Ukraine war: Russian drone strikes shake Kyiv

Created: 2022-12-19Updated: 2022-12-19 07:39

By: Caspar Felix Hoffmann, Teresa Toth, Nadja Austel, Kilian Bäuml, Jan-Frederik Wendt, Andreas Apetz

The war in Ukraine continues.

Russian soldiers attack the Ukrainian capital again.

The news ticker on the Ukraine war.

• Offensive:

  Russia should prepare new offensive from Belarus on Ukraine

• Missile attack:

  Russia attacks Kiev's supply lines

• Editor's note:

  Read the latest developments in the Ukraine conflict in our news ticker.

  The information on the Ukraine war processed here comes partly from the warring parties in Russia and Ukraine.

  They can therefore not be independently checked in part.

+++ 7:20 a.m .:

Several loud explosions were heard in and around Kiev early on Monday, according to witnesses from the Reuters news agency. 

According to Ukraine, nine Iranian Shahed drones were shot down in Kiev airspace.

"Air alert continues in Kyiv," the military said on Telegram.

“The enemy is attacking the capital with 'Shahed' barrage.

The air defense is deployed.”

Already on December 17, Kyiv was attacked with drones, the result was a power failure.

© Maxym Marusenko/imago

News in the Ukraine war: Russian troops start exercises in Belarus

+++ 6:50 a.m .:

According to the Russian news agency Interfax, Russian armed forces will begin tactical military exercises in Belarus.

"The final assessment of the combat capability and combat readiness of the units is made by the command at the final stage of coordination - after conducting battalion tactical exercises," reports Interfax, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense.

It is unclear when and where the exercises will be held in Belarus.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry said in October that 9,000 Russian soldiers would be deployed to the country as part of a "regional pooling" of forces to protect the borders.

The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope

View photo gallery

News in the Ukraine war: Great Britain agrees to further arms deliveries in the Ukraine war

Update from Monday, December 19, 6:15 a.m .:

Great Britain wants to continue to deliver armaments to Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia, in the coming year.

The British government announced that several hundred thousand rounds of artillery ammunition worth around 250 million pounds (around 286 million euros) would be delivered over the course of the year.

This should ensure a continuous supply of Ukraine.

also read

Important Putin announcement expected on Ukraine war - is he going all in now?

READ

10,171 euros back payment for civil servants: "I'm a bit ashamed"

READ

Ukraine reports drone attacks on Kyiv – hundreds of Russian soldiers ambushed near Bakhmut

READ

Ukraine war 'gone terribly wrong' for Russia: elite unit apparently 'wiped out'

READ

Russian offensive expected for February: USA probably planning spectacular bomb delivery to Ukraine

READ

Fancy a journey of discovery?

My space

So far, Britain says it has supplied Ukraine with more than 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition since the start of the war, as well as several missile systems and recently 125 anti-aircraft guns.

The British see themselves as leaders in Europe.

News in the Ukraine war: Ukraine expects increased Russian attacks at the turn of the year

+++ 8.40 p.m .:

The Ukrainian military leadership fears new Russian rocket attacks at the turn of the year, as explained by army spokesman Yuri Ignat.

It is not excluded that the opponent "congratulates" in this way at the end of the year.

"They have a clear plan in which they have set priority goals," Ignat continues.

The aim is to inflict as much damage as possible on Ukraine.

"And depending on where it hurts us the most, that's where they'll aim, as mean, as bold and as painful as possible," the

state agency quoted the army spokesman as saying .

In addition, the date of the next attacks will be chosen in such a way that Putin and the "internal audience", i.e. the Russian population, like it.

For several weeks now, the Russian military has been targeting Ukraine's energy supply network with rockets and cruise missiles.

This is primarily intended to put pressure on the civilian population this winter.

Most recently, Russia launched a major attack with over 70 projectiles, which caused severe damage in Kyiv, among other things.

News in the Ukraine war: Russia transfers equipment to Belarus

+++ 18:05:

As the independent Belarusian military

reports, Russia continues to deliver military equipment to the territory of Belarus.

In the last few days, 50 armored military vehicles have arrived in Belarus.

assumes that this military equipment is used to supply soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces on the Osipovichi polygon.

A military convoy had already arrived in Belarus on December 11, carrying 30 of the new military vehicles.

As

reports, Putin uses Belarusian territory to deploy his troops and treat injured soldiers.

News in the Ukraine war: World Cup final starts without Zelenskyi message

+++ 4.30 p.m .:

In his video message on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested holding a peace summit before the final of the World Cup,

reports .

He himself would connect via video link.

It was reported on Friday that Zelenskyy had asked FIFA to broadcast a message of peace ahead of the final.

