First captured DPRK soldiers and dismissal of scandalous professor Vasylenko: highlights of the day

First prisoners from the DPRK

South Korea's intelligence service has announced that the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces have captured a soldier from North Korea for the first time. However, they later learned from a “friendly country” that the prisoner had died of his wounds.

Later, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy clarified that not one but several DPRK soldiers were captured. All of them were seriously injured, so it was not possible to save them.

Vasylenko's dismissal

The management of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv has decided to terminate the contract with Mykyta Vasylenko, a lecturer at the Institute of Journalism, due to “violations of the Code of Ethics, the terms of the contract, and general ethical standards”.

Earlier, he was involved in a scandal because of his statements about “hungry” Ukrainian women and foreign peacekeepers who would improve Ukraine's demographics. According to the law, Vasylenko will officially lose his post on December 30.

Parliament dissolved in Germany

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved the parliament at the request of Olaf Scholz. This happened against the backdrop of the collapse of the three-party government. Early elections were agreed to be held on February 23.

Azerbaijan Airlines will not fly to Russia

Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) has announced that it will suspend flights from Baku to a number of Russian cities starting December 28. Earlier, the media reported that Azerbaijani pilots refused to fly to Russia after the deaths of their colleagues in Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan, Rashad Nabiyev, said there were grounds to assume that the Ebraer plane crash was due to “external interference” in its operation. The United States has evidence that the plane was shot down by a Russian air defense system.

There will be no Russian inscriptions near the Motherland

The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War in Kyiv has dismantled the letters that spell out the names of cities and the image of the Soviet Gold Star medal on the Alley of Hero Cities.

Prior to that, elements of the medals and text inscriptions on the bronze reliefs were examined, justifying the need to dismantle and restore them.

Fico threatens Ukraine over gas transit

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced “possible reciprocal measures against Ukraine” in response to Ukraine's refusal to continue transiting Russian gas through Ukrainian territory from January 1. He suggested that Slovakia could stop supplying electricity that Ukraine needs during power outages.

Meanwhile, the Slovak Prosecutor General's Office, on the initiative of activists, promised to check Fico's meeting with Vladimir Putin. The activists insisted that the Slovak prime minister has long been legitimizing the Russian leader, whose arrest has been issued on an international warrant.

Other news of the day

• The head of a department of the Kyiv City State Administration has made himself a fake disability. He received a “reservation” and payments, the police reported.
• Boris Johnson starred in a Ukrainian New Year's comedy.
• The court ordered Nestor Shufrych to fulfill his parliamentary powers.
• The second season of The Squid Game disappointed viewers. It even caused the companies' stocks to fall.
• In Russia, a video was made of air defense systems shooting down Santa Claus over Moscow stating they didn't need anything foreign in their skies.