As the war enters its 657th day, major developments include:
This is the situation as of Tuesday, December 12, 2023.
finding
- The Ukrainian military has announced that Russian forces have launched a major new offensive against the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, just northwest of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. Military spokesman Oleksandr Stupun told Ukrainian television that fighting was intensifying, with 610 shellings reported near Avdiivka in the past 24 hours. There was no immediate comment from Russia on the fighting in the area. About 1,500 of Avdiivka’s prewar population of about 32,000 remain.
- Russia attacked Kiev in the early morning with eight long-range ballistic missiles, injuring four people. The missile was shot down by Ukraine’s air defense force, injuring people when it was hit by shrapnel and glass shards.
- In another Russian strike, Ukrainian air defenses shot down 18 Shahed drones heading south.
politics and diplomacy
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking on the first day of his visit to Washington, DC, said that if he fails to maintain support for Ukraine, he will play into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelensky is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden and House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday as Republicans in the U.S. Congress oppose additional funding for Ukraine.
- Zelenskiy also spoke with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director-General Kristalina Georgieva hours after the board approved new spending of $900 million for Ukraine. Georgieva and Zelenskiy spoke for nearly an hour at IMF headquarters in Washington, DC. President Zelenskiy thanked the IMF for its support. Georgieva noted that except for one country, the board was unanimous in support of Ukraine.
- President Zelensky described his brief conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the sidelines of Argentine President Javier Millei’s inauguration ceremony on Sunday as “candid”. Prime Minister Orban has threatened to block further European Union financial support for Kiev and opposes Ukraine’s membership. EU leaders are scheduled to discuss Ukraine’s accession at a summit on Thursday.
- Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused 18 “operatives and accomplices” of Ukrainian special services of being part of a network of assassins targeting pro-Russian figures in occupied Crimea and eastern Ukraine. announced that he had been arrested. Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
- The EU has added six people and five entities to its list of sanctions against Iran for allegedly supporting Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions include Shahed drone maker Shakad Sanat Asmari, the company’s CEO, deputy CEO and chief scientist. Other companies involved in drone manufacturing were also targeted.
- Russia’s Central Election Commission announced that March’s presidential election will include voting in four regions of Ukraine that were partially occupied and annexed last year. Ukraine, which along with most members of the United Nations General Assembly rejected the annexation, has already said that Russia’s votes in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are invalid and that it will prosecute all observers sent to monitor them. vote.
weapons
- Britain has announced that it has transferred two landmine hunters to Ukraine. The move is part of a new maritime capabilities coalition led by the UK and Norway, aimed at providing long-term military support to strengthen maritime security in the Black Sea.
- US National Security Spokesperson John Kirby says the US will announce additional military aid to Ukraine by the end of this month, as Russia is likely to target Ukrainian energy facilities as the weather gets colder. He said it is likely.