Vladimir Putin is preparing for a new major offensive in the new yearsaid the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. In an interview with the Guardian, Oleksii Reznikov said evidence is emerging that despite a series of humiliating battlefield setbacks for Russia in recent months, the Kremlin is preparing a broad new campaign. Referring to Russia’s partial mobilization of some 300,000 troops, Reznikov suggested that while half – often after minimal training – are now deployed to reinforce Moscow’s forces, the remainder are being more thoroughly prepared for future offensives.
The head of the Ukrainian armed forces believes that Russia will make another attempt to seize the capital Kyiv. after repelling his previous attack earlier this year. In an interview with The Economist, General Valeriy Zaluzhny said he was trying to prepare for another attempt by Russian forces to capture the city, possibly in February or March.
Russian shelling killed two people, including a Red Cross worker, in Kherson on Thursday and completely cut power to the southern city, Ukrainian officials said, with temperatures close to freezing. Moscow-allied officials in the Russian-held city of Donetsk, meanwhile, said they came under one of the heaviest shellings in years by Ukrainian forces, killing one person.
Russia wants to double the number of test launches of its ICBMs to eight next year of four in 2022, the commander of Strategic Missile Forces was quoted as saying on Friday. Sergei Karakayev told the military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda that the eight test flights were planned from two launch sites – one near Murmansk in the north, the other near Volgograd in the south.
A Russian air base in Kursk was attacked on Wednesday evening, said a senior Ukrainian official. Anton Gerashchenko, a senior adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s president, published a series of updates on Telegram and said an “unknown drone” had hit the military facility.
The US military announced that it would expand the training of Ukrainian military personnel in Germany. Beginning in January, 500 soldiers would be trained monthly, building on more than 15,000 Ukrainians trained by the US and its allies since April.
Power outages due to Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are crippling Ukraine’s economy. also in key sectors such as mining and manufacturing. The Washington Post report says Ukraine needs an additional $2 billion a month to cover basic spending, on top of the $55 billion already budgeted for next year.
A The EU’s €18 billion financial package for Ukraine is expected to materialize after Poland dropped its opposition. Warsaw diplomats had objected to a minimum corporate tax rate, which Portal said was “surprised” about the negotiating partners. She and Lithuania had also spoken out in favor of tighter restrictions on their neighbor Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the next six months of the conflict with Russia will be “crucial”. In an online address to the European Council on Thursday, the Ukrainian president said: “In many ways, the next six months will be crucial in the confrontation that Russia has begun with its aggression.”
Vladimir Putin said Russia will try to overcome the financial impact of western sanctions by selling gas to its eastern neighbors. In a televised address, he said Russia would expand its economic ties with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.