Ukraine Daily
Thursday, December 29
Russia’s war against Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the Ukrainian Parliament in Kyiv, Ukraine on Dec. 28, 2022. (Photo by Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Zelensky to parliament: ‘Ukraine is on track to victory that all generations have dreamed of.’ On Dec. 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered his annual speech to the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, during its last session this year.
Kremlin spokesman: Peace possible only if Ukraine agrees to Russia’s annexation of its regions. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that any peace plan should “take into account” Russia’s illegal “annexation” of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson oblasts, Russian news agency RBC reported on Dec. 28.
Ukrainian military: Russia deploys additional ships to Black Sea. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command reported early on Dec. 29 that Russia has deployed two surface and submarine missile carriers on combat duty in the Black Sea. The carriers are equipped with at least 20 Kalibr missiles.
Air Force: Ukraine’s military has downed nearly 900 Russian missiles, drones since September. Ukraine’s military has downed 850 Russian missiles and drones since September, Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force, reported on Dec. 28.
ISW: Russian forces appear less likely to conduct new offensive in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Russian forces are likely establishing defenses against possible Ukrainian offensive operations in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to the Institute for the Study of War. The U.S.-based think tank said in its latest report quoting a senior Ukrainian military official that there are “no signs of Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia Oblast forming strike groups” despite some rotations and deployments there.
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Governor: Russia attacks Kherson Oblast 50 times over past day. Kherson Oblast Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych reported on Dec. 28 that Russian forces shelled communities in Kherson Oblast 50 times with artillery, MLRS, mortars, and tanks, injuring three people over the past day.
Ukrenergo reports power deficit increase across Ukraine. The power deficit in Ukraine has increased due to the shutdown of several power plant units after the Russian shelling of energy infrastructure in eastern Ukraine, Ukraine’s state grid operator Ukrenergo reported on Dec. 28.
Zelensky, BlackRock CEO discuss reconstruction of Ukraine. In a video conference with BlackRock investment company CEO Larry Fink, President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the reconstruction of Ukraine, reported the President’s Office.
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Odesa begins dismantling monument to Russian empress. Local media reported that the dismantling of the monument to Russian Empress Catherine II started on the morning of Dec. 28.
SBU: Ukrainian sentenced to 11 years in prison for leaking information to Russian troops. A Ukrainian court has sentenced a man to 11 years in prison for leaking the locations of bomb shelters and the positions of Ukrainian troops to Russian forces, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on Dec. 28.
Watch: ‘Killed for nothing’ – Evidence of Russian war crimes emerges in liberated Chornobaivka
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A glance into Kherson’s underground resistance during Russian occupation.
Kherson was liberated because Ukraine forced Russians to accept they could not hold the city with their dwindling supplies and growing body count.
Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Ukraine war latest: Moscow rules out peace unless ‘annexation’ recognized, Kyiv pledges to achieve ‘dream victory.’
The Kremlin claimed on Dec. 28 that it would not consider a peace plan that excludes Russia’s “annexation” of four Ukrainian regions in the country’s east and south, turning down Kyiv’s proposal to end the war in Ukraine.
Photo: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images
Hollande: ‘There will only be a way out of the conflict when Russia fails on the ground.’
Former French President François Hollande didn’t have an easy time in office, having been struck by one domestic crisis after another during his 2012-2017 tenure. Hollande also was in office when Russia first launched its proxy war against Ukraine’s east, now well in its eighth year.
Photo: Théo Prouvost
The human cost of Russia’s war
Governor: Landmines injure civilian, child in Kharkiv Oblast. A 47-year-old man and his seven-year-old son were injured in an explosion caused by landlines left behind by Russian troops in Buhaivka, Kharkiv Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on Dec. 28.
President’s Office: 3 injured, including child, in Russian attack on Kherson Oblast. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a deputy head of the President’s Office, reported that Russian shelling of the village of Kizomys in Kherson Oblast had injured three people, including a 14-year-old child, on Dec. 28.
International response
UK to provide Ukraine with Sea King helicopters. The U.K. will supply Ukraine with Sea King helicopters as part of its continued support for Kyiv amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry announced on Dec. 28.
New York Times: US tries to stop Iran from providing drones for Russia. Several intelligence, military and national security officials have told the New York Times about an expanding U.S. program that aims to cut off Iran’s ability to manufacture combat drones and make it harder for the Russians to launch the unmanned “kamikaze” aircraft.
French defense minister visits Kyiv. “When I arrived in Kyiv, I laid a wreath on the Heroes’ Wall to honor the fallen Ukrainian soldiers defending their country,” Lecornu wrote on Twitter.
In other news
Former Ukrainian lawmaker detained in France. At the request of Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation, French law enforcement reportedly detained former Ukrainian lawmaker and businessman Kostiantyn Zhevago at the French ski resort Courchevel.
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