WASHINGTON, Dec 7 - Struggling to maintain a steady supply of arms for its war in Ukraine, Moscow is looking to Iran once again to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles, The Associated Press reported citing two officials familiar with the matter.

KYIV, Dec 7 - Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged Wednesday that his “special military operation” in Ukraine is taking longer than expected but said it has succeeded in seizing new territory and added that his country’s nuclear weapons are deterring escalation of the conflict.

KYIV, Dec 6 - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday said his armed forces were capable of fighting off any Russian attack, as the country marked its national army day with a display of U.S. armored vehicles and patrol boats, Reuters reported.

WASHINGTON, Dec 7 - The White House says President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that the United States is prepared to launch strong economic measures should Russia invade Ukraine, CNN reported.

KYIV, Dec 6 - Ukraine's GDP growth in 2021 will amount to 3.4% instead of 4.1% expected in April, and economic growth in 2022 is projected at 3.6% instead of 3.7%, such a consensus forecast was posted by the Ministry of Economy on its website.

KYIV, Dec 4 – Former President Petro Poroshenko attacked the government for keeping low expenditures on armed forces in 2021 budget draft even as Ukraine is fighting off the Russian aggression. Instead, he said the government seeks to boost spending on police.

KYIV, Dec 4 – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is confident that Ukraine does not need to introduce a lockdown in December to contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, but there is a possibility of such a scenario in January.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 7 - The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution Monday urging Russia to immediately withdraw all its military forces from Crimea “and end its temporary occupation of the territory of Ukraine without delay,” AP reported.

KYIV, Dec 7 - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is concerned that recent developments in Ukraine "could roll back progress that has been made in setting up independent institutions" to crack down on corruption.

KYIV, Dec. 7 - Parliament voted on Thursday to extend a ban on the sale of agricultural land by one year, delaying what financial backers say is a key reform essential to Ukraine’s long-term economic growth.