Yuri Slyusar suggesting that a "cargo ship" was struck in the attack. The Kyiv Independent is not able to immediately verify the type of vessel involved. Ukrainian drones reportedly struck an oil tanker in the Port of Rostov overnight on Dec.

Ukraine controls nearly 90% of the strategic northeastern town of Kupiansk, its military chief said on Wednesday, but Russia's defence minister said a Ukrainian counter-attack on the town had been unsuccessful.

A deeper agenda is driving Europe’s support for Kyiv: self-preservation.

The U.S. has agreed to provide unspecified security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace deal to end Russia's nearly four-year war, and more talks are likely this weekend, U.S. officials said Monday following the latest discussions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin.