Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has said he prevented Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and Vasily Nebenzia, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, from being included on an EU sanctions list.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has criticised his EU counterparts for their lack of support for Viktor Orbán's Christmas truce proposal at a foreign ministers' meeting on 16 December.

The Italian government has approved its tenth military aid package for Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.

On 16 December, the Council of the European Union introduced restrictive measures against 16 individuals and three entities responsible for Russia's destabilising activities abroad.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is set to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Türkiye on Thursday, 12 December.

On Tuesday 10 December, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly announced the application of sanctions against those complicit in Russia's human rights atrocities against Ukrainians.

Ukraine is currently forming a list of partners to join a working group aimed at strengthening its defence and shaping a unified position on diplomatically ending the war.

Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans has given a grim assessment of the situation in the war zone in Ukraine during a debate on the defence budget in parliament, saying that Russia retains the upper hand and that the US elections are making the situation even more uncertain.

On Thursday, 5 December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by telephone with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The German Ministry of Defence’s spokesperson has refused to comment on media reports that Russia allegedly launched flares at a German helicopter.

Italy is preparing a new, tenth tranche of military assistance to Ukraine.

A delegation of Slovakia's far-right MPs, led by Deputy Speaker and leader of the nationalist party SNS Andrej Danko, is ready to visit Moscow.

Kyiv has already had contact with retired US Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, who was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, and looks forward to further cooperation.

The European Union and Ukraine have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide €18.1 billion in macro-financial assistance secured by frozen Russian assets.

Ukraine will receive two IRIS-T short– and medium-range air defence systems from Germany by the end of 2024.