prosecuted for failing to fulfill state defense contracts, Reuters reports.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, at least 34 people have been charged with criminal offenses related to unfulfilled defense contracts. At least 11 of the defendants held senior positions at the companies, including two members of top management.
Five defendants have already been sentenced to prison terms of up to six years, while around 15 others remain in custody awaiting trial.
The number of such cases reached a record high in 2025. According to Reuters calculations, 43 criminal cases related to state defense contracts were filed in the first eight months of this year alone.
For comparison, 34 cases were brought in all of 2024, 36 in 2023, and 32 in 2022. In the three years before the war, the number did not exceed 23 cases annually.
In four steps, we explain a documented process through which Russia recruits citizens of African countries into its war against Ukraine.
Based on investigations by international media and interviews with prisoners of war held in Ukraine, this pathway often begins with invitations to study or enroll in educational programs in Russia. It is followed by documentation problems and the threat of deportation, after which individuals, under pressure, agree to sign work contracts without fully understanding their content—contracts that later turn out to be military agreements.
Taken together, these cases point to an inhumane recruitment practice in which vulnerable people are misled and sent to the front line without a real choice.
The full video featuring the testimony of a Togolese citizen recruited by Russia is available on the United24 Media YouTube channel. t.me/United24media/38418
🕯 Hero of Ukraine Oleksandr Shemet, who carried out the final breakthrough at Azovstal, was killed in an Mi-24 helicopter crash, his brother Yurii Shemet told Suspilne.
According to him, a preliminary investigation found that on December 17 a helicopter of the 12th Separate Army Aviation Brigade collided with a Shahed drone.
“The Shahed was not visible at the control point. Apparently, it was flying very low. Those involved in the investigation say they had never seen anything like this before. The helicopter was so badly damaged that it was virtually torn apart. The bodies were badly burned,” Yurii Shemet said.
Identification of the victims’ bodies and decoding of the Mi-24’s flight data recorder are currently underway. Investigators have ruled out technical failure or pilot error.
Oleksandr Shemet had been taking part in the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine since 2015. At the start of the full-scale invasion, he defended Kyiv. He was awarded the Hero of Ukraine Star after the final air mission to Azovstal on April 5, 2022.
“He flew to occupied Mariupol, delivered ammunition and medicines, and evacuated the wounded. On the return flight, they came under heavy fire, but he managed to save the helicopter, the crew, and return safely,” his brother said.
Oleksandr Shemet turned 55 on December 13. He is survived by his mother, wife, daughter, and son, who is also serving in the military.