An oil installation burns in Russia’s Kursk region after a suspected Ukrainian drone attack, December 6, 2022

Source: Institute for the Study of War

Wednesday’s Coverage: Russia’s Failed Drone Attack on Kyiv

UPDATE 1616 GMT:

The US has added former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Potanin, the country’s second-richest man, to the sanctions list over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Potanian was sanctioned over his involvement in the conglomerate Interros, which works in manufacturing, construction, and finance.

He was sanctioned by the UK government in June.

UPDATE 0957 GMT:

Russian shelling killed two civilians in Kherson city, liberated by Ukrainian forces last month, on Thursday.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukraine President’s office, said the two were killed about 100 meters from the regional administration building, which was damaged in shelling on Wednesday.

The city is without electricity at the moment. Kherson Governor Yaroslav Yanushevich wrote on Telegram, “At the first opportunity, the power industry will begin to restore power grids.”

Russian forces withdrew from Kherson on November 9, but have continued attacks on the city from their positions across the Dnipro River on the east bank.

UPDATE 0833 GMT:

The Russian military has formed “artistic” units of musicians, actors, and other performers to boost troop morale amid its troubled invasion of Ukraine.

“Two permanent frontline creative brigades were formed for the first time in the modern history of the Russian Armed Forces,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The brigades will consist of professional artists who have either volunteered for military service or have been drafted in Vladimir Putin’s mass mobilization this autumn.

They include opera singers, vocal performers, musicians, actors, and circus artists.

UPDATE 0810 GMT:

“Six sources close to the Kremlin and the Russian Government” say Vladimir Putin cancelled his annual year-end press conference because security services failed to guarantee that they can stop Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.

The press conference has been a showpiece for Putin for the past 10 years to present his views on domestic and international affairs. His speech and answers to questions, most of them planted for further exposition of his perspective, has lasted up to four hours.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the conference would not take place.

In the autumn, the Kremlin had assured that the event would occur as normal. One source summarized to The Moscow Times:

Sometimes [advisors] discussed among themselves that the situation behind the tape ”is not developing in the most favorable way”. But everyone nodded their heads – the Boss is a rock, he can handle it. He will not want to cancel it in principle, and his ability and experience to work “in the big genre” will allow him to turn the situation in his favor.

But a series of Russian defeats rocked the Kremlin: the liberation of Kherson city by Ukrainian force, the attack by Ukraine’s drones on the Russian naval base in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea; the explosion on the Kerch Bridge between Russia and Crimea; and Ukrainian strikes on military airfields in Russian territory.

The advisors “began to signal to the authorities about serious information risks”, said another source.

A Kremlin official said, “The chief has been silent about the surrender of Kherson for more than a month. Any statement about the retreat instantly increases the negative rating, so once again — no, no. Others take the rap.”

Putin has also postponed his annual address to the Russian legislature, held every year since 1994.

Kremlin spokesperson Peskov snapped that Russians shoud stop “fortune-telling with coffee grounds” about the timing of Putin’s next major speech.

UPDATE 0739 GMT:

UK military intelligence assesses that Russia’s deployment of mobilized reservists to Belarus, and exercises by Belarusian troops, do not point to a force able to successfully attack northern Ukraine.

Analysts have watched for the entry of Belarus, an ally — some say a vassal state — of Moscow, into the war. On Tuesday, the Belarusian military carried out a “snap combat readiness inspection” of its forces in the northwest of the country.

UPDATE 0735 GMT:

As Russia faces defeat on the battlefield and strikes inside its territory, a commentator on Russian State TV defies reality with claims of conquering not only western Ukraine but also Portugal and the UK.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine’s forces have reportedly attacked another Russian airbase, the third within 10 days.

The base in Kursk in western Russia, 175 miles from the Ukrainian border, was hit Wednesday night.

On December 5 and 6, the Russians were surprised by explosions at the Engels-2 base in the Saratov region and the Dyagilevo base in the Ryazan region, both about 300 miles from the border. The bases host Tu-95 and Tu-22M long-range bombers, used for waves of cruise missile attacks on Ukraine.

An oil installation on the Kursk base was also hit and set ablaze.

Kyiv did not formally claim responsibility, but a senior Ukrainian official told The New York Times that drones attacked the bases “with the help of special forces” close to the bases. Russian officials also blamed drone strikes.

The Ukrainian Government again declined to claim Wednesday’s attack. The Interior Ministry’s Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram that an “unknown drone hit a military facilty” with “two explosions in Kursk near the airfield”.

Russian State media quoted Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit, who inisted, “Air defence worked over the Kursk region in the evening, there were no casualties and no damage.”

However, videos on social media showed a large explosion followed by a fire. At dawn, a large column of black smoke still hung above the site.

Analysts believe last week’s attacks were carried out by modified Soviet-era Strizh warplanes, first produced in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. Russian officials said the same aircraft were used on Wednesday night.

After the successful strikes on the Engels-2 and Dyagilevo bases, damaging at least two Russian heavy bombers, the US signalled that it would not prevent Ukrainian strikes on Russian airbases, including those deep inside the country.

Ukraine War, Day 287: US — We Are Not Restricting Ukrainian Capability to Strike Inside Russia