Ukraine Daily

Tuesday, December 20

Russia’s war against Ukraine

People take part in the mass within the Saint Nicholas Day celebrations at a church in Kyiv, Ukraine on December 19, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Zelensky: Russia receives 250 more Iranian-made kamikaze drones. Russian forces launched 35 Iranian kamikaze drones at Ukraine on Dec. 19, injuring three people. Thirty drones were reportedly shot down. Russia has repeatedly attacked critical infrastructure across Ukraine with missiles and drones since early October, killing dozens of people and causing power outages.

Ukrenergo: Ukraine’s energy system ‘in difficult situation’ due to Russian attacks. Emergency power outages have been introduced in 10 Ukrainian oblasts and the city of Kyiv, the state grid operator Ukrenergo said.

Energy giant DTEK says 10-hour-long power outages in Kyiv ’new reality.’ Following Russia’s overnight drone attacks on Ukraine on Dec. 19, only about 20% of consumers in Kyiv have access to electricity, Serhiy Kovalenko, CEO of energy supplier Yasno, a part of Ukraine’s private energy company DTEK group, said in a Facebook post.

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18 out of 23 kamikaze drones downed over Kyiv on Dec. 19. Russian troops hit an infrastructure site and damaged a roadway and a high-rise building in the capital, according to the Kyiv administration.

Danilov: Russia has missiles for 3-4 more mass attacks on Ukraine before running out of stocks. According to National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksii Danilov, “they (Russian troops) have already passed the limit (of rockets’ amount) that according to the regulations they should have kept, and they passed it quite a long time ago.”

Ukrainian intelligence: Putin postponed Ukraine invasion date three times. Russian President Vladimir Putin delayed Russia’s planned invasion of Ukraine on three occasions after consulting with Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, ccording to Vadym Skibitsky, a deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency.

Zaluzhnyi urges Zelensky to sign law increasing consequences for desertion. According to Zaluzhnyi, the current gaps in legislation, which only allow for fines or probationary sentences, are unfair and contribute to the loss of personnel, territory, and civilians on the front lines.

Zelensky: ‘Bakhmut remains hottest point on entire front line.’ President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast remains the “hottest point” out of the entire 1,300-kilometer front line as Russian forces relentlessly try to break Ukraine’s defenses in the city.

Mayor: Two explosions reported in Russian-occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram that two explosions occurred in the Russian-occupied Melitopol on the evening of Dec. 19.

Media: Shoigu’s “visit” to Russian forward positions was 80 kilometers from front line. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s claimed “visit” to “forward Russian positions” in Ukraine turned out to be more than 80 kilometers away from the front line in Russian-occupied Crimea, RFE/RL reported.

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Ukraine war latest: Putin visits Belarus, Russia attacks Kyiv with drones.

Russia launched another attack on Ukraine using Iranian-made kamikaze drones before sunrise on Dec. 19.

Photo: State Emergency Service

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Russia attacks 9 Ukrainian regions, killing 3 civilians over the past day. Thirteen people were wounded due to strikes on Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts in the east, south, and north of Ukraine.

Update: Russian drone attack on Kyiv Oblast injures 3. The overnight attack also damaged nine private houses and forced the authorities to enforce emergency blackouts, Kyiv Oblast Governor Oleksiy Kuleba reported.

Russia strikes central Kherson, killing 1. The regional administration’s building on the city’s central square was hit for the second time within a week, as well as another state institution and an educational facility, the statement reads.

General Staff: Russia has lost 98,800 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Dec. 19 that Russia had also lost 2,988 tanks, 5,969 armored fighting vehicles, 4,592 vehicles and fuel tanks,1,953 artillery systems, 410 multiple launch rocket systems, 212 air defense systems, 281 airplanes, 264 helicopters, 1,657 drones, and 16 boats.

International response

Reuters: US accuses UN of yielding to Russian threats over Iranian-made drone inspections. The United States accused UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of giving in to Russian threats in refusing to send officials to Ukraine to inspect the Iranian-made drones Russia has used to attack Ukraine, Reuters reported.

UK to provide Ukraine with $304 million in military aid. The U.K. will deliver “hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition” to Ukraine in 2023 under a new $304 million (£250 million) contract. According to the U.K. government, it “will ensure a constant flow of critical artillery ammunition to Ukraine” throughout the following year.

EU ministers agree on gas price cap. Energy ministers of the European Union member states on Dec. 19 have reached a consensus on a cap for natural gas prices, according to the spokesperson for the Czech Republic’s EU presidency, Dmitrij Černikov. Reuters reported, citing an official document, that the new policy states that a cap on gas prices will be implemented at 180 euros per megawatt hour.

Canada to seize assets of sanctioned Russian billionaire Abramovich. Canadia announced it would start seizing approximately $26 million from Granite Capital Holdings Ltd, a firm owned by Roman Abramovich. “This is the first time that Canada is using its new authorities that allow the government to pursue the seizure of assets belonging to sanctioned persons,” the statement reads.

Estonia’s President: Peace between Ukraine, Russia possible ‘only after aggression is defeated.’ Estonian President Alar Karis said there was no need to talk about peace or ceasefire in Ukraine before Russia is defeated, the media outlet ERR reported. “Peace is possible only when aggression is completely defeated and (Russian) war criminals are brought to justice,” added Karis.

Moldovan intelligence: “Very high” risk of new Russian offensive towards occupied Transnistria. Alexandru Musteata, head of Moldova’s Security Service, told the TVR-Moldova television channel that Russia still aims to secure a land corridor through Ukraine to reach Transnistria, which hosts 1,500 Russian troops and a large arms depot.

White House says US ‘closely monitoring’ Russian troops in Belarus. The United States is closely monitoring the Russian military presence in Belarus and will continue to do so, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing on Dec. 19.

In other news

Zelensky calls on Georgia to release Saakashvili for treatment abroad. President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the Georgian government to transfer ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, imprisoned in Georgia for over a year, to a clinic outside of the country.

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