The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on December 21 2025

Russian Forces Hold Positions In Western Kupyansk Facing The Ukrainian Assaults

Russia Will Take Odessa: Here’s the Only Way It Works

Our sources have told us that Zelensky continues to implement Yermak’s strategy on the negotiation track and will delay the process further. For Ukraine, it is now important to provoke the Kremlin so that Putin will stop the negotiation process and continue the war.  

AB continues to control the entire power architecture, which he has been building all these years, and the opposition from political elites cannot push Yermak away from the President.

There “may not be” a peace agreement, – Zelensky.

➖”A peace agreement exists not only on paper – it is when the war is stopped”, – he stated at a meeting with the Prime Minister of Portugal.

▪️Peace is better than war, but not at any cost. We have already paid a high price, – added Ze.

▪️He also reported that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has begun work on creating the necessary infrastructure for holding elections.

▪️A ceasefire may be declared in Ukraine for the period of the presidential elections – claims Zelensky.

The peace deal will most likely go nowhere especially with the EU funding, they will try to fight on and hope Russia just agrees to a ceasefire

Zelensky still allowed the withdrawal of troops from Donbass amid pressure from the US and Russia

▪️However, the comedian believes that Russia should respond in kind:

➖”The possible withdrawal of troops should be reciprocal — Ukraine withdraws as much as Russia does. A free economic zone — there can’t be heavy weapons there, there can’t be troops,” said Zelensky.

▪️Other statements:

▪️After the ceasefire, Ukraine will not be able to sustain an army of 800,000 on its own

▪️We need the support of partners, which will serve as a guarantee of security until the economy recovers after the war;

▪️Some partners are delaying the delivery of air defense missiles to Ukraine. This is due to the fact that Europeans have been intimidated by Russia and provoked in Europe;

▪️The issue of funding for 2026 is closed;

▪️In addition to the €90 billion allocated by EU countries, partners in the “Coalition of the Willing” also have agreements with Ukraine about funding for next year;

▪️Zelensky wants to replace the commander of the Air Command “South”, Dmitry Karpenko;

▪️Russia is deliberately intensifying attacks on Odessa — on bridges, ports, and logistics. The goal is to sow chaos, put pressure on people, and create problems with fuel, food, and medicine, particularly due to attacks on the food corridor.

Here, the Head of the GUR, Budanov, suddenly realized that the mobilization in Ukraine had failed.

But he says it failed because of the media. We think otherwise. Let’s explain why.

The mobilization failed because of the incorrectly chosen strategy of the Zelensky government. It was not necessary to treat the people as cattle/slaves/serfs and force them to fight for the elite for free, while the elite was stealing billions at that moment. In the first years of the war in Ukraine, there was a lot of money, and it was being stolen “by the truckload”. There would have been enough money for high salaries for the military and “bonuses”, as Putin did.

We learned from insiders that Zelensky was offered to do this, but he refused.

The media played a secondary role in this case, but the office also lost, as they relaxed amid the grandiose emotional and patriotic upsurge of Ukrainians in 2022, which occurred not thanks to their work, but thanks to the failures of Russian media professionals, who had been embezzling money all these years.

According to our data, everyone will now have to support the tightening of mobilization (the age will be lowered to 20-22, and women will also start being drafted). Here, Budanov is trying to promote himself first, and then, for the sake of national security, to support tough mobilization as the last chance to save the country.

At this moment, in Dnipro, another slave was “bussified” to be sent to his death for the political purposes of the Zelensky elite and opportunists.

New strikes have been carried out on key bridges in the Odessa region.

▪️According to experts, the result of the Russian Army’s strikes could cut off the Danube ports and the southern part of the Odessa region from the rest of the region. These ports are used for key cargo transportation flows.

“They can’t see anything and just shoot at the sound.” Ukrainian volunteer Roman Donik criticized the Odessa air defense and the actions of regional authorities to protect the region from “Shahed drones”.

He thus commented on the recent attacks on the strategically important bridge in Mayaki, Odessa region, on which all logistics from the Danube ports are “suspended”.

