Plane crash in Kazakhstan and massive shelling of Ukraine on Christmas: highlights for December 25

Airplane crash in Kazakhstan

An Embraer 190 plane en route from Baku to Grozny, Russia, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan.

The airliner signaled an emergency when it was over the Caspian Sea. Chechnya's airport redirected the plane to Makhachkala and then to Aktau because there was allegedly fog in Grozny. At the time, drones were being shot down in the Chechen capital.

The plane did not reach Aktau, crashing to the ground. The plane crash killed 38 people. Another 25 people survived.

The media reported that the crash could have been caused by an explosion on board. In addition, a video was posted online showing holes in the plane's skin. Kazakhstan says that preliminary conclusions are not yet possible without the results of the examinations, while Ukraine has already accused Russia of shooting down the airliner.

Massive shelling of Ukraine

In the morning, Russian troops launched a large-scale missile attack on energy facilities in Ukraine. A total of 184 air targets were spotted in the skies over Ukraine, most of which were shot down.

One of the cruise missiles even crossed the airspace of Moldova, and air defense was raised in Poland. Explosions were heard in a number of regions, including Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih, and others, and there were deaths and injuries.

Taxes for individual entrepreneurs will not be increased retroactively

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a bill to increase taxes for individual entrepreneurs starting January 1, 2025.

This document corrected the tax bill No. 11416d, which was supposed to increase taxes retroactively — from October 1. So now the introduction of taxation for individual entrepreneurs has been postponed to January 1.

SBI: Lviv deputy wanted to flush bribe down the toilet

Law enforcement officers detained a deputy of the Lviv Regional Council and a deputy mayor of one of the region's territorial communities who demanded $1.2 million in bribes from a local businessman, allegedly for helping him win a construction tender.

Photos published after the arrest show that they tried to flush the bribes down the toilet.

Odesa ex-military enlistment officer detained again after release from jail

The former head of the Odesa Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support, Yevhen Borysov, was released on bail of more than UAH 39 million.

However, according to investigators, he could have planned to flee abroad, so he was detained and notified of two new suspicions.

Other news of the day

• SBU drones destroyed an ammunition depot supplying the occupiers in the Kramatorsk sector.
• The Pope called for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in his Christmas address.
• Head of Odesa branch of UDAR party Sukhanov was detained for bribe of one million dollars.
• In Kharkiv, a soldier who survived 36 days with a turnstile on his leg was operated on.
• Three Ukrainians could not be found for hours in the mountains of Romania because they disobeyed rescuers.