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Ukraine war, day 1039. Zelensky suggests major changes in personnel structure / Bloomberg: US officials believe Ukraine may be forced to withdraw from Kursk region in spring / North Korean troops suffered more than 1,000 casualties in Kursk region in the last week
- Zelensky suggests important changes in the personnel structure.
- Putin would have ordered Fico from Slovakia to open a second energy front against Ukraine, Zelenski says.
- Russia could record 1 million losses by 2025, Latvian foreign minister predicts.
- The US will send $1.25 billion in military aid to Ukraine
- Zelenski: If Beijing is sincere in its statements, it must influence Pyongyang
- North Korean troops have suffered more than 1,000 casualties in the Kursk region in the past week
Ukraine war, day 1039. Bloomberg: US officials believe Ukraine may be forced to withdraw from Kursk region in spring / US sends new military aid to Ukraine
Putin’s new decree designates Ukraine as the main source of “extremism” and introduces the concept of “Russophobia”
Ukraine receives the first shipment of LNG from the USA
“Despite Russia’s attempts to destroy our energy system during the war, we have achieved another victory on the energy front,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the Presidential Office, announced on December 28.
The Russian bombings in the Kherson region injure eight people, including two teenagers
Eight people, including a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, were injured by Russian shelling in the Kherson region and hospitalized, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
Zelensky suggests important changes in the personnel structure
“We are preparing some important personnel decisions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on his official Telegram channel on the evening of December 28. “Decrees will be announced soon.”
Greece will supply Ukraine with 24 Sea Sparrow missiles, according to reports
Greece is to deliver 24 US-made Sea Sparrow missiles to Ukraine, according to media reports. These short-range missiles can be launched from sea or land and are designed to intercept cruise missiles or aircraft.
Putin would have ordered Slovakia’s Fico to open a second energy front against Ukraine, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has suggested that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s threats to cut Ukraine’s emergency electricity supply this winter may have been dictated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskiy argued that this was the “only possible explanation” for such actions, given Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s power plants and distribution network.
Russia could record 1 million losses by 2025, Latvian foreign minister predicts
In an interview with The Kyiv Independent, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze reflected on 2024 and discussed Latvia’s continued support for Ukraine amid political uncertainties ahead of Donald Trump’s US inauguration and Russian advances on the front line.
Russia suffered 421,000 casualties in 2024, Sîrskîi reports
Ukraine attacks a Russian drone depot
Ukraine says it hit a storage and maintenance depot for long-range drones in Russia’s Oryol region.
The General Staff of the army in Kiev said that the attack had “significantly reduced” Moscow’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine, Sky News notes.
In a post on Telegram, he stated that the attack was carried out by the Air Force of Ukraine.
“As a result of the strike, a warehouse for the storage, maintenance and repair of Shahed kamikaze drones, consisting of several protected concrete structures, was destroyed,” he said.
The White House reveals how North Korean soldiers avoid capture on the battlefield in Ukraine
Ukraine wants to open more than 150 underground schools by autumn 2025
Russia says it foiled a Ukrainian assassination plot
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled a Ukrainian plot to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music box, writes The Guardian.
According to the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, a Russian national established contact with an officer of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency through the Telegram messaging app.
On instructions from the Ukrainian intelligence officer, the Russian then recovered a bomb from a hiding place in Moscow, the FSB claimed. The bomb, equivalent to 1.5 kg of TNT and packed with ball bearings, was hidden in the portable music speaker, the FSB said.
Ukrainian military intelligence claims that Ukrainian drones can hit targets 2,000 km away
Kiev has drones capable of operating at a distance of up to 2,000 kilometers, said on December 27 the spokesman of the Ukrainian military intelligence services (HUR), Andrii Yusov.
While Ukraine does not always offer official comment on claims of drone strikes inside Russia, Ukrainian drones have reportedly struck targets more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the front line.
“From what we can tell – it’s no longer a secret – Ukrainian long-range unmanned aerial vehicles can hypothetically operate up to 2,000 kilometers,” Yusov claimed in a televised interview with Ukrainian channel News.LIVE.
North Korean troops have suffered more than 1,000 casualties in the Kursk region in the past week
North Korean troops are suffering massive losses as they fight alongside Russian forces against Ukraine in the Kursk region, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday, according to the Kyiv Independent.
The comments come a day after Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) reported on December 26 that North Korean troops had suffered massive losses in the Kursk region.
“It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders treat these troops as dispensable and order them to hopelessly attack Ukrainian defenses,” he said.
Zelenski: If Beijing is sincere in its statements, it must influence Pyongyang
President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that if China is sincere in its statements that the war should not escalate, it must exert adequate influence on Pyongyang, writes Ukrainska Pravda.
“Today we received reports about several soldiers from North Korea, our warriors managed to capture them. But they were seriously injured and could not be resuscitated. This is one of the manifestations of madness that dictatorships are capable of.
The Korean nation should not lose its people in the fighting in Europe. And this can be influenced, especially by Korea’s neighbors, especially by China. If China is sincere in its statements that the war should not escalate, it must exert appropriate pressure on Pyongyang”, said the leader from Kiev.
The US will send $1.25 billion in military aid to Ukraine
The US plans to send $1.25 billion in military aid to Ukraine, the Associated Press reported Friday, citing anonymous US officials.
The announcement is expected to take place on December 30, officials said.
The outgoing White House administration has stepped up supplies to Ukraine in the weeks leading up to President-elect Donald Trump taking office. Previously, on December 12, the USA announced military aid worth 500 million dollars for Ukraine.
The upcoming aid package is expected to include a substantial amount of ammunition, officials told AP. This includes munitions for critical air defense systems such as the Hawk air defense system and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS).
Bloomberg: US officials believe that Ukraine may be forced to withdraw from the Kursk region in the spring
U.S. officials told Bloomberg on Friday that they believe Ukraine may have just a few months left in its incursion into the Kursk region before the Ukrainian military is forced to withdraw from the region or risk being encircled by Russian forces.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, two US officials told Bloomberg their hope is that President Volodymyr Zelensky will withdraw from the Kursk region to avoid suffering heavy casualties amid an ongoing Russian offensive to retake the territory.
Ukraine first gained a foothold in the Kursk region during a surprise incursion into the Russian region in early August. Since then, Russia has launched extensive counterattacks in an attempt to retake the region.
Source: www.mediafax.ro
