While Ukraine confirms strikes on military and industrial infrastructure on Russian territory overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced yesterday, Tuesday, conclusive tests of a new Ukrainian-made missile called “Ruta”, at a time when Ukraine reiterates requests for Western support, particularly in terms of air defense.
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These strikes were confirmed by the Ukrainian army, which said that an oil refinery had been hit in the Bryansk border region. kyiv explained that this targeted strike would directly affect the Russian army’s supply chain, as a pipeline from this refinery carried diesel to tanks and rail cars intended for the Russian army, reports our correspondent in kyiv, Emmanuelle Chaze.
We heard it, on the Ukrainian side, Volodymyr Zelensky recalled on Tuesday that kyiv is developing its own weapons to strike Russian territory and illegally occupied Ukrainian territories. Among these weapons is the Palyanitsya missile, large-scale production of which has been launched, the Peklo drones, capable of traveling 700 km, as well as the new Ruta missile, the tests of which were deemed conclusive by kyiv.
This demonstrates the will of theUkraine not to rely solely on the help of his allies, although the president reiterates his requests for support, particularly in matters of anti-aircraft defense.
Ukraine will receive $20 billion in the form of a loan. It is the Biden administration that wants to accelerate its aid to kyiv before the transfer of power to Donald Trump on January 20
This 20 billion dollars is the United States’ share of a total of 50 billion promised by the G7. The loan will be repaid via interest generated by Russian assets frozen by the sanctions. The idea of using these funds to guarantee the loan was sealed by an agreement signed in October. It is the World Bank which will be responsible for transferring these sums to Ukraine.
By releasing this loan, the Biden administration wants to accelerate its aid to Ukraine before Donald Trump arrives at the White House. The president-elect has in fact decided to reduce American aid to kyiv. But for the outgoing Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, it is also a question of sending a message to Vladimir Putin who is counting, according to the official, on the fatigue of Westerners. As for the Europeans, they fear American disengagement or pressure for an agreement with Moscow to the detriment of kyiv.
For its part, Moscow claims that Ukraine has also struck energy infrastructure in the Rostov region, depriving several buildings in the city of electricity, even as Russia is increasing its attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine, thus depriving millions of civilians with electricity.
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Russian reconquest in the Kursk region
The Russian army also claimed this Wednesday the reconquest of two localities in the Kursk regionbordering Ukraine, where kyiv’s forces have occupied several hundred square kilometers since a surprise offensive in August, reports Agence France Presse.
“ Units of the Northern grouping, during offensive operations, liberated the settlements of Darino and Pliokhovo », Indicated the Russian Ministry of Defense in a press release. The operation in the Kursk region, the largest offensive on Russian territory since the end of the Second World War, caught Moscow by surprise in a weakly defended area and constituted a humiliating setback for the Kremlin.
If Ukraine had declared having rapidly advanced over more than 1,000 square kilometers in the region, Russian forces have since claimed the reconquest of almost half of this area. The fighting continues there, without Moscow succeeding for the moment in completely repelling the forces of kyiv, who still hold the small town of Soudja, the main locality conquered by Ukraine in the region.
This Ukrainian operation, however, did not ease Russian pressure on the eastern front in Ukraine, as the kyiv authorities hoped. The latter had cited several reasons for this offensive: bringing hostilities to Russian territory, preventing a Russian attack in the Ukrainian region of Sumy, forcing Moscow to strip the other fronts and taking prisoners with a view to exchanging them for Ukrainians.
Also readKursk region: the bitterness of the evacuees, the weariness of a region