European leaders including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy meet in The Hague to launch an International Claims Commission to compensate Kyiv for hundreds of billions of dollars in damage from Russian attacks and alleged war crimes.

Ukraine claimed it carried out an underwater drone strike on Dec. 15, the first such attack in maritime warfare, that critically damaged a Russian Kilo-class attack submarine at the Russian port of Novorossiysk,

Unveiling her plan on Dec. 4, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s needs for 2026 and 2027, for a total of 90 billion euros ($105 billion). International partners would fill the gap.

Germany is undergoing a significant military rearmament. The change has been driven by the ongoing war in Ukraine and U.S. pressure on Europe to shoulder more of its defense.

European officials are growing concerned that an emerging US-brokered peace deal in Ukraine could be exploited by Russia, paving the way for a re-invasion of territory in the war-battered nation’s eastern Donbas region.

Two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the arrangement would be similar to the NATO mutual defense agreement. But crucial details remain unsettled as negotiators seek a deal that Russia will approve.

A drone attack in Russia's Saratov region has killed at least two people and damaged a residential building. Local authorities reported the incident on Saturday.