In the potential elections in Ukraine, Zelensky would reach the second round but lose to the former commander-in-chief or the defence intelligence head

A recent poll shows that if presidential elections were held soon in Ukraine, former Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi (currently Ukraine's ambassador to the UK) and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would likely head to a runoff.

Conducted by SOCIS from December 12–18, 2025, the survey found Zaluzhnyi edging out Zelenskyy in the first round with 22% to 21% of the vote. Notably, undecided voters climbed to 24.1%, up from 21.1% in October.

In a hypothetical second round, Zaluzhnyi would dominate with 64% support against Zelenskyy's 36%.

If Zaluzhnyi sat out the race, the runoff would probably feature Zelenskyy versus Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence—with Budanov winning 56% to 44%.

The poll involved 2,000 respondents through face-to-face tablet interviews, with a margin of error of ±2.6%. It's part of SOCIS's long-running "Barometer" series, tracking public opinion for over a decade.

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Almost 34,500 civilians remain in the active combat zone in Donetsk Oblast

Serhii Honcharov, Head of the Civil Protection, Mobilization, and Defense Division at the Donetsk Oblast State Administration, reported that 34,482 civilians remain in active combat zones across the region.

These areas cover settlements in 21 hromadas (local administrative communities), with Druzhkivka hromada recently added to the list. For context, since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, over 1.32 million people have been evacuated from Donetsk Oblast to safer, government-controlled territories—including more than 202,000 children and around 47,300 people with disabilities.

Honcharov noted that 193,698 civilians are still residing in Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donetsk Oblast outside the direct combat zones.

China helped Russia to carry out strikes on Ukraine's energy sector - Zelensky

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused China of indirectly aiding Russia's war efforts by sharing satellite intelligence data.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainian intelligence has detected growing ties between Russia and Chinese entities potentially supplying space-based imagery. He noted correlations between Chinese satellite scans of Ukrainian territory and subsequent Russian missile strikes on energy infrastructure.

"We are recording increased ties between Russia and entities in China that may be providing space-based intelligence data. Unfortunately, there have been correlations between Chinese satellite imaging of Ukrainian territory and Russian strikes on the corresponding energy infrastructure facilities. We view such cases as activities that enable Russia to prolong the war and make diplomatic efforts less serious. We will also raise this issue with our partners." - Zelensky wrote.

This marks a rare public criticism from Kyiv toward Beijing, which has positioned itself as neutral but maintains close ties with Moscow.