Ukraine Daily

Monday, December 12

Russia’s war against Ukraine

An icon is seen in a damaged apartment in Bakhmut, Ukraine on December 11, 2022. (Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Official: Putin could use peace talks with Ukraine as a cover to rearm, recruit troops. Peace talks can “just be a fig leaf for Russian rearmament and further recruitment of soldiers, whether that be from the Wagner Group or trawling prisons in Russia,” U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

Biden, Zelensky hold phone call ahead of G7 summit. President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken with U.S. President Joe Biden late on Dec. 11 ahead of the upcoming Group of 7 summit. The two discussed further defense cooperation and Ukraine’s energy security, as well as Ukraine’s “ten-step peace formula.”

Reznikov: Ukrainian counteroffensive likely to resume when ground freezes. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Dec. 11 that he predicts Ukraine’s military will resume its counteroffensive when the ground freezes, allowing for the easier transfer of equipment.

Official: Russia increases military activity in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast. Petro Adriushchenko, an advisor to Mariupol’s mayor, said on Dec. 11 that Russia has intensified its military presence in the city.

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Emergency service: Russian forces shell rescuers delivering water in embattled Bakhmut. No casualties were reported following the shelling on Dec. 11, but the State Emergency Service’s vehicle was damaged, according to the report.

General Staff: Ukraine repels Russian attacks near 11 settlements in east. Over the past day, Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian attacks near Stelmakhivka, Makiivka, and Serebryanske forestry in Luhansk Oblast and Verkhniokamianske, Bilohorivka, Soledar, Yurivka, Krasnohorivka, Mariinka, Novomykhailivka and Vremivka of Donetsk Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Dec. 11.

ISW: Belarus unlikely to invade Ukraine due to internal dynamics within country. Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko does not intend to enter the war in Ukraine due to the possibility of renewed domestic unrest if his security apparatus is weakened through participation in a costly war in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said in the latest report.

Ukraine has defused over 300,000 explosives since Feb. 24. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale military invasion, at least 302,802 explosives and 2,891 kilograms of explosives, including 2,155 aircraft-delivered bombs, have been neutralized, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reports. Pyrotechnicians have inspected a total of 76,432 hectares of land for unexploded ordinance - an area larger than the entire middle eastern country of Bahrain.

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Governor: At least 232 Zaporizhzhia Oblast residents are in Russian captivity. Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh reported that 573 of the region’s citizens have been in Russia’s captivity in the last nine months, and 232 are still hostages. Starukh added that international organizations are often “helpless” when it comes to human rights violations.

Over 82,000 Ukrainians have fled to US via state refugee program. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said over 82,000 Ukrainians and their immediate family members have been paroled into the U.S. under the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) process.

Ukraine war latest: All thermal and hydroelectric power plants damaged, says PM.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal estimated that 40 percent of Ukraine’s high-voltage network facilities, which transport electricity from power stations to urban areas and towns, were damaged to varying degrees.

Photo: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images

Learn More

The human cost of Russia’s war

Governors: Russia’s attacks hit 7 regions on Dec. 10. At least eight civilians were injured, and at least two were killed.

International response

Borrell: War in Ukraine wake-up call for EU military capabilities. Russia’s war against Ukraine has been a wake-call for the European Union’s defense capabilities as weapons deliveries to Ukraine deplete military stockpiles in Europe, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Sweden to allocate new military aid package for Ukraine, invest in regional security. “Ukraine is a priority for Sweden,” Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonsson said during a joint briefing with Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov in Odesa on Dec. 11.

State energy operator receives loans of 400 million euros to repair grid after Russian attacks. The package includes a 300 million euro loan from EBRD, a 72 million euro grant from the government of the Netherlands, and a 32.5 million euro loan from a German bank.

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