Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. Loud explosions in the city.

A Russian attack on Odesa killed three people, including one child. Ten people were injured, among them a child. There may still be people trapped under the rubble. Russia continues to deliberately terrorize and kill Ukrainians.

These are sisters Dasha, 20, and Yevheniia, 6. During a Russian strike on Ochkyne in Sumy region, Dasha covered Yevheniia with her body to protect her younger sister. Dasha was killed by the Russian strike, Yevheniia is in hospital in critical condition, doctors are fighting for her life. The girls' parents were also injured. Deepest condolences. Russia strikes the areas of Sumy region close to the frontlines every single day.

Russia abducts Ukrainian children. Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian children clearly shows how the Russian regime views people in general: as things. Not as subjects with rights, but as objects and resources. Objects to be abducted, transported, hidden, "rewritten", and subordinated. Resources for demography, propaganda, loyalty, and military purposes. ‼️ For Russia, Ukrainian children are a valuable resource. ▪️The core line of this crime is forcible removal. According to the Children of War state website (24.02.2022-14.12.2025), at least 19,546 Ukrainian children have been deported and/or forcibly displaced. The same source records 2,231 missing children and 48,723 found. ◾️ In parallel, a second layer is launched - identity change. In occupied territories and in Russia, children are forced to accept Russian citizenship, demonstrate loyalty, and study under the Russian state curriculum which justifies the invasion and erases Ukrainian cultural belonging. Children are psychologically humiliated and physically punished for any manifestation of their true identity. This is not merely "education" but an instrument of erasing language, memory, symbols, and self-identification. ◾️ The third element is "re-education", indoctrination, and militarization. UN reports document the introduction of patriotic and military programs in Russian-occupied territories aimed at preparing children for service in Russian military structures. The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights has reported data on 165 camps where Ukrainian children are Russified and militarized - located in temporarily occupied territories, in Russia, Belarus, and even beyond the region. ◾️ The fourth dimension is use in the war as a "disposable resource" for risk, sabotage, criminalization, and blackmail. Teenagers are recruited via social media for arson, bombings, and planting explosives without being told the real risks. There are documented cases where minors were killed or injured while following FSB instructions to transport explosive devices, not realizing they were effectively being turned into suicide couriers. These cases show that for Russia, teenagers are not children, but expendable material for terror. ◾️ The fifth is physical and sexual violence. The UN documents violations against children in occupied regions, including arbitrary detention, torture, cruel treatment, and sexual violence. According to data cited from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, as of September 1, 2025, 376 cases of conflict-related sexual violence had been recorded; among the victims were 20 minors (19 girls and 1 boy). This is one of the darkest tools of occupation terror: to break, humiliate, and silence a child and their family. Crimes against children are so grave and unacceptable that international justice began holding Russia’s highest leadership accountable precisely for them. On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crime of unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. ICC judges concluded there are sufficient grounds to believe these are not isolated incidents but an element of a deliberate policy in the context of an international armed conflict. The issue of crimes against children is extremely "uncomfortable" for the Russian regime, which is why Russia expends enormous effort to whitewash them through a set of repetitive narratives: deportations are called "evacuation" and "rescue," not abduction; children from occupied territories are presented as "Russian children of Donbas" allegedly being saved from "Ukrainian shelling." Propaganda constantly airs sentimental stories about the "adoption of orphans," "sanatoriums," and "holiday camps" in Russia, where in reality children are Russified, indoctrinated, and militarized. Ukraine is bringing children home, but these returns are a drop in the ocean and come at a superhuman cost. As of December 10, 2025, the Ombudsman reported 1,902 children returned. But tens of thousands remain in Russian captivity - a captivity that breaks both lives and souls.

An energy truce with Russia is only possible from a position of strength. It is necessary to deter Russia in terms of energy. This is only possible if Ukraine has sufficient amount of offensive weapons. If Ukraine has enough long-range missiles and the ability to strike back, Russia will simply lose the desire to attack Ukraine's energy system. If Ukraine continues to remain on the defensive, it will be a losing situation. No amount of generator deliveries will save it from a humanitarian crisis. A systemic solution is needed: offensive weapons, air defense means, and restoration of the energy system.