The destruction I have seen in Ukraine is heart-breaking. Families separated as mothers and fathers, sons and daughters serve in the armed forces. Lives upended as Russian missiles strike apartment buildings,

In the first trading day after Ukraine ceased the flow of Russian gas and oil, benchmark natural gas prices in Europe surged 4%.

Attempts to tighten enforcement have either been performative or ineffective. Meanwhile, China, India and Turkey have done a booming business turning that crude into jet fuel and other petroleum products that are then sold legally into the European Union, U.S. and elsewhere.

A Russian drone attacked a civilian passenger bus in Ukraine's southern city of Kherson on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring nine more, the Kherson regional governor said.

On December 18, Zelensky met with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte in Brussels to discuss enhancing air defense for Ukraine and ensuring the sustainability of peace. In the following days, he met with top EU officials in Brussels to discuss the importance of Western efforts to achieve a "just peace."

A map made by Newsweek shows some of the 80 attacks Ukraine conducted on Russian oil refineries and depots in 2024.

The EU says most states will not be affected but other European countries, including Moldova, are facing shortages.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Dec 22, 2024. [Photo/Agencies] BRATISLAVA - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced Wednesday that he will travel to Brussels on Thursday to meet with the European Commissioner for Energy about the gas transit issue and "wake him up from his sweet sleep".

The expiration of Russian piped gas through Ukraine has put EU leaders on edge, sparking fresh supply concerns ahead of a cold winter season.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that EU leaders were baffled after US President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out military action to take Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.