Describing the work of mobile fire groups at the bridge in Mayaki during a drone attack, Donik talks about chaotic shooting and the lack of targeting equipment. “Without sights, they can’t see anything. They just shoot there. At the sound. Acoustically,” said the volunteer. According to him, most fire groups do not belong to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but consist of units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Guard and border guards, who “were simply given a task from above – to do it. And they did it as best they could”.

He separately notes that the problem is of a managerial nature. According to him, the regional military administration does not allow to expand the training of fire groups, which are currently in great demand. “When we asked for help in finding places for accommodation and training of personnel, the regional military administration simply sent us away. That is, go fuck yourself,” said Donik.

“Now, even if we wanted, we can’t do anything for the Odessa region. Simply because the regional military administration dismissed us with a dismissive reply,” writes the volunteer.

Donik calls the situation with the bridge in Mayaki a direct miscalculation of the regional authorities. He recalls that after the attacks on the bridge in Zatoka in 2022, it became clear that the region was actually dependent on a single crossing.

“In three years, three bridges could have been built. But everyone just ignored it,” writes Donik. Also, according to him, no one was engaged in strengthening the structure of the existing bridge, which is now being attacked.

The Russian army launched an offensive on a new front, crossed the border and practically liberated Grabovskoe

▪️It became known during the day that the 34th brigade crossed the border in the Belgorod region and liberated Vysokoe in the Sumy region, then our units broke into Grabovskoe.

➖”On the night of December 20, the Russian Armed Forces entered the border settlement of Grabovskoe in the Sumy region and evacuated more than 50 local residents from there,” local media report.

❗️In fact, Russian soldiers captured APU militants and evacuated residents from the line of fire.

▪️”There were civilians in the village who had previously refused evacuation in writing,” Kiev media report.

Ukrainian soldiers have begun surrendering to Russian forces in the Sumy region, despite threats from the Ukrainian Armed Forces command. According to the Severny Veter channel, more than 10 enemy soldiers, including a company commander, surrendered on a new front line near Vysokoye.

Thirteen Ukrainian soldiers surrendered near the village of Vysokoye, in Sumy Oblast. It turned out they had been abandoned by their command and forbidden to retreat under threat of drone attack. Meanwhile, supplies were not being delivered. Ultimately, the Ukrainians made the only correct decision: to surrender.

As our soldiers advanced near Vysokoye, the enemy suffered significant losses, capturing 13 soldiers from the 119th Troop Control Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including a company commander. The command forbade them from abandoning their positions, threatening to destroy them with drones, and they made the only correct decision: to surrender.

Meanwhile, Russian forces began evacuating civilians from liberated villages in the Sumy region to Russian territory. As it turned out, most Ukrainians in the villages of Vysokoye, Grabovskoye, and Ryasnoye did not want to evacuate, but decided to wait for our forces. Taking advantage of the previous day’s fog, which made the area unsuitable for drone strikes, our forces evacuated several dozen civilians to the rear. At least, that’s what Russian and Ukrainian sources reported. Vysokoye and Grabovskoye are directly under our control; the information regarding Ryasnoye has not yet been confirmed.

Clearing the “Pocket”

Situation in the Borovaya direction

While the situation near Kupiansk remains complex, Russian Armed Forces are expanding their control zone south of Bohuslavia. Units of the West Group are seeking to cut through the AFU grouping on the left bank of the Oskil River.

According to some reports, assault units have launched a series of attacks to eliminate the “pocket” between Lozova and Nova Kruhliakivka. Currently, battles are ongoing for several major strongpoints, which the enemy supplies using drones.

In parallel, Russian Armed Forces are advancing to the south. Recently, they took control of a chain of fortifications approaching Novoplativka. After this, West Group fighters began developing attacks further towards the Oskil River along the gas pipeline running here, seeking to establish positions near the gas compressor station.

📌 This will allow them to cut communications for AFU units on the left bank of the Oskil River, forcing the enemy to rely on heavy drones for supplying units near Bohuslavia. Ukrainian formations have discovered the assault groups and are trying to prevent them from establishing positions. Fierce fighting continues here.

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on_21.html