Ukraine drone attacks bomber base deep in Russia - several dead
Created: 12/26/2022, 8:49 am
By: Linus Prien, Bedrettin Bölükbasi, Franziska Schwarz
Strategic bombers at Engels airfield near Saratov (symbolic image).
© IMAGO / ITAR-TASS
During the Ukraine war, Selenskyj gave a clear Christmas speech.
Experts see indications of a Russian offensive.
The news ticker on the military situation.
Ukraine sees
heavy losses
for
Russia
: Putin's troops have difficulties in Bakhmut
Air alert
throughout
Ukraine
: sirens wail in cities
Zelenskyi's
Christmas
speech
: "Let's get through this winter"
This
news ticker
on the military situation in the
Ukraine war
is constantly updated.
Update from December 26, 8:16 a.m .:
According to Russian information, three soldiers died in a drone attack on the Engels military airfield in southern Russia, hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
"On December 26 at 1:35 Moscow time, the Russian anti-aircraft defense system shot down a Ukrainian drone at low altitude while approaching the Engels airbase in the Saratov region," the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
Three soldiers were killed by the falling splinters.
The information could not initially be verified independently.
According to media reports, four people were also injured.
"The aircraft technology was not damaged," emphasized the military leadership.
Strategic bombers are stationed in Engels, and Russia uses their missiles to destroy Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
The city on the Volga is more than 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Battles for Cherson: Ukrainian troops probably put the command post out of action
Update from December 25, 8:30 p.m .:
The Ukrainian armed forces claim to have disabled a Russian command post in an attack in the Cherson region in the south of the country.
The staff in the village of Sabaryne was attacked during an officers' meeting, the general staff of the Ukrainian army said in Kyiv on Sunday.
At least 70 soldiers were wounded in the process, and the number of dead is not yet certain.
The information could not initially be verified independently.
During the course of the war, the Ukrainian defenders repeatedly attacked Russian command centers and command posts.
These had been localized either by monitoring the radio traffic or the mobile network.
Several high-ranking Russian officers have already been killed.
Ukraine war: Putin's deputy prime minister wants to open training centers for the Russian military
Update from December 25, 7.30 p.m .:
Russia apparently wants to speed up the training of soldiers in the Ukraine war.
According to the state news agency TASS, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev announced that training centers based on the model of the University for Special Forces in Gudermes, Chechnya, are to be set up.
Together with Sergei Kriyenko, deputy head of the Russian presidential administration, they have already approached Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin, Trutnev also said.
"The task of these centers is very clear: they should strengthen our country and lead it to victory as quickly as possible," said the Russian Deputy Prime Minister.
When creating the training facilities, they want to use the experience of the Chechen university, he said.
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Ukraine war: military expert sees new Russia offensive in a lost position
Update from December 25, 6:10 p.m.:
The political and military leadership of Ukraine fears a new offensive by the Russian armed forces at the beginning of the new year.
However, according to the Ukrainian military expert Alexander Kovalenko, the chances of success for any offensive are very slim.
There is currently no direction in which the Russian troops could succeed, he said in an interview with the Ukrainian broadcaster Kanal24, according to the Unian news agency.
Even in Bakhmut, where an enormous force is concentrated, the Russian military has not been successful and has even had to accept counter-offensives from the Ukrainian side.
In addition, Russia does not have the necessary strength to prepare for an offensive.
According to Unian, Russian troops could only dare an offensive in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
However, this would only serve to increase the pressure on the Ukrainian military.
According to the military expert, however, the conquest and holding of large pieces of land does not seem possible there either.
Ukraine sees heavy casualties for Russia - 'a whole battalion every time'
Update from December 25, 5:00 p.m.:
According to the Ukrainian military, Russian troops in eastern Ukraine are inflicting heavy losses.
The heaviest fighting would continue in eastern Ukraine, said Colonel Serhiy Cherevatji, spokesman for the eastern battle group, according to the official military information
portal ArmyInform
.
The Russian army is concentrating both personnel and equipment such as artillery, tanks and aircraft in the area, he said.
"The Russian occupiers are trying to advance in Bakhmut, Avdjiwka and now also in Lyman," he said, according to the portal.
However, the Ukrainian armed forces would prevent this and repel Russian attacks.
On Sunday morning alone, 620 Russian soldiers were killed in the area, he claimed, citing the Ukrainian general staff.
