As we enter the 674th day of the war, these are the most important developments.

Here is the situation as of Friday, December 29, 2023.

Battle

• Ukraine’s prosecutor general said two fishermen were killed after Russia shelled a village on the banks of the Dnipro River along the front line in southern Ukraine. Five people were also injured in the attack.
• Ukraine’s southern military command said a Panama-flagged bulk carrier heading to one of the country’s Danube ports to load grain hit one Russian mine in the Black Sea This causes it to lose speed and control and a fire starts. Two members of the 18-person crew were injured, one of them, an Egyptian, was taken to hospital. The captain intentionally ran the ship aground to keep it from sinking, and Ukraine will use tugboats to bring it into port.
• The country’s air force said on Thursday that air defense systems had shot down seven of the eight Shahed drones launched from Moscow overnight. The drones were shot down in three central and southern regions, the air force added.
• The governor of the Odessa region, Oleh Kiper, said a fire broke out in a multi-story building in the Black Sea port city that was hit by a downed drone. Kiper said information about casualties was being verified and urged residents to stay in shelters during an ongoing drone strike.
• The Russian Defense Ministry said it foiled a Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea, which Russia captured and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Politics and diplomacy

• According to Britain’s Financial Times, the United States suggested that the Group of Seven (G7) explore options to seize $300 billion in frozen Russian assets. According to the report, Washington, with support from the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada, has proposed providing G7 leaders with options for consideration at a possible meeting on February 24.
• A Moscow court has sentenced two men to prison for taking part in a poetry evening critical of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. 33-year-old poet Artyom Kamardin was sentenced to seven years in prison for reciting the poem, while 23-year-old Yegor Shtovba was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for his participation in the anti-mobilization protests. Supporters shouted “Shame!” After the punishments were announced, some people were later arrested by the police, according to the AFP news agency.
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attended a government-organized event for a new group of children brought from Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, amid international outrage over his country’s involvement in Moscow’s terror attacks Forced deportation of Ukrainian children. Officials did not say how many Ukrainian children were in the youngest group.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed Ukraine’s peace formula in a phone call with Pope Francis, noting that more than 80 countries are “already involved in the process.” Zelensky said the framework would next be discussed in Davos, Switzerland. The formula calls for Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukrainian territory, including areas occupied since 2014, before talks can begin.
• Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, said he had a “productive phone call” with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto to discuss a meeting between Zelensky and Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the “near future.” Earlier this month, all EU states except Hungary agreed to start accession negotiations with Ukraine and Budapest clogged a new EU budget to support Ukraine.