Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised to soon present an annual message to the Ukrainian parliament -- the Verkhovna Rada -- on the external and internal situation of Ukraine as he told Ukrainians in his nightly video address that the current week will be politically important for the country.
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Speaking on December 27, Zelenskiy said this week will be "important for Ukraine from a political point of view” and Ukrainians “must maintain a common understanding of our national goals” as the new year begins. These include liberating Ukrainian territory from Russia, the rebuilding of Ukraine, and returning of Ukrainians to their homeland, Zelenskiy said.
He said a meeting was held on December 27 to discuss the action plan for the Ukrainian military for next year and the situation in Kreminna and Bakhmut.
Zelenskiy also reported on a meeting on Ukraine’s banking system and cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and on conversations he had with the prime minister of Italy and the head of the investment fund BlackRock.
"I received another confirmation that the business of the developed world believes in our victory and is ready to invest in our reconstruction,” Zelenskiy said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reaffirmed her government's "full support" for Ukraine in her call with Zelenskiy, her office said in a statement.
"President Meloni renewed the Italian government's full support for Kyiv in the political, military, economic, and humanitarian areas and with regard to restoring energy infrastructure and the future reconstruction of Ukraine," the statement said.
Zelenskiy said in a tweet earlier on December 27 that he thanked Meloni, who took office in October, for her "solidarity and comprehensive support" for Ukraine, including the government's allocation of 10 million euros in aid. He also said Italy was considering providing Kyiv with air-defense systems.
Zelenskiy has repeatedly asked Ukraine’s Western allies for a wide range of weapons and air-defense systems to help efforts to counter the Russian invasion.
Italy’s previous administration sent five aid packages including military supplies to Kyiv, and Meloni's government is working on a possible sixth package.
Meloni's office also confirmed her intention to visit Kyiv and invited Zelenskiy to Rome.
Zelenskiy also said in his nightly address that Ukraine is preparing to participate in the World Economic Forum, held annually in Davos, Switzerland, to present its "position and prospects."
On the battlefield, Russian forces unleashed fresh attacks on the eastern Ukrainian towns of Bakhmut and Avdiyivka, backed by formidable artillery fire, the General Staff of the armed forces of Ukraine reported early on December 27.
Russian troops launched two missile strikes and 44 rocket attacks on Ukrainian positions and populated areas over the past 24 hours, the General Staff said, including 25 settlements around Bakhmut and Avdiyivka, the focal points of Russia's offensive in Donetsk.
Luhansk and Kharkiv are the other two eastern regions besides Donetsk that have been targeted incessantly by Russian bombardments, it said. In the southern Kherson region, Russians were bombarding populated areas along the right bank of the Dnieper River, the military said.
Ukrainian forces responded with an attack on Russian positions near Novobylozerka, in the Zaporizhzhya region, the military said.
Russia's military said it had inflicted significant losses on Ukrainian soldiers during artillery fighting on frontline positions stretching from Kherson to Kharkiv.
It claimed to have killed about 60 Ukrainian soldiers in fighting around Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, TASS reported, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. In the Luhansk region, some 30 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an artillery attack, the ministry said.
The reports of battlefield successes were not possible to confirm.
Britain's Ministry of Defense confirmed earlier in its daily intelligence bulletin that in the last two days, Donetsk and Luhansk have been the areas subjected to the strongest Russian attacks, but with little or no success.
"Over the last 48 hours, fighting has remained focused around the Bakhmut sector of Donetsk Oblast, and near Svatove in Luhansk. Russia continues to initiate frequent small-scale assaults in these areas, although little territory has changed hands," British intelligence said in its bulletin posted on Twitter.