Jealousy. Power struggles. Political infighting. This week's shake-up of Putin's top commanders in charge of Russia's invasion in Ukraine have it all, according to some security experts.
Control of Soledar could allow Russia to cut off Ukrainian supply lines to nearby Bakhmut, another fiercely contested city seen as central to Russia's struggling efforts to control eastern Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to observe the cease-fire for 36 hours starting Jan. 6. A Ukrainian official dismissed the move as "a cynical trap."
Russia will end 2022 in a weaker global standing than when the year began. Its struggles in Ukraine surprised the Kremlin, and the global punishments are starting to hamper the Russian economy.
Russian forces fired its largest air barrage into Ukraine in nearly two weeks Thursday as Ukrainian air defenses repelled several drones and missiles throughout the attack.
Despite unprecedented sanctions, Russia's economy is still functioning and it's still attacking Ukraine. That's led to questions about whether the sanctions are effective.
Ukraine's foreign minister told the AP that his government is aiming to have a summit, preferably at the United Nations with Secretary-General António Guterres as a possible mediator.
The Russian military reported on Monday that it shot down a Ukrainian drone approaching an airbase deep inside Russia, after three servicemen were killed from the debris.
Germany is firing up coal plants and importing liquefied natural gas to shore up energy supplies. Activists are carrying out increasingly disruptive protests, gluing themselves to roads and runways.
Putin said in a state television interview, excerpts of which were released Sunday afternoon, that Russia is "prepared to negotiate some acceptable outcomes with all the participants of this process."
Brittney Griner has asked her supporters to advocate for the release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine serving a 16-year prison term in Russia for espionage charges the United States are baseless.
A Kharkiv metro station became a bomb shelter as the city came under Russian attack. Now, at the holiday season, it's also a Christmas village where kids can drop off letters to Grandfather Frost.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Washington to meet with President Biden and Congress on Wednesday. The trip comes as lawmakers are debating billions more in aid for Ukraine.