According to Cherevatji, Russia "loses a whole battalion every time."
However, this information cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine war: "Putin's cook" probably increases the pressure on the Kremlin boss
Update from December 25, 11:41 a.m
.: According to an ISW analysis, "Putin's cook" is now increasing the pressure on the Kremlin boss: Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, suggest that Moscow should confiscate accommodation and luxury goods from oligarchs, who have so far not supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The details of the rumored shortage of money in the Kremlin.
Putin's submarine man suddenly dead: Died "too soon and tragically".
Update from December 25, 11:07 am
: The Admiralty shipyard is one of the largest Russian naval shipyards.
According to the Russian state news agency Tass, its general director Alexander Buzakov has now died at the age of 66.
In the English-language Wikipedia, his death found its way directly into the article "Mysterious deaths of Russian businessmen in 2022".
In fact, unexpected deaths among Russia's elite have been on the public's radar since the beginning of the war.
The news of Buzakvo's death here.
Alexander Buzakov (photo taken in January 2022) © Alexander Demianchuk/Imago
“Disgusting provocation”: Putin governor wants to blame Ukraine for the Cherson attack
Update from December 25, 10:39 a.m
.: Heavy shelling also at Christmas – and 16 deaths have now been counted: The Ukrainian authorities are currently reporting this from the contested Cherson region.
Vladimir Saldo, the region's governor appointed by Russia, has now denied the allegations.
Ukrainian troops themselves fired on the city in a "terrorist manner".
"This is a disgusting provocation with the obvious aim of blaming the Russian armed forces," he was quoted as saying by Russia's state news agency
Tass
.
The leadership in Kyiv is hereby responsible for "another bloody deed" against civilians, according to Saldo.
The information cannot be independently verified.
Battles in Bakhmut: Forced Putin military to 'tactical' pause?
Update from December 25, 9.46 a.m
.: Russian offensive in Bakhmut: Putin's military is apparently not making as much progress in the region as planned - and could therefore take a "tactical break".
This is what the US Institute for War Studies (ISW) writes in its latest situation analysis.
The pace of advance has slowed down in the past few days.
However, it is still too early for a final judgement.
Most recently, the Russian attacks were concentrated on the east of the country, especially the city of Bakhmut.
Air alert throughout Ukraine: sirens wail in the cities
Update from December 25, 9:09 a.m
.: As the
mirror
now reports, there is currently an air alarm nationwide in Ukraine.
Sirens wail in the cities.
There are also reports from Ukraine that the reason for this could be that Russian jets took off from Belarus.
However, this information could not initially be checked independently, the news magazine emphasizes.
Selenskyj plain text on Christmas: "Fight absolute evil"
First report from December 25
: Kiev - Despite war and suffering and constant shelling: In the Ukraine, too, many people celebrate Christmas Day.
In his most recent video on Christmas Eve, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was standing on the street - in dim light and with a Christmas tree in the background.
Zelenskyy's Christmas speech: "Let's get through this winter"
“We endured attacks, threats, nuclear blackmail, terror and missile strikes.
Let's get through this winter because we know what we're fighting for," Zelenskyy called on his compatriots to persevere.
On the same day, new Russian attacks on the city of Kherson caused widespread horror.
Attacks on Kherson: Ukraine reports at least 10 dead and 55 wounded
Attacks on the city in southern Ukraine killed 10 people and wounded 55 others, military governor Yaroslav Yanushevich said on Ukrainian television.
18 people were seriously injured.
The information could not be checked independently.
Most of the Kherson region is still controlled by Russian troops.
Selenskyj condemned the attack as another crime by the "terror state" Russia right before Christmas.
The photos of the dead would certainly be tagged by social networks because of the content.
"But this is not sensitive content, this is real life of Ukraine and Ukrainians," he said.
"The world needs to see and understand the absolute evil we are fighting."
Allies Putin and Lukashenko: Kyiv fears an offensive from Belarus
In addition, due to a concentration of Russian troops in Belarus, there are fears of a new Russian offensive from there in Kyiv.
The US Institute for War Studies (ISW) estimates that such an attack is unlikely but possible.
The military experts saw the establishment of a military hospital as an indication.
"Field hospitals are not necessary for exercises and can be an indication of the preparation for combat operations.".
In Belarus, the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, has made his military bases available for attacks on Ukraine to the politically and financially dependent ruler Alexander Lukashenko.
(dpa/frs)
