Foreign Policy
• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a part of this global tour, met with the leaders of Cape Verde, Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, Argentina, the United States, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland, as well as with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, and the President of the World Bank to further strengthen the support for Ukraine.
• EU voted to open accession talks with Ukraine.
• Ukraine invited Türkiye to join the new Maritime Capability Coalition launched by the UK and Norway. The efforts of the Coalition are aimed to strengthen security in the Black Sea, preventing Russian interference in freedom of navigation and the functioning of the grain corridor.
• EU, UK, and the US imposed new Russia-related sanctions.
• The UNGA has adopted the resolution condemning Russia’s grave human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
• The foreign ministries of Ukraine and ten other countries (Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the UK, and the US) established the Tallinn mechanism on cybersecurity.
• The US has put sanctions on Iranian drone-producing entities and individuals ‒ including those producing drones used by Russia to attack Ukraine.
Home and the Frontline
• 104 of the 112 Shahed UAVs used by Russia were destroyed by Ukrainian air defense.
• The total Russian combat losses since February 24, 2022, are: personnel ‒ about 349 190, tanks ‒ 5814, APV ‒ 10 794, artillery systems – 8 206.
• In the third quarter of 2023, the Ukraine’s GDP grew by 9.3% compared to the same period last year. This is higher than previously expected. The economy is being positively influenced by the UA Government’s business support programs, the reconstruction of infrastructure, the stable operation of the south-western export logistics corridor and other factors.
• Kyiv hosted the first Diia Summit, since the start of the full-scale Russian war. New digital transformations of Ukraine's public services were presented and are now available in the Diia App.
• The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, spoke to the media on the results of 2023.
Grain from Ukraine
• Ukraine has harvested 81.3 million tons according to the UA Ministry of Agrarian Policy. This is 20% more than previously projected.
• 10 mln tons of products have been exported by 302 vessels to 24 countries through Ukrainian corridor. From the beginning of the Corridor operation, the turnover of products increased from 278K tons in the first month to almost 5 million tons.
• On 18 December, M.V. Fuat Sezgin was loaded with 25 000 tons of the Ukrainian grain in Samsun (Türkiye) to deliver it to Nigeria within the Grain from Ukraine initiative.
Learn more about Ukraine
• Almost everyone in the world knows the festive jingle of 'Carol of the Bells', but few know the story behind its musical foundation - the Ukrainian folk song 'Shchedryk'. The melody of "Carol of the Bells" was first introduced to audiences 101 years ago. Learn more in our video: https://cutt.ly/GwDzKWFB