Saturday, December 23

Russia’s war against Ukraine

An inside view of an apartment building in Kyiv damaged by a Russian drone on Dec. 22, 2023. (Oleksii Chumachenko/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Air Force: Ukraine downs 3 Russian Su-34 supersonic aircraft. Ukraine downed three Russian Su-34 supersonic striker/bomber aircraft on the southern front, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk announced on Dec. 22.

WSJ: Russian Security Council secretary ordered Prigozhin’s assassination. Sources in Russian and Western intelligence told the WSJ that Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev ordered the assassination of Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, adding that Russian leader Vladimir Putin did not object to the plans.

Drone attack reported in multiple Russian oblasts. Ukrainian attack drones hit their target on Russian territory, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Dec. 22, citing a source in intelligence. Earlier on Dec. 22, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed air defense systems in Moscow, Kaluga, and Bryansk oblasts had stopped an attempted Ukrainian drone attack.

Top Defense Ministry official arrested in embezzlement case. A senior official in the Defense Ministry has been detained over his suspected involvement in using an artillery shell contract to embezzle Hr 1.5 billion ($40 million), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on Dec. 22.

Zelensky outlines Ukraine’s 2024 foreign policy goals. President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined Ukraine’s foreign policy goals for the upcoming year in a speech to members of Ukraine’s diplomatic service on Dec. 22.

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Energy Ministry: Widespread power outages due to bad weather, Russian attacks. Thirteen oblasts across Ukraine were affected by bad weather and Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, impacting the power supply of close to 100,000 people.

Zelensky meets Polish foreign minister, hopes for new page in bilateral relations. President Volodymyr Zelensky told Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski that there was hope for “a new page in our relations” during their meeting in Kyiv on Dec. 22.

Official: 3,900 trucks waiting in line at Polish border to enter Ukraine. Ukraine’s Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said four border crossings are blocked as of the morning of Dec. 22.

Ombudsman: 12-year-old boy returned after nearly 2 years under Russian control. The boy initially went to visit his father in Luhansk Oblast just days before the beginning of the full-scale invasion and then was stuck under Russian occupation in the oblast for 18 months. He then spent another four months on Russian territory and was forced to attend Russian school.

ISW: Western officials should not overstate Russia’s failures in Ukraine. As military aid to Ukraine stalls and the country girds itself for a difficult winter at war, these comments may suggest that Western support for Ukraine is not urgently needed, the ISW warns.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Netherlands to prepare 18 F-16s for delivery to Ukraine

The Netherlands and Denmark led the way in the summer of 2023 in forming an international coalition that would train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 jets. In November, the Dutch Defense Ministry said it would send up to 18 F-16s to Romania for training purposes only.

Photo: John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

Intelligence service claims top judicial official has Russian citizenship; he denies it, cites pressure

Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service has alleged that Roman Ihnatov, head of the High Qualification Commission, a key agency in Ukraine’s judicial system, has Russian citizenship. Ihnatov, who worked in Russia in the 1990s, denies having ever had Russian citizenship.

Photo: The High Qualification Commission

Opinions and insights

Editorial: Why we don’t avoid ‘unpleasant’ stories about Ukraine

At the Kyiv Independent, our mission is to report on Ukraine. We aspire to be the place for those seeking to understand Ukraine and the developments here. As journalists, we keep the public informed and hold those in power to account. That includes Ukraine’s leadership in times of war.

Illustration: Karolina Gulshani

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 39 — After 2023, what’s next for Ukraine?

Human cost of war

Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast kill 1, injure 6. Russian attacks on multiple settlements in Donetsk Oblast have killed one civilian and injured six others during the day, the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported on Dec. 22.

Russian drone strike on Kyiv, attacks across Ukraine kill 1, injure at least 4. Russian attacks across Ukraine, including a drone attack on Kyiv, killed one person and injured at least four overnight on Dec. 21, regional authorities reported.

Governor: Russian soldiers in occupied Kherson Oblast killed boy in front of his family. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said that, according to preliminary information, the Russian soldiers may have thought the boy was taking a picture of something, so they seized him, brought him home, and shot him while his family watched.

Ukraine retrieves bodies of 66 fallen soldiers. The bodies of 66 fallen Ukrainian soldiers were returned to Ukraine, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War reported on Dec. 22.

General Staff: Russia has lost 351,350 troops in Ukraine. This number includes the 1,080 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

Netherlands to deliver 18 F-16s to Ukraine. The Netherlands will deliver 18 F-16s to Ukraine, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte confirmed during a phone call to President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec. 22. “Besides an export permit, a number of other criteria must also still be met before delivery can take place, including requirements for personnel and infrastructure,” Rutte said on X.

Biden administration strengthens sanctions on Russia, targets financial backers of war effort. The White House said the executive order would expand sanctions authority over any financial institutions “determined to have conducted or facilitated any significant transactions…or provided any services” for already sanctioned individuals or companies involved in Russia’s military-industrial complex.

Governor: Czech Republic to provide $10 million in aid for medical facilities in Kharkiv Oblast. The funds will go towards purchasing medical equipment for hospitals in the oblast, as well as boilers to help heat civilian homes and critical infrastructure, said Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

Japan to transfer Patriot missiles to US. Japan changed its laws regarding arms exports, allowing for the transfer of weapons, the Japanese Foreign Ministry announced on Dec. 22. The ministry added that it will send the U.S. Patriot missiles, paving the way for the U.S. to replenish its stocks while potentially sending Ukraine some of its own current supply.

Germany sends ammunition, demining equipment to Ukraine. The latest shipment includes ammunition for Leopard tanks, three additional Gepard anti-aircraft systems, and two more mine-clearing tanks.

London mayor agrees to send scrap cars to Ukraine. Mayor Sadiq Khan had previously rejected a proposal to send cars that do not meet London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) standards to Ukraine instead of the scrapyard.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Teah Pelechaty, Nate Ostiller, Oleg Sukhov, Elsa Court, and Abbey Fenbert.

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