Trump's disqualification, first NATO-Ukraine Council announcement - Wednesday brief

Russia-Ukraine war

• Russian troops attacked Ukraine at night with kamikaze drones and S-300 missiles. Air defense forces destroyed 18 attack drones. The air defense system operated within Odesa, Kherson, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Kirovohrad regions. No casualties were reported.
• In addition, Russian terrorists attacked Kharkiv with missiles last night. A transport depot in the Saltivskyi district was hit. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
• Total losses of the enemy army since the invasion exceed 349,000 military personnel.

NATO-Ukraine Council to be held at the chiefs of defense level: Date announced

For the first time since its establishment, the NATO-Ukraine Council will be conducted at the level of armed forces chiefs. This will occur in January 2024 during the Alliance's Military Committee meeting.

The meeting of the Military Committee, the highest military body of NATO, is scheduled for January 17-18.

18-year-olds to be mobilized? Armed Forces of Ukraine response

Mobilization of 18-year-old men in Ukraine is currently not taking place. However, they are required to register with the military from the age of 17, said Public Relations Chief of the Ground Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Volodymyr Fitio, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

"The registration for conscription districts takes place from the age of seventeen, while the young men are still in school: they undergo a primary medical examination and, accordingly, already become part of the military registration in their local conscription offices and recruitment points," he said.

U.S. Senate on aid to Ukraine: It won't be adopted by the end of 2023

Leaders of the Democratic majority and Republican minority in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, have jointly stated that assistance to Ukraine will not be approved by the end of the year. According to them, Democrats and Republicans are "making encouraging progress" on a border security agreement.

The senators note that they will seek ways to address the issues of border security and funding for assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

Center of Russia's space communication in Crimea hit

On the morning of December 20, explosions were heard in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea. Allegedly, it was hit at the center of the long-range space communication of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Colorado court bans Trump from participating in primaries

The Supreme Court of Colorado in the United States has ruled to remove Donald Trump from the list of candidates for the presidency in 2024 due to his role in the protests near the Capitol on January 6, 2021. However, experts say that the practical likelihood of Trump being unable to become a Republican presidential candidate is very slim.

The reaction to this ruling was quite sharp. U.S. presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (Rep) committed to pull himself out of the Colorado Republican primary ballot after the court's ruling. In addition, he calls on other Republican candidates to "do the same immediately."