Usyk brought Hetman Mazepa's saber into ring, Zelenskyy calls on diplomats to achieve peace in 2025: December 22 highlights

Drones attacked an oil depot near Oryol

On the night of December 22, drones attacked an oil depot near the Russian city of Oryol. A fire broke out there.

The oil depot near Oryol was already attacked on December 14. After that attack, the fire lasted for several days.

Russians shot Ukrainian prisoners

Russian military once again executed Ukrainian prisoners of war at the front, reported the Unmanned Systems Battalion of the 110th Mark Bezruchko Brigade.

Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said that he would report this fact to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Usyk raised Mazepa's saber after defeating Fury

After his victory over Briton Tyson Fury, Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk brought a genuine saber of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, dating back to the 17th century, into the ring.

The weapons were delivered to Saudi Arabia, where the Usyk-Fury fight took place, under the supervision of museum specialists.

The fight ended in a unanimous decision of the judges — 116:112 in favor of Usyk. He retained his three championship belts — WBC, WBA, and WBO — and dedicated the victory to his mother, Nadiya Petrivna, and “all the mothers of Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy urged diplomats to achieve peace in 2025

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Ukrainian diplomats on their professional holiday and stated that next year everything must be done to achieve a just peace.

The head of state said that next year there will be "many changes in international affairs" in the United States due to the coming to power of Donald Trump, and elections will be held in many European countries, in particular in Poland and Germany.

Malyuska: One of the hacked registries was closed

Former Justice Minister Denys Malyuska said that most of the information from state registers that were attacked by Russian hackers was already freely available.

However, according to him, the Russians managed to destroy the State Register of Civil Status Acts, which is one of the most secret.

Malyuska noted that the Ministry of Justice has many copies of the registers, so they will be restored.

Scholarships for cadets will be increased

From March 2025, cadets of military higher education institutions in their 1st and 2nd years will receive payments at the level of the minimum wage in Ukraine - 8,000 hryvnias ($192).

At the same time, 3rd-4th year cadets, whose training is equivalent to contract service, will receive over 20,000 hryvnias ($479).

Ambassador: Poles will honor Ukrainian victims of the Volyn tragedy

Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar stated that Ukrainians who became victims of the Volyn tragedy on the territory of Poland will also be honored.

According to the diplomat, both sides are "working fruitfully" on this issue, and he also noted that Ukraine and Poland have agreed not to disclose the results before reaching specific agreements.

FT: Scholz "snarled" at Duda over Ukraine

During a summit of European leaders in Brussels, a dispute arose between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda over the confiscation of frozen Russian assets, the Financial Times reports, citing people familiar with the meeting.

Duda called on EU countries to confiscate 260 billion euros to help Ukraine. Scholz allegedly “snarled” at the Polish president, saying that Poland does not understand how this will affect the stability of the euro.

US cruiser shoots down American fighter jet

An American F/A-18 fighter jet was shot down over the Red Sea. It was mistakenly fired upon by a US missile cruiser. The pilots managed to eject — one of them, according to preliminary estimates, suffered minor injuries.

Other news

• Poland did not shoot down the missiles on its territory because they were not aimed at specific targets, the defense minister said.
• The death of a leopard at the Odesa Zoo is being investigated as a violation of safety rules.
• In Kovel, a drunken traffic police officer crashed into another car. He will be punished.