WAR IN UKRAINE: December 16, 2022
People shelter inside a metro station during a partial power outage in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 16. (Pavlo Podufalov/Reuters)
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 296
Russian forces carried out missile and drone attacks across Ukraine on Friday, striking the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv in the north, Odesa in the south and the central city of Kryvih Rih. At least two dead and five injured in Kryvih Rih. Emergency power outages have been re-introduced across the country after nine power stations and sub-stations were struck.
All districts of Kyiv are experiencing water supply disruptions Mayor Vitaliy Klichko said on Telegram. Metro service is suspended on all lines and “underground stations work as shelters.” Subway trains will not run until at least the end of the day.
Kharkiv oblast has been hit “10 times” with “Russian S300” missiles, the head of the regional military admiration has said. “This morning began at 7am when a Russian S300 missile hit a hospital in Kupyansk. The infectious diseases unit was partially destroyed. Rescuers are working there. There were several hits on critical infrastructure in Kharkiv city and in Chuhuiv district of Kharkiv region,” Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.
The situation after the Friday attacks as of 11:20am local time: Current situation: Kherson, Kharkiv, Kremenchuh, Kirovohrad region and Cherkasy completely without power. Emergency power outages in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Poltava; heat and water interruptions in Zaporizhzhia & Kyiv. Delays on several rail lines have been reported.
Due to power outages, work at at least two border crossings between Ukraine and Moldova has been temporarily suspended. Outages have caused border processing delays of passengers and cargo intermittently for the past three weeks.
According to reports, the Russians fired about 76 air- and sea-based missiles ("Caliber") on Friday morning - of which 60 were shot down . Also, for the first time, Ukraine was attacked by long-range Tu-95 bombers that took off from the Engels base near Saratov (where an explosion recently occurred from a drone strike). Arrivals were confirmed in Kyiv, Kharkov, Dnipro, Krivoy Rog and a number of other settlements in the Dnipropetrovsk region, in Zaporozhye. In Kyiv, three power facilities were hit, and there were interruptions in electricity, water and heat in the city. The same situation in the Dnieper. Kharkiv is completely de-energized, where, as the authorities said, there is colossal destruction of infrastructure facilities, there is no light, heat and water. In all three regional centers, the subway and other electric transport were suspended.
Unconfirmed social media video from Thursday night showed a large explosion light up the sky in the area of Irmino, a town in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region. The cause of the explosion could not be confirmed, but video indicated at least two detonations, and showed a fireball reaching hundreds of feet into the air. One local community Telegram channel said there had been multiple explosions in the area and suggested an ammunition depot had been struck. Neither Ukrainian officials nor Russian-backed authorities in Luhansk have commented on the cause of the explosion. But the Ukrainian military has made no secret of its intention to strike Russian ammunition depots and other critical military locations deep inside Luhansk as its forces try to push into the region. It has previously said that troop concentrations, transport hubs and munitions dumps have been targeted in Luhansk - CNN
Two people have been killed, say Ukrainian officials, in a second day of Russian attacks on central Kherson, recaptured by Ukraine last month. Heavy shelling on critical infrastructure in the port area left the entire city without power, according to the regional governor. The retreat of Russian forces from Kherson was one of Moscow's biggest setbacks since the February invasion. Shells reportedly landed 100m (328ft) from the main administration building in Kherson city, officials said, a day after the building itself was badly damaged. A 32-year-old paramedic and a 70-year-old man were killed in the attack which hit a medical aid point, Ukrainian media said. Explosions also went off in Ukraine's second biggest city Kharkiv. Mayor Igor Terekhov said Russia was shelling infrastructure facilities and appealed to residents to stay in shelters if possible - BBC. Meanwhile, RFE/RL reports that Russian forces continue to pound critical power infrastructure in Ukrainian cities, killing more civilians and leaving tens of thousands more people without electricity, as its troops step up the pace of their relentless attacks along the entire front line in the east.
The European Union has agreed on a fresh round of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine after complaints from hawkish Eastern European leaders that some countries were trying to water them down - RFE/RL
Russia has issued a warning to the U.S. over the proposed transfer of Patriot missile defense systems to Ukraine. Washington is likely to approve a deal this week to send the advanced missile systems to Ukraine, after months of requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. provide his country with stronger weapons to shoot down Russian missiles. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, citing experts, warned that possible deliveries of the systems by Washington to Kyiv could escalate the conflict. "On December 13, the intention of the United States to provide Ukraine with a Patriot anti-missile defense battery was announced. Previously, many experts, including [those based] overseas doubted the logic of such a move, which would lead to an escalation of the conflict and increase the risk of direct involvement of the U.S. army in hostilities," she said - Newsweek.
Meanwhile, Russian state TV hosts joked in a recent show about invading Western capitals including London and Lisbon. In a clip from the Russia-1 network posted on Twitter by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's foreign ministry, the group discussed a plan for Moscow to seize London—including its soccer clubs and pubs. "If we reach Lviv, it will be ours. If we reach Lisbon and London, they will be ours," said one Kremlin propagandist. He suggested that many Russians "now know London very well…So many people had no idea which alley to turn into in Washington, New York, Los Angeles," the pundit added - Newsweek
The US will not "allow comments from Russia to dictate the security assistance" the Biden administration provides to Ukraine, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a briefing with reporters on Thursday. In a statement Wednesday, the Russian Embassy in Washington said a possible shipment of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine would "lead to unpredictable consequences" and threaten global security. CNN was first to report on Tuesday the Biden administration is finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine. “I find it ironic and very telling that officials from a country that brutally attacked its neighbor in an illegal and unprovoked invasion through a campaign that is deliberately targeting and killing innocent civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure, that they would choose to use words like provocative to describe defensive systems that are meant to save lives and protect civilians,” Ryder said at the briefing at the Pentagon- CNN
Required reading…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and two of his top generals told The Economist that the outcome of the ongoing war with Russia hinges on the next few months. They are convinced that Russia is readying another big offensive, to begin as soon as January. Whether Ukraine launches a pre-emptive strike of its own or waits to counter-attack, how it garners and distributes its forces, how much ammunition and equipment it amasses in the coming weeks and months—these looming decisions will determine their country’s future.
But neither of the two generals sounded triumphant. One reason is the escalating air war. Russia has been pounding Ukraine’s power stations and grid with drones and missiles almost every week since October, causing long and frequent blackouts. Though Russia is running short of precision-guided missiles, in recent weeks it is thought to have offered Iran fighter jets and helicopters in exchange for thousands of drones and, perhaps, ballistic missiles.
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