Speaking at Friday's weekly Ministry of Defense press conference Kaju said that despite all the various peace negotiation initiatives, it is important to remember that military operations are continuing and the fighting remains intense.

"Russia has repeatedly stated that it will achieve its goals with or without military action and is trying to give the impression that it can continue this war at its current pace for a very long time," Kaju said.

"However, it is important to note that in 2025, for example, Russia has managed to capture less than 1 percent of Ukraine's territory. This year has also been characterized by heavy losses among Russian armed forces personnel. We are talking about losses of 1,000-1,500 fighters per day, which means that these losses are very significant over the course of a year," he added.

Kaju explained that Russia's tactics have changed over time with the past few weeks characterized by extensive drone attacks, primarily against Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

"Hundreds of drones are used every day, supported by dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles. Ukraine's air defense is able to shoot most of them down, but a few drones and different types of missiles still get through the defenses, causing damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure. However, Ukraine has so far been able to repair all damage and power outages fairly quickly, which demonstrates the high level of Ukraine's of resilience," Kaju pointed out.

Frontline situation and Ukrainian countermeasures

According to Kaju, Russia's focus on the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad direction remains unchanged, though it has achieved limited success there.

"This success is mostly localized, although it does put pressure on the supply routes for Ukrainian units in the region. However, it is important to note that Ukraine is simultaneously developing alternative supply routes so that its units can continue their combat operations in the region. In other words, Ukraine will not give up its territories lightly and will continue to fight there as long as it is tactically expedient and reasonable to do so," Kaju said.

Kaju added that Russian forces have also achieved limited success in the Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, while Ukrainian defensive operations and counterattacks also continue there as well.

"So, on the whole, Russia's progress is once again rather marginal and is accompanied by pretty significant losses in both manpower and equipment," Kaju said.

Kaju pointed out that Ukraine is also continuing to launch long-range precision strikes against Russian military and energy infrastructure as a countermeasure, primarily to reduce Russia's ability to successfully wage war.

"For example, work at the oil refinery in Ryazan was halted after Ukraine struck the plant for the second time in two weeks. The liquefied gas terminal in the port of Temryuk has also been severely damaged. A good example of Ukraine's maritime activity is the attack on the tanker Dashan, which belongs to Russia's 'shadow' fleet," Kaju said.

On December, 9 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed an "energy ceasefire," suggesting Ukraine will stop its strikes against Russian energy infrastructure if Russia also halts its attacks on Ukraine's.

However, Russia has rejected the proposal in the hope that it will be able to put more pressure on Ukraine.

Ukraine has stated that it has begun to use its own ballistic missiles in military operations, said Kaju, adding that it is important to note Ukraine is also using the modified Neptune cruise missile and Flamingo cruise missile.

"All in all, these three missile systems have significantly expanded Ukraine's ability to attack Russian targets deep inside Russia, meaning we are talking about attacks hundreds of kilometers away from the front line."

Kaju summed up the latest situation by saying the center of the fighting has not changed with both sides focusing on attacking each other's energy infrastructure.

"The fighting is intense despite the various peace negotiation initiatives, and so far, we can say that regardless of all the rhetoric coming from Russia, Ukraine is still able to actively defend its territory. There have been no significant changes on the front line," Kaju said.

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