Zelenskyy's conversation with Aliyev about plane crash and dismissal of regional governors: December 28 highlights

Heads of Poltava and Kyiv regional military administrations will be dismissed

The government supported the decision of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to dismiss the head of the Kyiv Oblast Military Administration Ruslan Kravchenko and the head of the Poltava Oblast Military Administration Filip Pronin.

Pronin was appointed head of Poltava Oblast in 2023. Prior to that, he held the position of deputy head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA).

Kravchenko also got his position in the Kyiv Oblast Military Administration in 2023. The previous head of the administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, was instead appointed deputy head of the President's Office.

The flight attendant of the Azerbaijani plane spoke about the details of the crash

A flight attendant on an Azerbaijan Airlines plane who survived a December 25 plane crash near the Kazakh city of Aktau said that an emergency situation arose on board even before the emergency landing. He said a “strange sound” came from outside as the plane flew over Grozny.

Two US military officials, citing intelligence, told NBC News that Russian air defenses mistook the plane for a drone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and apologized for the plane crash, but he did not mention that a Russian missile could have hit the aircraft.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke with Aliyev. He instructed his partners to transfer Ukrainian intelligence data regarding the plane crash.

A North Korean soldier explained in his diary why he went to war

Ukrainian military special operations forces have published a continuation of the notes of a North Korean soldier who was killed in Kursk Oblast. In them, he reveals why he ended up in the war against Ukraine.

According to him, he “grew up in the bosom of a blessed party,” but allegedly betrayed it and “committed ungrateful acts against the supreme commander” Kim Jong-un. In order to “regain the trust” of the party, he went to war against Ukraine.

Zelenskyy responded to Slovakia's threats

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Moscow could have instructed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to threaten to disrupt electricity supplies to Ukraine.

He emphasized that Slovakia's share in electricity imports to Ukraine is about 19%. The Ukrainian government is working with its EU neighbors to maintain the necessary volume.

The day before, Fico said that his country may stop supplying Ukraine with electricity, which is needed during the deficit in the energy system after Russian attacks. Allegedly because Kyiv does not agree to resume the transit of Russian gas through its territory.

General Syrskyi summed up the results of 2024

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi held a meeting on the results of the army's activities for 2024 and determined priorities for the next year.

According to Syrskyi, since the beginning of 2024, the total losses of the Russians have already exceeded 421,000 killed and wounded.

The commander-in-chief also emphasized that the volume of drone deliveries to the army has increased 19 times.

Ukraine received LNG from the USA

Ukraine has received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas from the United States as part of European efforts to completely wean itself off Russian fossil fuels.

Europe gets about 40% of its LNG imports from the US, but Ukraine has never purchased it directly before.

The Day of Interethnic Harmony was added to Ukrainian calendar

Ukraine has introduced a new public holiday, the Day of Interethnic Harmony and Cultural Diversity. It will be celebrated annually on May 21.

The holiday was established, among other things, to "promote the free development of the cultural diversity of the indigenous peoples and national minorities of Ukraine."

Other news

• The Defense Forces confirmed that they destroyed a Shahed warehouse in Russia’s Oryol Oblast.
• Greece will transfer American Sea Sparrow missiles from the Cold War era to Ukraine, reports Kathimerini.
• All of Pokrovsk was left without electricity. It is unknown when it will be restored.
• The court ordered the demolition of a cottage town in Kyiv, built instead of a children's camp.
• Subsidy for displaced persons to rent housing will be available in all regions.