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Once again Russia loses more than 1,000 soldiers in 24 hours. Kyiv reports successes in air defense. News about the war in Ukraine is on the ticker.
- Three fighter bomber shot down: Ukrainian air defense celebrates new successes
- bridgehead expanded: Kiev reports successes from the Kherson region
- Current Pay: Ukraine reports heavy losses to Russia
- The information processed here comes from international media and news agencies, but also from the belligerent parties, Russia and Ukraine, and their allies. In particular, information about the losses suffered by the armies involved in the Ukrainian war cannot be independently verified.
Update December 22, 5:05 pm: During his inaugural visit to Ukraine, the new Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, assured Kiev of his country's support in the war against Russia. “In this huge battle, Mr Minister, Poland is on your side,” Sikorski told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev on Friday. Kuleba expressed his hope for an end to the “unacceptable” blockade of Polish transport companies at the common border. Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have reported drone attacks on their territory.
It is “completely unacceptable for a country to attack its neighbor and bomb cities, destroy entire provinces and deport children,” said Sikorski on his first trip abroad since taking office. “I believe this is the last colonial war in Europe and it should end like this: Russia should lose and Ukraine should win,” he added.
Sikorski had already published a photo of himself in the center of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, on online services and wrote: “First visit abroad; already at the event location. “The visit is a sign from the new Polish government that it wants to continue supporting Ukraine. There have recently been tensions between Warsaw and Kiev under the previous right-wing nationalist government. Sikorski, however, said supporting Ukraine was a “priority” for the new government.
War in Ukraine: Russian air defense claims to have shot down drone over Moscow
Update December 22, 3:15 pm: Russian air defense claims to have shot down Ukrainian drones near the capital Moscow. A total of five drones were intercepted south of the Russian metropolis. Debris from the drones fell over the city of Podolsk. There were no injuries in the incident.
Update December 22, 2:36 pm: Almost four months after the death of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, the North American portal Wall Street Journal published a report that aims to shed light on the background to the plane crash. According to the report, a bomb attached to the wing of the private jet caused the crash. Putin's right-hand man, Nikolai Patrushev, would be responsible for the attack.
Three fighter-bombers shot down – Ukrainian air defense celebrates great success
Update December 22, 12:50 pm: Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk reported the shooting down of three Russian SU-34 bombers over Ukraine. The three fighter-bombers were killed on Friday afternoon, around 12:00 local time (11:00 CET), Oleschtschuk wrote on his Telegram channel. The commander commented on the downing of the Russian planes with the cynical statement “Eternal flight, 'brothers'”. The Nexta media project gave the value of the three fighters at approx. 32.6 million euros.
Anti-aircraft gunners from a special air defense unit of the Ukrainian National Guard are on a combat mission. (Symbolic image) © Ukrinform/dpa
Ukrainian troops shoot down drone with “small arms” from the sky
Update December 22, 11:53 am: The Ukrainian National Guard claims to have managed to destroy a Russian Lancet drone in the Zaporizhzhia region using the simplest means. The soldiers removed the flying object from the sky with AK-74 assault rifles. “It has become an almost daily necessity to use small arms on this front and destroy enemy UAVs such as ZALAs, Orlans and Lancets,” the National Guard said on its Telegram channel.
Tanks, drones, air defense: weapons for Ukraine
See series of photos
Update December 22, 10:54 am: The Russian military would be able to conduct offensive operations more easily in early 2024. The US think tank “Institute for the Study of War” expects this. Military experts cited the expected weather conditions as the reason for this, which should allow mechanized troops to advance more easily. Tanks and other vehicles can move more quickly and efficiently over frozen ground. “Russian forces will likely attempt to maintain or intensify these offensive operations regardless of weather conditions this winter,” ISW experts predict.
Ukrainian army reports successes in the Kherson region
Update December 22, 9:55 am: The Ukrainian military claims to be in the process of expanding the bridgehead in the Kherson region on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River. This emerges from the latest situation report of the Ukrainian General Staff. According to the report, Ukrainian troops managed to repel Russian attacks on the front lines in eastern Ukraine in recent days. The Ukrainian army repelled twelve Russian offensive operations along the front in the Kherson region in recent days.
Putin's army loses more than 1,000 soldiers in one day
Update December 22, 8:40am: The Ukrainian General Staff published new figures on Facebook about Russian military losses at the front. Thus, the number of Russian losses in the war in Ukraine is said to now exceed 351,000. Around 1,080 Russian soldiers have reportedly been killed or injured in the last 24 hours alone. The numbers cannot be independently verified.
- soldiers: 351,350 (+1,080 the previous day)
- tank: 5837 (+9)
- Armored vehicles: 10,843 (+18)
- artillery systems: 820 (+24)
- Multiple rocket launchers: 932
- air defense systems: 611
- Airplanes: 324
- Helicopter: 324
- Drones: 6365 (+23)
- cruise missiles: 1613
- Warships:22
- Submarines: 1
- Tank trucks and other vehicles: 10,944 (+25)
Source: Ukrainian General Staff dated December 22, 2023. Information about Russian losses comes from the Ukrainian army. They cannot be independently verified. Russia itself does not provide any information about its own losses in the Ukrainian war.
Ukraine shoots down 24 of 28 Russian drones
Update December 22, 7:50am: The Ukrainian military claims to have shot down 24 of 28 Russian drones overnight. Iranian-made drones were destroyed in southern, western and central Ukraine. There were two injured in the capital Kiev.
Current situation in the war in Ukraine: Russia launches new drone attacks on Kiev
Update December 22nd, 5:45am: According to authorities, a skyscraper was hit in a new Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko spoke on Friday night about the impact on the upper floors of the building and about a fire. Emergency services are on duty. An injured person was taken to hospital.
According to preliminary information from the Kiev military administration, the wreckage of a downed drone fell on the residential building in the southwestern part of the city. The authority also published photos of a destroyed apartment. There would also have been impacts from drone debris shot down in other parts of the city. The military administration said it would be clarified whether there was destruction or casualties.
The thunderous explosion noises caused by the use of anti-aircraft defenses when the drones were shot down could be heard clearly in the city center, as a reporter from the German Press Agency in Kiev reported. There was an air alert in the city of more than one million inhabitants and in other regions of the country. The head of the presidential administration in Kiev, Andriy Yermak, described Russia as a “terrorist nation” that fights civilians.
New attacks in the war in Ukraine: dead after Russian attack in the east of the country
First report: Kiev – According to Ukrainian information, three people were killed in a Russian attack in eastern Ukraine. Another five people were injured, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenk said on the Telegram online service.
According to him, the Russian attacks targeted mining companies in the city of Toretsk, in the Donetsk region. Thus, one person was killed and two were injured in the bombing of a mine in the industrial city of Donbass. According to Klymenko, two people died and three others were injured in a bomb attack at another mine.
Zelensky appeals to Ukrainians' fighting spirit in Ukraine war before Christmas
Before Christmas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to the combative spirit of his compatriots not to give up in defending the country. “Maximum attention is needed for defense, maximum effort for the state, maximum energy so that Ukraine can achieve its goals,” Zelensky said in his video message in Kiev on Thursday (21 December). The time to rest will come later.
This year, Ukraine officially celebrates Christmas for the first time according to the Western model on December 25th and no longer just according to Orthodox customs on January 7th. “Now, before Christmas, everyone in our state must remember that this is a time to focus, a time to work,” Zelensky said. The fate of the country will be decided in the regions of Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson attacked by Russia. Some of the areas are occupied by Russian troops. (Editor with agency material)