Pope Francis has called for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end the war triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In his traditional Christmas Day address, the Pope said "boldness [was] needed to open the door" to dialogue "in order to achieve a just and lasting peace" between the two sides.

Although not new, drone warfare has truly come of age in the war in Ukraine, and the lessons are plenty. The conflict in Ukraine has introduced drone warfare at an unprecedented scale. There is a constant buzzing of drones of all sizes above the battlefield in Ukraine as both sides are using unmanned aerial systems in great numbers.

Russia continues to insist that negotiations with Ukraine must be based solely on the demands it presented during the Istanbul talks in 2022. The aggressor refuses any compromises even though Ukraine has liberated a significant amount of its territory from Russian occupation since then,