Russian forces attacked the central Ukrainian areas of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhya with kamikaze drones and heavy artillery, officers mentioned on December 7, as heavy preventing continued within the east a day after Moscow accused Kyiv of hitting an airfeld inside Russia.
Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko mentioned all Russian drones had been destroyed by Ukrainian forces within the in a single day assault.
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“Navy males from the East air command did an incredible job. We shot down all eight enemy drones that the enemy directed on the space,”Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.
He mentioned Russian shelling focused the Nikopol district and metropolis, inflicting injury to fuel pipelines, homes, and farm buildings, however no individuals had been wounded.
“Nikopol suffered essentially the most. As much as a dozen non-public homes, farm buildings, and fuel pipelines had been broken within the metropolis. A number of outlets, workplace buildings, and a school had been destroyed by Russian shells,” he mentioned.
Russian troops additionally shelled two settlements within the Zaporizhzhya area, the top of the regional navy administration, Oleksandr Starukh, mentioned on December 7.
“Two homes had been destroyed in one of many villages, and eight extra had been broken. “We find out about three wounded, together with a 15-year-old lady,” mentioned Starukh.
In Washington, U.S. lawmakers agreed to offer Ukraine no less than $800 million in extra safety help subsequent 12 months, in response to a protection coverage invoice unveiled on December 6.
WATCH: Soviet-era T-72 tanks are getting new optics, armor, and extra at a Czech facility in Sternberk, thanks partly to the efforts of Ukrainian refugees working there.
The Fiscal 2023 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorizes the extra spending for the Ukraine Safety Help Initiative, a rise of $500 million over President Joe Biden’s request earlier this 12 months.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned on December 7 the USA “neither inspired nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside Russia” after one other Russian airfield was set ablaze by a drone strike on December 6, a day after Russia had mentioned two of its air bases, had been hit by drones.
Blinken added that it was essential to know what Ukrainians reside via on daily basis with the “ongoing Russian aggression,” accusing Russia of “weaponizing winter” via assaults on civilian infrastructure.
Officers within the Russian metropolis of Kursk, round 90 kilometers north of the Ukraine border, launched photos of black smoke above an airfield, the place the governor mentioned an oil storage tank had gone up in flames.
Whereas Ukraine didn’t straight declare accountability for any of the three strikes — considered one of which focused a Russian navy air base about 600 kilometers east of Ukraine within the Saratov area — a senior Ukrainian official quoted on December 5 anonymously by The New York Occasions mentioned the drones had been launched from Ukrainian territory.
The official mentioned no less than two planes had been destroyed at one of many Russian bases and several other extra had been broken.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych mentioned the air base in Saratov is Russia’s solely base totally outfitted for the long-range bombers Russia has utilized in its marketing campaign to break Ukraine’s power grid that has plunged thousands and thousands of Ukrainian houses into darkness and chilly on the onset of winter.
“All this complicates their operation towards Ukraine,” Arestovych mentioned. “Yesterday, because of their ‘unsuccessful smoking,’ we achieved a really large consequence,” he mentioned, poking enjoyable at an earlier declare by Russia that explosions at considered one of its bases had been attributable to carelessness with cigarettes.
Ukrainian Deputy Protection Minister Hanna Malyar mentioned very heavy battles had been going down within the Donetsk area, “and the value may be very excessive.”
“For us, the epicenter of hostilities right now is the Donetsk area, and the enemy has concentrated most of its forces there,” she mentioned.
It was the sixth time in reminiscence that Russian forces had tried to push to the borders of the Donetsk area and failed, she added.
“We should perceive that after we liberate the briefly occupied territories, it’s a victory. Once we stand agency and do not let the enemy in, it is also a victory,” Malyar emphasised.
The Basic Employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine earlier reported that Russian troops had been concentrating their essential efforts on conducting offensive operations within the Bakhmut and Avdiyivka areas of the Donetsk area.
