Ukraine said it downed 16 "kamikaze" drones that targeted the capital and other cities. Meanwhile, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said military support for Ukraine "is the fastest way to peace." DW rounds up the latest.

Few recent meetings had been as highly anticipated as the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The Ukrainian leader delivered a defiant New Year's message, calling 2022 the "year of Ukrainians" and vowing to fight on in 2023.

Over recent weeks, Russia has been using more and more drones to attack Ukrainian targets. While Ukraine insists there is mounting evidence that those drones were manufactured in Iran, both Russia and Iran deny Iran is supplying Russia with drones.

About 200 people gathered in the Russian city of Samara on Tuesday to hold a vigil for soldiers killed by a Ukrainian rocket strike in Makiivka, eastern Donetsk, on New Year's Eve. Mourners laid wreaths and roses in Samara's central square, while priests recited prayers for the dead.

Russia's war on Ukraine and its economic fallout are likely to stay at the top of Germany's political agenda in 2023. But the economic pinch could undermine support for the government's Ukraine policies. What challenges will Chancellor Olaf Scholz face?

Russia has unilaterally called for a cease-fire from noon local time on January 6 to midnight on January 7, the same time as Orthodox Christmas celebrations. Ukraine dismissed Putin's proposal as "hypocrisy."

There have been reports of shelling amid the 36-hour unilateral truce, which has been met with skepticism by Ukraine. Meanwhile, some German politicians are calling for battle tank deliveries to Ukraine. DW has more.

Much of the fighting on the Ukrainian front is old-fashioned trench warfare. The front line often barely moves at all. Shelling is causing heavy losses, and medics do everything they can to save lives. DW joined an evacuation team on the eastern front.

After months of wavering, Germany and the United States want to supply Ukraine with armored infantry fighting vehicles. France made a start with the promise of armored reconnaissance vehicles.

EU Vice President Frans Timmermans discussed EU support to Ukraine with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on a visit to Kyiv.

Exact numbers are difficult to verify, but hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled the country since the start of the war in Ukraine. The reasons vary, while some wanted to escape the mobilisation order, others chose exile over a rising crackdown on dissent.