For today, links articles of commentary from Moon of Alabama (with maps) and Kyiv Post, and to three reports: from Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, Agence Presse, and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and SYRIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM JAN. 1  Ukraine on the verge of defeat, by Moon of Alabama | Moon of Alabama / Popular Resistance  During the last six months the main front line in southeast Ukraine has changed significantly. The only way to achieve the end to the war that President-elect Trump has promised is to concede to all the demands the Russian side has made. The western pro-war factions . . . READ MORE . . .

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A year of reckoning: Ukraine’s defense and diplomacy in 2024 and the vision of the future, by Iuliia Mendel | Kyiv Post  Days into 2025, the Russian war in Ukraine has unfolded amid shifting strategies, diplomatic ambitions, and escalating pressures both at home and abroad. The war, now deeply entrenched in the fabric of European geopolitics, has led Ukraine to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Moscow says Ukraine launches new attack in Kursk region of western Russia. From Reuters. Russia said Ukrainian troops broke across the border in a surprise incursion today, and have managed to hold on to a chunk of territory there which could provide Kyiv with an important bargaining . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.

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Russia says downed dozens of Ukrainian drones overnight. From AFP. Officials said the barrage damaged homes and triggered air alerts. Posted videos appeared to show distant explosions in the southern Rostov region while an air raid siren could be heard in the background. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine will ask allies to boost its air defenses at a meeting in Germany, Zelenskyy says, by Volodymr Yurchuk and Elise Morton | AP  KYIV — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will again call on allies to boost its air defenses at this week’s meeting in Germany, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes over later this month with a vow to end the almost three-year war quickly. READ MORE . . .