A barrage of Russian missiles was reported throughout Ukraine as Kyiv stated that Moscow might launch a brand new offensive and the Kremlin warned Washington to not ship Ukraine extra subtle weapons.
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Ukrainian authorities reported explosions in at the least three cities on December 16, saying Russia had launched a serious missile assault” on vitality services and infrastructure.
Native authorities stated on social media that there had been explosions within the capital, Kyiv, southern Kryviy Rih within the Dnipropetrovsk area, and northeastern Kharkiv as authorities sounded air raid alarms throughout the nation warning of a brand new barrage of Russian strikes, which have occurred intermittently since mid-October.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov stated on Telegram that town was with out electrical energy after authorities stated three missiles had hit vital infrastructure.
Energy outages have been additionally reported within the Sumy area within the east. In Kyiv authorities stated “air protection is working within the area.”
The strikes focusing on vitality infrastructure have been a part of a brand new Russian technique to attempt to freeze Ukrainians into submission after a number of key battlefield losses for Russian forces in latest months.
Earlier, Ukraine’s army stated Russia’s predominant focus remained on the jap cities of Bakhmut and Avdiyivka, however that it was additionally attempting to get a stronger foothold within the southern area of Zaporizhzhya.
The recent Russian missile assaults come as Moscow warned Washington in opposition to delivering subtle air protection methods to Ukraine, saying these methods could be a “professional goal” for the Russian army, a menace that was rapidly rejected by the US.
Russian International Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on December 15 that if stories about U.S. plans to supply Kyiv with Patriot surface-to-air missile system show true, it could turn out to be “one other provocative transfer by the U.S.” and broaden its involvement within the hostilities, “entailing potential penalties.”
Requested in regards to the Russian warning, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder stated that the US was “not going to permit feedback from Russia to dictate the safety help that we offer to Ukraine.”
His feedback got here because the U.S. army introduced it’ll develop coaching in Germany of Ukrainian army personnel. Beginning in January, 500 troops a month can be educated, constructing on greater than 15,000 Ukrainians educated by the US and its allies since April.
In the meantime, senior Ukrainian protection officers predicted that Russia will launch a brand new offensive early subsequent yr that would embrace a second try to take the capital, Kyiv.
Moscow’s new offensive may occur as quickly as January, Basic Valeriy Zaluzhniy and Basic Oleksandr Syrskiy have been quoted as saying in interviews with The Economist journal on December 15.
“The Russians are making ready some 200,000 recent troops. I’ve little doubt they may have one other go at Kyiv,” Zaluzhniy was quoted as saying.
Ukrainian Protection Minister Oleksiy Reznikov additionally stated in remarks printed in The Guardian on December 15 that proof is rising that Russia deliberate a broad new offensive.
“The second a part of the mobilization, 150,000 roughly…do a minimal of three months to arrange. It means they’re attempting to begin the following wave of the offensive in all probability in February, like final yr. That’s their plan,” Reznikov advised The Guardian.
Russia is continuous to construct up its army presence in Belarus, a senior Ukrainian army official stated.
Russian items “are present process coaching and fight coordination” in Belarus, with the Kremlin utilizing Belarusian officers and coaching grounds to enhance the fight functionality of current items, in addition to to coach newly created items, in keeping with Oleksiy Hromov, the deputy head of the Basic Workers’s Important Operations Directorate
Talking at a press briefing on December 15, Hromov stated the likelihood of a Russian offensive from Belarus “stays low,” however he highlighted that the switch of Russian weapons to Belarus is ongoing, together with three hypersonic missile-carrying plane, a set of tanks and a long-range radar-detection plane.
In different information, the Russin-installed head of Donetsk, Aleksei Kulemzin, stated on December 15 that town heart had been hit by what he described as the most important such strike because the space got here below the management of Russian-backed separatists in 2014. Kulemzin stated residential buildings, a hospital, and a college campus have been hit within the alleged Ukrainian missile strike.
