Residents walk by flashlight during a blackout following Russian strikes on Kyiv, Ukraine, December 17, 2022 (Photo by Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP)


How and Why Putin’s Ukraine Invasion Failed

Sunday’s Coverage: Power Restored After Latest Russian Attacks


Source: Institute for the Study of War


UPDATE 1920 GMT:

Vladimir Putin has described talks with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk as “very productive”, but has offered little substance about Belarus and his invasion of Ukraine.

Putin denied that he was interested in “absorbing” Ukraine and issued his standard line that unspecified “enemies” wanted to stop Russian ties with Belarus.

Lukashenko also issued platitudes, “Today we can unequivocally state: together we were able not only to survive, but also to find opportunities for the development of our economies.”


UPDATE 1913 GMT:

The European Union has agreed to cap the price of gas from Russia if the cost on markets exceeds €180 ($191) per megawatt hour for three days.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki tweeted that the cap “means the end of market manipulation” by Russia and its energy firm Gazprom.


UPDATE 1550 GMT:

After weeks of negotiations, European Energy Ministers have agreed to a price cap on gas from Russia, according to a spokesperson for the Czech Presidency of the EU, Dmitrij Černikov.


UPDATE 1542 GMT:

The UK is delivering another $304 million in military aid to Ukraine, including hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the aid during a summit of the 10-nation Joint Expeditionary Force in Latvia.

Sunak urged the other JEF members — Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway — to supply Ukraine with more air defense, artillery, and armored vehicles.

“We must be clear that any unilateral call for a ceasefire by Russia is completely meaningless in the current context,” Sunak said. “I think it would be a false call.”

He warned that Russia would use this pause in hostilities to regroup its troops after a series of battlefield losses in Ukraine.


UPDATE 1206 GMT:

Ukraine State energy company Ukrenergo says the system is “in a difficult situation” after the latest Russian attacks on infrastructure.

Emergency power outages have been introduced in the capital Kyiv and in the Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Critical infrastructure facilities have been reconnected to electricity, but restoration of energy supply to household consumers may take longer.


UPDATE 0923 GMT:

Kyiv Governor Oleksiy Kuleba says three areas in the region are without power amid “fairly serious” damage from this morning’s Russian drone attacks.


UPDATE 0811 GMT:

Residents gather at a giant menorah in a Hanukkah ceremony in Odesa in southern Ukraine during a blackout on Sunday….

Members of the Jewish community stand by a giant menorah as they attend a ceremony for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, during blackout, on December 18, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Oleksandr GIMANOV / AFP)

Photo: Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP


ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia launched its third barrage in five days on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early Monday, firing 35 Iranian-made drones.

The Ukrainian military said 30 of the drones, fired from Russian-occupied southeast Ukraine on the Sea of Azov coast, were downed by air defenses. Several loud blasts were heard in central Kyiv and the surrounding region soon after air raid alarms sounded about 2 a.m.

Kyiv Governor Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram:

Infrastructure objects and private houses were damaged as a result of a night drone attack in the Kyiv region…two victims….They are under the supervision of doctors.

Russia drone, rocket, and heavy artillery attacks were also reported on the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine. Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said several homes and power lines were damaged.

Russia fired 13 drones on Kyiv last Wednesday, all of which were shot down. On Friday, the Russians launched 76 missiles across Ukraine. Sixty were downed, but those that reached targets knocked out power.

Electricity had been restored for 9 million Ukrainians by Sunday, said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

I thank everyone who carries out these repair works in any weather and around the clock! I thank each of our partners who help us with equipment! I also thank Ukrainian business – everyone who transforms their shops, cafes, enterprises into new “points of invincibility”.

Since October 10, Russia has attacked Ukraine with several hundred missiles and hundreds of Iranian Shahed-136 “kamikaze” drones in assaults trying to knock out energy infrastructure and break civilian resistance.

However, the waves have had diminishing effect, with about 85% of missiles and almost all drones downed. Half of Ukraine’s power grid was knocked out at one point, but quick repairs have maintained at least some electricity, heating, and water across the country.

Still, Ukrainian officials are seeking further aid for air defences. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to foreign partners in his nightly address to the nation on Saturday.

You can provide protection to our people – 100% protection from these terrorist Russian strikes.

When this happens, the main form of Russian terror – missile terror – will become simply impossible. And this will mean safety for Ukrainians, safety for millions of people, and a strategic restructuring of the entire military situation.