Russia has claimed to be in full control of Pokrovsk, but Ukrainian forces say they still control the northern part of the strategic city in eastern Ukraine.

• December 11, 2025

The Ukrainian leader holds urgent talks with the ‘coalition of the willing’ as pressure mounts over territorial concessions.

• December 11, 2025

By Fuad SHAHBAZOV, Baku-based independent regional security and defence analyst

The war in Ukraine has evolved into a complex geopolitical conflict while demonstrating the transformative role that drone technology has played in shaping the course of the war. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Ukrainian Armed Forces began to actively embrace modern warfare technology, especially the use of First-Person Drones (FPVs) which were critical in inflicting grave damage on Russian forces using ‘meat grinder’ tactics to storm Ukrainian front-line positions. In the past two years, Ukrainian forces have used FPV drones for real-time intelligence and reconnaissance of Russian positions and troop movements while also deploying cost-effective “kamikaze” drones to target Russian recruits, tanks, howitzers, and other armoured vehicles. Although drone technology is now a core part of Ukraine’s struggle against Russian intervention, Kyiv initially faced an acute shortage of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the early stages of the war, while the requirements of its frontline forces were partially met by civilian drones, mostly produced by the Chinese company DJI. READ MORE

• December 5, 2025

Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russian forces have also captured the city of Vovchansk in Kharkiv.

• December 2, 2025

White House ‘optimistic’ about a deal, but Ukraine still wary that plan is based on Russian demands.

• December 2, 2025

By Shanthie Mariet D’SOUZA, PhD, founder & president, Mantraya Institute for Strategic Studies (MISS)

Strategic autonomy worked when Washington was indulgent. Now India must choose what matters more. It may be no more than an annual ritual: the Indian Prime Minister and the Russian President meeting each other alternately in either country. However, the current geopolitical churn creates a special interest in Vladimir Putin’s impending visit to India, tentatively planned for the first week of December 2025, to attend the 23rd India-Russia Summit. He is expected to devote a large part of his meeting with Narendra Modi to finding ways to keep the strategic relationship alive amid New Delhi’s continuing attempts to arrive at a compromise trade deal with Donald Trump’s America. Unlike Putin’s India visit in 2021, which was a quieter affair, New Delhi is now laying out the trappings to greet the Russian President. Although the visit may not witness the grand optics mostly reserved for US leaders, a slew of preparatory visits by senior officials from either side are underway to make Putin’s official trip appear out of the ordinary. READ MORE

• November 25, 2025

Ukraine’s Kyiv pounded by hundreds of Russian drones

• November 14, 2025

Strike comes a day after fierce Russian assault on Ukrainian capital Kyiv killed at least six people and injured dozens.

• November 14, 2025