Ukraine Daily Summary - Wednesday, December 28

Russia shells maternity hospital in Kherson -- Putin’s statement of readiness for negotiations with Ukraine is bluff for West -- Russia has damaged more than 700 critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine since Feb. 24 -- In occupied Chornobaivka, doctor shortage forced driver to become wounded people’s last hope -- and more

Ukraine Daily

Wednesday, December 28

Russia’s war against Ukraine

KI-Inline_28-12-22

A funeral ceremony held in Kyiv for Ukrainian serviceman Volodymyr Yezhov, who was killed in a battle near Bakhmut on Dec. 27, 2022. Before the war between Russia and Ukraine, Yezhov was a game designer who took part in the design of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game series. (Photo by Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Russia bans oil exports to countries that abide by $60 price cap. The ban on crude oil exports will come into effect on Feb. 1, but the date for the oil products ban will be determined by the Russian government and could be after Feb. 1.

ISW: Putin’s statement of readiness for negotiations with Ukraine is bluff for West. The statement was part of “a deliberate information campaign,” spreading the false narratives that Ukraine had disrupted Russia’s diplomatic efforts prior to the full-scale invasion, according to the D.C.-based think tank.

President’s Office: Russia shells maternity hospital in Kherson. “They shelled a place where two children were born today. Before the attack, doctors managed to complete a caesarean section. There are five women after childbirth at the institution,” he said, adding that “miraculously” there were no casualties.

National Bank: Ukraine’s GDP to fall by one third in 2022; Russian attacks on energy system imperil economy. Russian attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure also reduce the demand for banking services and lead to additional credit losses, according to the deputy head of the National Bank.

Forbes: Ukraine’s wealthiest 20 lose over $20 billion due to Russia’s full-scale invasion. Russia’s all-out invasion slashed the net worth of Ukraine’s wealthiest, destroying plants and factories and shrinking the country’s economy by a third.

Ukraine seizes $54 million worth of assets of Kremlin-linked Russian oligarch Usmanov. Authorities have seized more than 160,000 tons of Usmanov’s iron ore stored in underground warehouses at several of Ukraine’s seaports.

Ukrenergo: Power shortage in Ukraine ‘slightly reduced.’ The power deficit in Ukraine has been “slightly reduced” due to an increase in production by the country’s power plants, Ukraine’s state grid operator Ukrenergo reported on Dec. 27.

Russia has damaged more than 700 critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine since Feb. 24. First Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin said on Dec. 27 that at least 702 critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine have been hit since the start of the full-scale invasion. Those facilities include gas pipelines, electrical substations and bridges. Russian attacks have destroyed more than 35,000 objects in Ukraine, Yenin said.

Russian-controlled church may lose control of part of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra on Jan. 1. Ukraine’s Culture Ministry will recommend terminating the Russian-backed church’s lease on part of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine’s most important Orthodox monastery, Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said on Dec. 27.

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Ukraine war latest: Ukraine monitors potential border escalation from Belarus as Lukashenko, Putin vow closer ties.

The Russian and Belarusian strongmen showed a united front to the West on Dec. 27, claiming they reached agreements on “many issues” at a regional summit as Russia continues to wage its brutal war against Ukraine.

Photo: Alexey Danichev/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

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In occupied Chornobaivka, doctor shortage forced driver to become wounded people’s last hope.

Hours before the Ukrainian forces arrived to liberate this village outside Kherson on Nov. 11, a breathless local man sprinted into its one small hospital.The morning’s shelling had hit his neighbor — the local saw him screaming, covered in blood.

Photo: Taras Ibragimov/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

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The human cost of Russia’s war

UN: At least 6,884 civilians killed by Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to the United Nations human rights agency, Russia’s war against Ukraine has killed at least 6,884 civilians and injured at least 10,947 from Feb. 24 through Dec. 26. Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes.

Reintegration Ministry: Ukraine retrieves bodies of 42 fallen soldiers. In total, the bodies of 869 Ukrainian soldiers have been returned since May.

Russian attacks across 8 Ukrainian oblasts injure 3 people over past day. Russian strikes on Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts wounded three people over the past day, according to local authorities.

International response

Germany allocates 35 million euros to support children in Ukraine. Germany has contributed 35 million euros ($37.3 million) to the UN children’s fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine to support Ukrainian children during Russia’s war, Germany’s embassy to Ukraine said.

Health ministry: Kazakhstani businesses donate 41 generators to Ukrainian hospitals. Kazakhstani businesses have given Ukrainian healthcare facilities 41 power generators worth around $500,000 amid power outages across the country, the Health Ministry reported.

Zelensky: Italy considers supplying air defense systems to Ukraine. Following a conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Dec. 27 that Italy is considering supplying Ukraine with air defense systems.

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