The new Lithuanian government, which officially took office yesterday, intends to visit Ukraine next week.

The Estonian Defence Forces Intelligence Centre has noted in its weekly report the advance of Russian forces on the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts in Donetsk Oblast and the successful actions of Ukrainian troops on the Kupiansk front in Kharkiv Oblast.

Hungary "did everything it could" when it initiated a Christmas ceasefire and a large-scale prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said.

Andrius Kubilius, the new EU Defence Commissioner, who is on a visit to Kyiv, had to spend the morning of Friday, 13 December, in a shelter due to a large-scale combined attack by Russia.

Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will allocate an additional €200,000 from the 2024 budget to help the people of Ukraine.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has called his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to complain about Ukraine's rejection of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's proposal for a Christmas truce and a prisoner-of-war swap between Kyiv and Moscow.

During a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk refuted rumours that Poland would send troops to Ukraine, saying there were no plans for a European peacekeeping force.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has upheld Ukraine's ban on the public display of St George's ribbons, deeming it lawful in its 2017 judgment in the case of Borzykh v. Ukraine. [St George's ribbon is a propaganda symbol of war used by Russia – ed.]

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The Associated Press (AP) has reported that current US President Joe Biden has approved a new secret national security memorandum before Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Kaja Kallas, new High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has stated that US President-elect Donald Trump must be "hawkish" toward Russia if he intends to exert real influence over China.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Poland on Thursday, 12 December.

Friedrich Merz, leader of the German opposition bloc CDU/CSU and a candidate for chancellor, said he would only provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles after consulting the United States.

Russia has asked Türkiye to help with the withdrawal of its troops from Syria after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Friedrich Merz, the leader of the German CDU/CSU bloc, which is likely to win the parliamentary election in February, has proposed creating a European contact group to find a common position on ending Russia's war against Ukraine.