Russia warns if US delivers sophisticated missiles to Ukraine it would be “another provocative move” that could prompt a swift response from Moscow, as fighting enters its 295th day.
Friday, December 16, 2022
Eight killed in Ukrainian shelling in Luhansk: Russian-installed governor
Ukrainian shelling in the Russian-controlled eastern Luhansk region has left eight people dead and nearly two dozen wounded, the Moscow-appointed head of the region said.
“Early this morning, the town of Stakhanov and the village of Lantratovka again came under artillery fire from the nationalists… Eight people died, another 23 of our compatriots were wounded,” the Russian-installed leader of Luhansk Leonid Pasechnik said on social media.
Kremlin says Russia will draw up response to latest EU sanctions
The Kremlin has said it would study the latest package of European Union sanctions against Russia and then formulate its response.
EU leaders agreed on Thursday to provide $19 billion (18 billion euros) in financing to Ukraine next year and hit Moscow with a ninth package of sanctions. The measures designate nearly 200 more people and bar investment in Russia’s mining industry, among other steps.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would study the list before responding.
Ukraine declares emergency power shutdowns nationwide
A senior Ukrainian presidential official has said that emergency power shutdowns were being brought in across the country after Russian missiles hit energy facilities in several regions.
Russia launched dozens of missiles at Ukraine, the latest in a wave of attacks on critical infrastructure.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential office, did not say which facilities had been hit.
Moscow-allied officials in Russian-occupied city of Donetsk say they have come under some of the heaviest shelling in years from Ukrainian forces, leaving one person dead. Dasha Chernyshova reports pic.twitter.com/BQMb3oSa91
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) December 16, 2022
Russia launches another major missile attack on Ukraine
Ukrainian authorities have reported explosions in at least three cities, saying Russia has launched a major missile attack” on energy facilities and infrastructure.
Local authorities on social media reported explosions in the capital, Kiev, southern Kryvyi Rih and northeastern Kharkiv as authorities sounded air raid alarms across the country warning of a new devastating barrage of the Russian strikes that have occurred intermittently since mid-October.
A Ukrainian air force spokesman has said that Russia has fired more than 60 missiles into Ukraine in the latest round of strikes.
Putin to visit Belarus Monday for talks with Lukashenko
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Belarus on Monday for talks with his counterpart and ally Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarus leader’s office has said.
The Belarus presidency said Friday the pair will hold discussions at the Independence Palace, Lukashenko’s office, in Minsk during Putin’s “working visit”.
The visit comes 10 months into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, which was launched from several directions, including Belarusian territory.
Ukrainian general says Russia is digging in for a long fight and still wants to conquer the whole of his country as fighting enters its 295th day
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— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) December 15, 2022
World Bank launches $2B Ukraine private sector aid package
The World Bank has announced a $2 billion package to support Ukraine’s private sector, in a bid to help pave the way for reconstruction amid the devastation resulting from Russia’s invasion.
The latest package by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the bank’s development arm focused on private-sector development in emerging markets, adds to its ongoing support of Ukraine.
The group has been working to help Ukraine maintain trade flows, while retaining access to essential resources like food and fuel, it said.
Israel provides Ukraine intelligence on Iran through NATO
Israel provides intelligence to Ukraine through NATO on Iranian drones targeting Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure, Israeli media reports have said.
“Israel has stepped up its intelligence assistance to Ukraine in recent weeks via NATO,” sources from the alliance in Brussels were quoted by the Haaretz daily as saying.
The newspaper evaluated the recent move as “Israel’s latest show of flexibility toward Kiev,” with political and military authorities slightly easing “the fence-sitting policy” they have employed since Russia’s war on Ukraine began.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses EU leaders who have been attending their last summit of the year in Brussels pic.twitter.com/VhMZQK5Yy9
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) December 15, 2022
Zelenskyy reports new Russian strikes in Donbass, Kharkiv
Russian forces have bombarded the Ukrainian city of Kherson with more than 16 strikes, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“Since the beginning of this day alone, Russia has bombed Kherson more than 16 times, only in one day!” the Ukrainian president said in his daily address on social media, adding there had also been “brutal Russian attacks” in the Donbass and the Kharkiv regions of the war-torn country.
While winter temperatures plunge below freezing, the heavy shelling has left Kherson “completely without power”, according to regional governor Yaroslav Yanushevych.
EU agrees fresh sanctions on Russia — diplomats
The EU has agreed a fresh round of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, after complaints from hawkish eastern European leaders that some countries were trying to water them down.
Diplomats said a compromise deal — thought to include targeting some 200 individuals — was reached on the sidelines of a leaders summit in Brussels and that the sanctions would be formally confirmed.
US military to expand training of Ukrainian forces in Germany
The US military has announced it will expand wartime training in Germany of Ukrainian military personnel fighting Russia with a focus on joint maneuver and combined arms operations.
Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the training of about 500 Ukrainians a month will start in January, building on more than 15,000 Ukrainian forces trained by the United States and its allies since April.
The new training push will be on top of efforts to teach Ukrainians to operate billions of dollars worth of specialised Western military equipment that the United States and its NATO allies have provided since Russia’s offensive began on February 24.
“Combined arms maneuver training is a logical next step in our ongoing training efforts,” Ryder said, referring to training on how to attack an enemy with multiple capabilities at once.
For live updates from Thursday (December 15), click here
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Live blog: Deadly Ukrainian shelling strikes Russian-controlled Luhansk
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