Key developments on Dec. 21-22:
- For the primary time, Ukraine assaults Russian positions utilizing solely floor, FPV drones
- Over 12,000 civilians killed in Ukraine throughout Russia’s full-scale battle, UN says
- Two Russian airports droop flights after Ukrainian drones goal Kazan, media, officers report
- Slovak PM Robert Fico meets with Putin in Moscow
- Full restoration of state registries anticipated inside weeks, Justice Ministry says after main cyberattack
Ukrainian forces efficiently attacked Russian positions utilizing solely floor and first particular person view (FPV) drones as a substitute of infantry, a military spokesperson claimed on Dec. 20.
Speaking on nationwide TV, Sergeant Volodymyr Dehtiarov, spokesperson for the Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, mentioned “dozens of models of robotic and unmanned tools” supported by surveillance drones had been used within the assault close to the village of Lyptsi, north of Kharkiv.
Dehtiarov mentioned the drones included floor programs outfitted with machine weapons, and kamikaze FPV drones.
He didn’t specify when the assault befell.
Commenting on the experiences, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) mentioned the assault highlighted the distinction in angle in the direction of entrance line troops proven by Moscow and Kyiv.
“Ukrainian officers have repeatedly highlighted Ukraine’s efforts to utilise technological improvements and uneven strike capabilities to offset Ukraine’s manpower limitations in distinction with Russia’s willingness to just accept unsustainable casualty charges for marginal territorial features,” the ISW mentioned.
Russian navy losses in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine have exceeded 750,000 Russian troopers, and are anticipated to surpass 1 million Russian troops inside six months, U.Okay. Under-Secretary of Defense Luke Pollard mentioned on Dec. 19.
The U.Okay.’s newest estimate is according to figures from Ukraine’s General Staff, which, as of Dec. 19, sits at 768,220 troops misplaced because the begin of the battle. The figures don’t specify killed or wounded, although the general consensus is that it consists of useless, wounded, lacking, and captured.
“It is extremely probably that they’ve sustained important fight casualties, while solely reaching restricted tactical features,” Pollard instructed British parliamentarians on Dec. 19.
Russia has gained floor in jap Ukraine and Kursk Oblast in latest months however at the price of heavy casualties.
Russian losses reached report highs in November and December, with a each day excessive of two,030 troops misplaced in November, marking the very best each day loss because the starting of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Russian losses exceeded 45,000 troops and $3 billion value of kit in November.
President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed in a uncommon assertion that Ukraine had misplaced 43,000 troopers on the battlefield because the begin of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukraine is growing quite a few new sorts of drone programs.
Military tech builders created a brand new unmanned floor automobile (UGV) with the flexibility to hold explosives and drive beneath armored autos, the mission’s spokesperson, Viktoriia Kovalchuk, instructed Business Insider on Oct. 25.
The UGV, named Ratel S or Honey Badger, was developed as a part of the Brave1 authorities initiative.
The initiative was launched in April to spend money on protection tech improvements that may be utilized by the Ukrainian navy, in addition to function a platform to attach the trade’s stakeholders.
“The major concept is that the robotic (Ratel S) is used as a cellular warhead that carries anti-tank mines or different explosive gadgets,” mentioned Kovalchuk, including that it could actually run for 40–50 minutes at a median pace or for as much as two hours at a slower pace.
Ukraine’s General Staff denies Guardian report about air protection personnel being transferred to infantry models
A supply instructed the Guardian the scenario was reaching a important degree, expressing doubts concerning the air protection’s capacity to operate successfully.
Over 12,000 civilians killed in Ukraine throughout Russia's full-scale battle, UN says
Over 12,340 civilian deaths have been recorded in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) Izumi Nakamitsu mentioned throughout a U.N. Security Council assembly on Dec. 20.
The U.N. report on casualties comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin escalates threats towards Ukrainian cities, together with threatening on Dec. 19 to launch an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) towards Kyiv.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded civilian casualties in Ukraine from Feb. 24, 2022 to Nov. 30, 2024, Nakamitsu mentioned. Over 12,340 civilians had been killed and greater than 27,836 had been wounded throughout that interval.
The U.N. discovered that in 2024, aerial bombs and long-range weapons prompted a larger variety of casualties than within the earlier 12 months, Nakamitsu mentioned.
Aerial bombs killed 341 civilians and wounded 1,803 between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, based on information from the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The figures symbolize a threefold enhance in deaths and sixfold enhance in accidents from 2023.
The OHCHR additionally discovered that 42% of Ukrainian civilian casualties within the month of November resulted from Russian assaults with long-range weapons, a “important enhance” from prior months.
Russia intensified aerial strikes towards densely populated Ukrainian cities in October and November 2024. Drone strikes surged to report ranges and Russia dropped at least 100 guided bombs per day almost each day between Nov. 1-20.
Repeated assaults towards residential neighborhoods in massive cities, together with Kharkiv, Odesa, and Sumy, led to excessive numbers of killed and injured victims.
Russia on Nov. 21 launched an Oreshnik missile towards town of Dnipro, supposedly as a response to the U.S. and the U.Okay. lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s long-range strikes inside Russia.
