The situation at a glance: Russia is attacking Ukraine with many drones

After a break of several days, Russia attacked Ukraine again overnight with a large number of combat drones. The first air alarm was sounded for the capital Kiev on Thursday evening after four days of calm. The Ukrainian Air Force reported on its Telegram channel about groups of enemy combat drones over almost all areas in the center, north and east of the country.

“Attention! City of Kiev! Stay in shelters. Enemy combat drone approaching from the north,” the citizens of the metropolis were warned. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, parts of a drone fell in a district close to the center without causing a fire or injuring people.

Explosions were reported in Sumy, Kharkiv and Vynnytsia in the west. There was initially no exact information about damage. In addition to the drones, the Russian army also used guided glide bombs that are dropped from aircraft, according to the army. Russia has stepped up attacks with Iranian-made combat drones in recent weeks, sometimes deploying more than 100 aircraft in a night. Conversely, according to Moscow military information, Russia shot down numerous Ukrainian drones over the border areas of Belgorod and Rostov.

Ukrainian soldiers are threatened with encirclement near Kurakhove

Meanwhile, on the front in eastern Ukraine, the situation of the Ukrainian defenders continues to deteriorate. According to Ukrainian military observers, an unspecified number of soldiers were threatened with encirclement south of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region. They had held positions there for a long time on both sides of the Sukhi Jaly River, but the Russian advance into the town of Uspenivka cut off their route of withdrawal. “It is difficult to understand the point of holding the ‘Sack of Uspenivka’ when the enemy continues to gradually capture Kurakhove,” the military blog DeepState said.

The General Staff did not comment in detail on the situation on this sector of the front, but only reported heavy fighting around Kurachowe. Pokrovsk is also hotly contested. More civilians who had previously remained there were brought to safety from this city.

Zelenskyj in the almost front-line city of Zaporizhzhia

Two days after a Russian rocket attack that killed eleven people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to the city of Zaporizhzhia, which was also increasingly affected by the war. He visited the damaged clinic where a rocket hit on Tuesday and remembered the victims. He also visited a newly built underground school for 1,000 children.

“There is a lot to do in Zaporizhzhia: the security situation, the protection of the skies,” Zelensky said in a video message. In the southern city, which had 700,000 inhabitants before the Russian war of aggression, the president discussed the situation on the approaching front with the military. If Ukrainian troops have to evacuate the last cities in the eastern Donetsk region, there will only be 130 kilometers of open steppe land to Zaporizhia on the Dnipro.

Yermak: Ukraine too weak for negotiations with Moscow

Regarding the ongoing international discussion about ways out of the war, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said that the country is currently not strong enough to negotiate with Moscow. “Today we are not there yet. We lack weapons, we lack status,” he said on Ukrainian TV. “We are talking about an invitation to NATO and clear guarantees that would ensure that (Kremlin chief Vladimir) Putin does not return in two or three years.”

In Berlin, the foreign ministers of several European countries pledged Ukraine’s steadfast support and commitment to viable security guarantees if negotiations on a ceasefire were to take place after Donald Trump took office as US President in January. It is unclear what the guarantees might look like. There are currently no concrete plans for a European peacekeeping force. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation in Warsaw on Wednesday. Macron called for solidarity with the USA.

The outgoing US administration under President Joe Biden is providing Ukraine with additional weapons to help defend against Russia’s war of aggression. The aid package is worth 500 million US dollars (around 477 million euros), as the US State Department announced. It includes, among other things, anti-drone systems, ammunition for the Himars-type rocket launcher system and armored vehicles. Just a few days ago, the US government announced a package worth around 988 million US dollars (around 935 million euros).

Under Democrat Biden, the USA is Ukraine’s largest arms supplier and politically most important supporter. But the change of power in Washington is coming up on January 20th – and the course with regard to Ukraine is likely to change significantly under Trump. There is concern in Kiev that the Republicans could drastically reduce US military aid. Therefore, the Biden administration has set itself the goal of quickly and effectively using all funds already approved by Congress in the remaining weeks.

German firefighting robots in action in Ukraine

Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze concluded a visit to Kiev during which she handed over equipment to help winterize Ukraine’s damaged energy system. Most recently, the SPD politician was shown the use of remote-controlled fire fighting robots from Germany at a fire station.

At a press conference with Schulze, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Swyrydenko recalled that Germany had already supported Ukraine with 37 billion euros since the start of the war. “It seems to me that this sum is the largest of all aid from European countries,” said Svyrydenko. She also praised a retraining project in Germany and other countries for refugee Ukrainians. The new knowledge would benefit the country upon their return.