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 have been destroyed by Ukrainian forces within the in a single day assault.
Stay Briefing: Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL’s Stay Briefing offers you the entire newest developments on Russia’s ongoing invasion, Kyiv’s counteroffensive, Western army assist, world response, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL’s protection of the conflict, click on right here.
“Army males from the East air command did an excellent 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 harm to fuel pipelines, homes, and farm buildings, however no individuals have been wounded.
“Nikopol suffered probably the most. As much as a dozen non-public homes, farm buildings, and fuel pipelines have been broken within the metropolis. A number of retailers, workplace buildings, and a university have been destroyed by Russian shells,” he mentioned.
Russian troops additionally shelled two settlements within the Zaporizhzhya area, the pinnacle of the regional army administration, Oleksandr Starukh, mentioned on December 7.
“Two homes have been destroyed in one of many villages, and eight extra have been broken. “We find out about three wounded, together with a 15-year-old woman,” mentioned Starukh.
In Washington, U.S. lawmakers agreed to supply Ukraine at the least $800 million in further safety help subsequent 12 months, based on 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 US “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 necessary to know what Ukrainians live by means of day-after-day with the “ongoing Russian aggression,” accusing Russia of “weaponizing winter” by means of 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 — one in all which focused a Russian army 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 Instances mentioned the drones have been launched from Ukrainian territory.
The official mentioned at the least two planes have been destroyed at one of many Russian bases and several other extra have been broken.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych mentioned the air base in Saratov is Russia’s solely base totally geared up for the long-range bombers Russia has utilized in its marketing campaign to break Ukraine’s vitality 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, due to their ‘unsuccessful smoking,’ we achieved a really large consequence,” he mentioned, poking enjoyable at an earlier declare by Russia that explosions at one in all its bases had been attributable to carelessness with cigarettes.
Ukrainian Deputy Protection Minister Hanna Malyar mentioned very heavy battles have been happening within the Donetsk area, “and the value may be very excessive.”
“For us, the epicenter of hostilities immediately 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 once we liberate the quickly 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 Common Employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine earlier reported that Russian troops have been concentrating their foremost efforts on conducting offensive operations within the Bakhmut and Avdiyivka areas of the Donetsk area.