Putin has since used threats of Oreshnik strikes to intimidate Ukraine and scare off Western help for Kyiv.
Nakamitsu mentioned that Russia’s escalating assaults are trigger for “grave issues.”
‘It’s excruciating’ – Ukrainians describe surviving Russian assaults that price them well being, family members, and houses
WARNING: This article incorporates descriptions of graphic scenes. Anna Kotova was chatting together with her sister on a video name, admiring her picture on the display screen. It was her nineteenth birthday, and for the primary time shortly, she was feeling good about how she regarded. “I used to dye
An airport within the Russian metropolis of Kazan has suspended flights after Ukrainian drones hit a number of buildings, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on Dec. 21.
According to the outlet, eight drones attacked town within the morning hours, with 5 of them hitting residential buildings throughout three districts of town.
Russian impartial information outlet Meduza reported that 4 of the eight drones crashed into two high-rise residential buildings and one right into a low-rise residential constructing.
Russian state media Kommersant reported that the airports of each Kazan and the neighboring metropolis of Izhevsk had suspended flights.
The Kazan mayor’s workplace has mentioned that faculties have been “selectively” evacuated, based on Meduza.
No casualties have been reported right now.
Russian state media outlet Tass reported {that a} drone trying to assault an industrial plant “missed its goal,” based on the press service of the governor of Tatarstan, the republic through which Kazan is positioned.
Kyiv has intensified its drone strike marketing campaign on Russian territory, focusing on navy and industrial services to weaken Russia’s battle effort in Ukraine.
On Nov. 25, drones operated by Ukraine’s navy intelligence company (HUR) struck an oil depot within the western Russian metropolis of Kaluga. These assaults comply with Ukraine’s first use of U.S.-made ATACMS missiles towards Russia and subsequent launches of UK-made Shadow missiles, made doable after Washington eased long-range assault restrictions.
Ukraine delivered 200,000 domestically-produced drones to front-line models up to now in December, Umerov says
The Ukrainian navy has confirmed to be a pioneer in drone expertise, utilizing modern methods to undermine Russia’s materials and numerical benefit.
Slovak PM Robert Fico meets with Putin in Moscow
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Kremlin on December 22, based on the state-owned TASS information company.
This marked his first go to to Moscow since returning to energy in 2023.
The journey was reportedly deliberate a number of days earlier, with discussions probably centered on Russian fuel provides, although particulars will emerge after the assembly.
Fico turns into the third European chief to go to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, following Austria’s Karl Nehammer and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.
This go to comes as Slovakia seeks to safe a fuel provide deal for 2024, regardless of Ukraine’s agency stance towards renewing its fuel transit settlement with Gazprom.
At a previous European Union summit, Fico criticized Ukraine’s place, saying, “We are demonstrably going through a fuel disaster due to President Zelensky.”
Slovakia has a long-term contract with Russia’s state-owned vitality big Gazprom and estimates different preparations might price a further €220 million ($228.73 million) in transit charges.
Slovak vitality firm, companions name for continued fuel transit through Ukraine
Slovakia’s state-owned vitality firm SPP and its companions in Hungary, Italy, and Austria referred to as for continued fuel transit via Ukraine in a declearation printed on Dec. 17.
Full restoration of state registries anticipated inside weeks, Justice Ministry says after main cyberattack
The Justice Ministry has confronted “severe challenges” after the biggest cyberattack in months focused state registries, however a full restoration is anticipated inside two weeks, First Deputy Justice Minister Mykola Kucheryavenko mentioned on Dec. 22.
In feedback to the Kyiv Independent, Kucheryavenko mentioned that the exact date of the total restoration of the registries could be extra clear within the coming days.
“The aggressor’s actions had been aimed toward destabilizing the work of the state registries,” Kucheryavenko mentioned. “The targets of the assault weren’t achieved.”
The cyberattack focused a number of authorities providers on Dec. 19, together with state registers overseen by the Justice Ministry, Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna mentioned. Officials say the cyberattack had been ready for months. Ukraine launched a felony investigation.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) prompt on Dec. 20 Russia’s navy intelligence company (GRU) could possibly be behind the cyberattack on Ukraine’s authorities providers.
The former Justice Minister, Denys Maliuska, instructed Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda that almost all of the knowledge Russia stole was “already freely accessible,” although closed a register had been additionally affected.
“This is among the most closed register the place info is saved, through which there isn’t a secret, it might appear — that somebody was born or married,” Maliuska instructed Ukrainska Pravda.
“But on the identical time, there’s a secret that’s strictly protected by legislation — the key of adoption,” he added.
Kucheryavenko mentioned that “preliminary estimates no info from the registries has been misplaced,” including that the ministry has backup copies of the information.
Behind the scenes of the fierce battles on the entrance line, each side are combating a cyberwarfare essential to the battle efforts.
Russia targets Ukrainian authorities providers in ‘largest cyberattack in latest time’
In the biggest cyberattack in latest months, a number of authorities providers had been focused, together with state registers the Ministry of Justice oversees. Russia has frequently focused Ukrainian corporations and authorities establishments with cyberattacks because the begin of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in…
