A court in the Russian North Caucasus region of Chechnya has rejected a request for early release filed by Zarema Musayeva, the imprisoned mother of three self-exiled outspoken Chechen opposition activists.
Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, on December 12 approved in its final reading a bill allowing the National Guard to have its own volunteer groups that can take part in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine's largest mobile phone operator, Kyivstar, is down after being targeted by a massive hacker attack on December 12 that brought down its cellular and Internet signal, causing serious disturbances in communications and leaving millions without service in the war-torn country.
The European Union aims to convince holdout Hungary to back its proposed 50 billion-euro ($54 billion) aid facility for Kyiv at its summit to send a clear signal to Russia, a German government official said.