This is how things will stand on Sunday, January 7, 2024.

Weaponry:

Further proof that North Korean-supplied missiles were used by Russia to attack Ukraine was revealed by the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, which displayed media remnants of a weapon that struck the northeastern city on January 2. According to spokesman Dmytro Chubenko, the missile differed from the Russian Iskander missile in terms of its nozzle, internal electrical windings, and rear sections. Its diameter was also somewhat larger.

According to the state-run TASS news agency, which quoted First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, Russia wants to create more than 32,000 drones annually by 2030 and have domestic manufacturers hold 70% of the market.

Negotiations and diplomacy:

President Vladimir Putin pledged additional assistance for servicemen who were defending Russia's interests "with arms in hands" during a speech to the families of soldiers slain in Ukraine on the eve of the Russian Orthodox Christmas.

About fifteen Russian women who had husbands deployed to fight in the Russian full-scale invasion staged a rare public demonstration in which they asked that their husbands return from the front lines by symbolically placing flowers at the torch of the unknown soldier beneath the Moscow Kremlin gates. Out of a total force of roughly 617,000 troops, about 244,000 Russians have been called up to fight in Ukraine.

The chief budget officer for US President Joe Biden, Shalanda Young, issued a warning to Congressmen about the little window of time they have left to renew US funding to Ukraine. Republicans have rejected the money because they want the $106 billion plan—which also supports Israel—to be contingent on immigration controls at the US-Mexico border. Young described the circumstances as "dire.

Combating:

In and near the Ukrainian village of Pokrovsk, a Russian missile attack claimed the lives of at least 11 individuals, five of whom were children. Eight persons were hurt in the incident, according to Vadym Filashkin, the regional governor of the eastern Donetsk region of partially-occupied Ukraine.

The Saky military airbase, located in the western part of the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, was successfully attacked, according to the Ukrainian military. "Airfield Saki! Every objective was struck! Mykola Oleshchuk, the head of the Air Force, said on Telegram. Additionally, he released a picture that seemed to depict the airstrip.

Prior to now, Russia claimed that Ukrainian drones and missiles aimed at Crimea and the western Black Sea were shot down by its air defense troops. In 2014, Russia attacked and seized Crimea from Ukraine.

A "air target" was shot down as it approached Belgorod, a Russian city located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Ukrainian border, according to local officials. Christmas Eve liturgies in Belgorod were canceled owing to the "operational situation," according to Mayor Valentin Demidov, as Russians were ready to celebrate Orthodox Christmas.