A new meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, also known as the Ramstein format, is scheduled for 9 January in Germany.

Over half of German residents (54%) believe peacekeepers should be sent to Ukraine in case of a ceasefire.

American billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, has  criticised UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and called for new elections in the UK.

NATO fighter jets conducting air patrol missions in the Baltic States carried out two sorties between 23 and 29 December to detect and escort Russian aircraft violating flight rules.

Saskia Esken, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, has supported the continuation of telephone talks between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

Rolf Mützenich, Head of the parliamentary faction of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDPG), has said that American billionaire Elon Musk had crossed the "boundaries of what is acceptable" in US-German relations with his scandalous statements.

Italy has announced the allocation of €13 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund on the instructions of Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

The European Union has stated that it is prepared for Ukraine to cease the transit of Russian gas.

In his New Year's address, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

The Kremlin has revealed which European politicians are receiving New Year telegrams from Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin.

Slovakia has expressed outrage over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's remarks that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has opened a "second energy front" with his threats to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, the anti-Western "President" of Georgia, whose legitimacy is not recognised by much of the international community, incumbent Georgian leader Salome Zourabichvili along with the opposition signed several laws on his inauguration day, including a ban on masks and pyrotechnics at protests.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called on the EU to ban the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has written a letter to European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in which he again complains about Ukraine's refusal to continue transiting Russian gas after 2024.