Kyiv

• Russia puts death toll from Ukrainian strike on occupied village at 27. Kyiv rejects accusation - Russian authorities said Friday that the death toll from a Ukrainian drone strike they said struck a café in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine’s Kherson region rose to 27 people. Kyiv denied attacking civilian targets. Svetlana Petren
• Zelensky ‘wishes for Putin to die’ during Christmas address - Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to wish for Vladimir Putin’s death in his annual Christmas address to Ukraine.
• Russia says battlefield success strengthening its hand in Ukraine talks - The Kremlin said Wednesday that its army's recent battlefield successes in Ukraine had bolstered its position in talks to end the fighting, as both Moscow and Kyiv prepared for more negotiations with the US. US President Donald Trump's envo