Zelensky vows Ukraine will do everything in 2025 to stop Russia

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday vowed that his country would use 2025 to fight for an end to Russia's nearly three-year-long invasion by any means necessary.The Ukrainian leader's address caps a difficult year for the war-battered country which has been fending off a better-resourced Russian army for nearly three years. "Ukraine lost seven times more territory to Russia this year than in 2023, according to an AFP analysis, and is facing the possibility of a reduction in US military and political backing when Donald Trump takes over the White House.Incumbent US President Joe Biden's administration unveiled almost $6 billion in military and budget aid for Ukraine on Monday in a race to support Kyiv before Trump takes office in January.The Republican has promised to end the conflict in "24 hours" once in power, raising fears in Ukraine that it will be forced to give up all the land the Kremlin currently controls in exchange for peace. "I have no doubt that the new American President is willing and capable of achieving peace and ending Putin's aggression," Zelensky said.In his own New Year's Eve address on Tuesday, Putin did not explicitly mention the war in Ukraine but praised Russia's soldiers for their "courage and bravery". "You are true heroes who have undertaken the great military labour to defend Russia," he said.Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov paid tribute to "fallen soldiers" in his address, saying that they had died fighting "Nazism" -- a pretext Putin used to launch his invasion.Since that began in February 2022, Moscow has launched overnight aerial attacks on Ukraine almost every day.Those have targeted military and civilian infrastructure, including the power grid.Ukraine has stepped up its own attacks inside Russian territory in response, and urged its Western allies to supply more air defence systems.A Ukrainian drone strike in western Russia caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil depot, a Russian regional governor said earlier on Tuesday. "It seems to me that everyone has one wish, one dream: that Ukraine will win, and all our territories are regained," said Tetiana, a civil servant who declined to give her family name.The incoming US president has vowed to end the war but has not outlined any roadmap and there are concerns a deal could come at the expense of Ukrainian territory.Zelensky has sought to build bridges with Trump and his team, amid fears the Republican could slow vital US military aid or halt it entirely.