However, the final started without the planned message.

News in the Ukraine war: Russian soldiers are preparing for street fighting

+++ 16:03:

The Russian soldiers are preparing for street fighting in Melitopol, which is currently occupied by Russia.

"Perhaps the occupiers got into such distress in the last week that they are already preparing for street battles," writes the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fyodorov on Telegram.

Concrete anti-tank positions have been erected in the city center for two days.

Fyodorov writes that their concrete would not help them and instead only hinder them in their escape from the city, reports

newspaper .

News in the Ukraine war: Attacks also in the Russian border area with Ukraine

+++ 15:31:

According to the authorities, eight people were injured and one person killed when the Russian region of Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border, was shelled.

“Our anti-aircraft defense was deployed over Belgorod and the surrounding area.

There are consequences on the ground,” said the governor of the region Vyacheslav Gladkov on his Telegram channel on Sunday.

The impacts hit the city center as well as several houses and cars.

Ukraine has been bombed since the beginning of the war, but Russian border areas have also been repeatedly attacked.

In Belgorod, for example, a large oil depot detonated shortly after the war began.

News in the Ukraine war: population in Bakhmut reduced to 12,000 inhabitants

+++ 15:12:

Fierce fighting is taking place in the city of Bakhmut in the east of Donetsk in Ukraine.

The region used to have 72,000 inhabitants.

In the last six months, the number of residents has been decimated to 12,000.

Local residents live in basements and are fed by mobile food trucks that are only able to roam the city infrequently,

reports .

+++ 3:04 p.m .:

The commander of the armed forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Serhii Naev, fears that Putin will talk about involvement in the Ukraine war during his visit to Belarus, the newspaper

reports .

According to Naev, at the meeting between the Russian President and the Belarusian ruler, increased involvement of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus in the attacks on Ukraine will be discussed.

Above all, it should be spoken about armed forces for the ground war.

Putin will travel to Belarus on Monday (December 19) to meet in Minsk with the local ruler Lukashenko.

News in the Ukraine war: Zelenskyj calls for an international tribunal

+++ 2:21 p.m .:

On December 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj called for an international tribunal against everyone involved in the Russian attacks on Ukraine.

He stressed that "it's not just about running the Kremlin."

In an interview with French TV channels TF1 and LCI, Zelenskyy further said: "The Kremlin and those who support the leadership in waging a war against Ukraine should be held accountable.

This includes the propagandists and strategists who have 'imposed' their ideology on society.”

The European Commission announced on November 30 that it would set up a special court to deal with Russian war crimes.

Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine's infrastructure and civilian population have been attacked several times.

According to the Ukrainian prosecutor's office, over 54,500 cases of Russian war crimes have been registered across the country, the Ukrainian newspaper

.

News in the Ukraine war: Russia continues attacks in Donetsk

Update from Sunday, December 18: 4:23 p.m .:

The Russian troops are continuing their attacks in the Donetsk region and are making further progress, according to their own statements.

According to the Russian ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, counterattacks by the Ukrainian army were fended off and advantageous positions were taken as a result.

According to Konashenkov, sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the Ukrainian armed forces and a camp with foreign mercenaries were also destroyed in the area.

The Ukrainian military, on the other hand, announced that breakthroughs by Russian forces on the defense line in Donetsk had been prevented.

News in the Ukraine war: water supply restored in Kyiv

First report from Friday, December 16, 6:20 p.m.:

Kiev – Even on the 296th day of the war, the Russian army is relentlessly continuing its attacks in the Cherson Oblast.

As the news

reported, southern parts of the capital of the same name were under artillery and rocket fire.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said the attack early on Friday morning (December 16) set fire to several apartments in a multi-storey building.

The shelling comes at the end of a week of sustained Russian attacks on the city and surrounding areas.

According to Yaroslav Yanushevich, head of the military administration of the Kherson region, "critical infrastructure, residential buildings, public transport, medical facilities and distribution points for humanitarian aid" were hit.

A total of four people were killed.

Cherson was liberated in November by a counteroffensive by Ukraine.

Since then, the region has been struggling to restore basic services.

News about the Ukraine war: Russia fires on energy supplies

Not only in Cherson does Ukraine fear for its supply system.

As Ukraine's largest private energy company DTEK announced in a press release on Friday, nine generation plants were damaged after a rocket attack on the morning of December 16.

Large parts of the north, south and center of the country are affected.

The destruction of the energy supply is a strategic goal of Russia in the Ukraine war.

“From September to December, 20 Russian terrorist attacks were carried out on DTEK power plants.

Twenty-four power technicians were injured and three killed.

There were also victims among the rescue workers and employees of subcontractors,” the company summarized in its press release.

(Talk to agencies)