Day: December 27, 2024

Cases of desertion among Russian soldiers have become more frequent in the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson region. To combat this, Russian command has begun using blocking detachments, reports the National Resistance Center (NRC)

It is noted that the reasons for desertion and cases of self-mutilation are the unwillingness of the Russian soldiers to die due to the ambitions of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

To find deserters, additional forces of the Russian National Guard have arrived in the region, performing the role of blocking detachments.

“It should be noted that the enemy is resettling the occupiers along the Dnipro riverbank in empty Ukrainian homes and seized dormitories. For this purpose, the local occupation administration compiles lists of suitable premises for settlement,” the report states.

Attacks on the right bank of the Dnipro

On the night of December 20, Russian forces began shelling Kherson and surrounding settlements with heavy artillery. They attacked residential buildings and social, and critical infrastructure.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that the Russians attempt to storm the right bank of the Dnipro River daily but face failure and significant losses in personnel.

Meanwhile, the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) emphasized that these actions by the aggressor do not indicate plans for the reoccupation of Kherson.

Ukrainian drones are capable of striking targets located up to 2,000 kilometers away. Various explosions on Russian territory occur at military facilities and sites related to the defense industry of the aggressor country, states Andrii Yusov, representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.

In response to the host’s question about footage circulating online showing drones in the Murmansk region, where the Olenya airfield is located, and drone attacks on other strategic military airfields in Russia, Andrii Yusov stated that intelligence prefers silence, and not all operations can be disclosed at this time.

“What can be said, and this is no longer a secret, is that Ukrainian long-range drones can hypothetically operate at distances of up to 2,000 kilometers,” said the representative of Ukraine’s military intelligence.

Yusov added, “We neither confirm nor deny; there are no official statements in most cases when something explodes in Russia.”

“I can only say that such explosions don’t happen by chance,” he noted.

The intelligence representative emphasized that incidents occur exclusively at facilities connected to the military-industrial complex, the Russian army, or those involved in financing, military, logistical, or defense support of enemy forces.

“Unlike what the enemy is doing, with massive shelling of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine – acts that are essentially war crimes condemned worldwide – the incidents in Russia are solely connected to military targets and infrastructure,” Yusov stressed.

Drone production in Ukraine

Ukraine is actively developing and improving various types of unmanned aerial systems, including the creation of new long-range drones.

In July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced plans to increase the production of long-range drones.

Previously, it was reported that the domestically developed unmanned aerial system Shchedryk was officially approved for deployment in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

It was also reported that Ukraine had completed testing drones equipped with fiber-optic communication.

On December 20, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution titled Certain Issues of Defense Procurement During the Martial Law Period. The resolution approved a list of priority missile, drone, and robotic samples. This document effectively introduced a new term: Weapons of Victory.

In mid-December, Vadym Sukharevskyi, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated that Ukraine is also advancing the development of a mother drone project.

Israeli aviation reportedly struck the airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, while a civilian Airbus-320 plane with hundreds of passengers was landing. The airstrike also injured members of a UN delegation, reports the Associated Press (AP).

UN’s top humanitarian official in Yemen, Julien Harneis, told the agency that two airstrikes on Thursday, December 26, affected him and around 15 others who were in the VIP lounge of Sana’a International Airport. Among those present was WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

However, according to Harneis, the most terrifying part was the destruction of the airport’s control tower while a Yemeni Airways plane was taxiing after landing.

“Fortunately, that plane was able to land safely and the passengers were able to disembark, but it could have been far, far worse,” the UN representative said during a video press conference from Sanaa.

According to Harneis, around 4:45 PM local time, one missile struck approximately 300 meters south of the VIP lounge, and another hit about 300 meters to the north. At that moment, around five members of the UN team were outside the building.

“Not only obviously did we have zero indication of any potential airstrikes, but we cannot remember the last time there were airstrikes in Sanaa during daylight hours,” Harneis said.

He added that immediately after the airstrikes, UN security staff evacuated the delegation from the VIP building and placed them in five armored vehicles, where they waited for about 40 minutes to assess the situation and provide assistance to an injured crew member.

Harneis added that he sustained a serious shrapnel wound to his leg and lost a lot of blood. He was transported to a hospital in Sanaa, where he underwent surgery for four hours, while the rest of the delegation spent the night at the UN premises.

The plane carrying WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the UN team, including the injured crew member, was able to depart for Jordan in the afternoon of December 27 – despite the airport’s control tower being out of service.

The UN reported that the injured crew member was taken to a hospital in Jordan, and Ghebreyesus returned to Geneva to the WHO headquarters.

Israel’s response

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that they targeted Sanaa airport due to its use by the Houthi rebels and Iran. According to the military, they were unaware of the presence of the WHO Director-General and the UN delegation at the airport.

In response, Harneis emphasized that the airport is a civilian facility, not a military one, and is used for the transportation of UN and other humanitarian workers, as well as for a single civilian flight between Yemen and Amman, Jordan. He noted that this flight operates under an international agreement, and thousands of Yemenis have used it to access modern medical treatment abroad.

According to the UN representative, in addition to the airstrikes on Sanaa airport on December 26, Israel also targeted the key port of Hudaydah in western Yemen. An IDF airstrike destroyed two tugboats and, according to estimates, reduced the port’s capacity by 50%.

The UN reported that as a result of Israeli airstrikes, at least three people were killed, and dozens were injured. Among the wounded was a crew member of the UN humanitarian air service, who was preparing to evacuate a UN delegation of about 20 people from Sanaa.

Israel and Yemeni Houthi attacks

Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip, the Houthi group in Yemen has been launching drone and missile strikes against Israel. In response, the Israeli army has targeted the positions of the terrorists.

It was previously reported that Israeli strikes on December 26 affected the delegation of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The WHO Director-General was in Yemen to discuss the escalating humanitarian crisis and to negotiate the release of about 50 individuals held by the Houthis since June, through the efforts of the UN, NGOs, and civil society.

Recently, the Israeli army also intercepted a ballistic missile from Yemen using the THAAD missile defense system.

The previous exchange of strikes between Israel and Yemen occurred on December 21. After Houthi attacks on the Israeli capital, explosions were heard in Sanaa just a few hours later. It was later revealed that the attack had been carried out by US military forces.

On the night of December 28, airstrikes involving drones occurred in the Voronezh and Belgorod regions of Russia. As a result of the drone attack in Voronezh, railway infrastructure was damaged, while in Belgorod, a settlement was left without electricity, according to the governors of Voronezh and Belgorod regions, Alexander Gusev and Vyacheslav Gladkov.

Voronezh region

According to a local official, in one of the districts of the region, during the fall of drone debris, the railway’s contact network was severed, causing train delays.

“Currently, one train is delayed, and additional delays are expected for other trains,” the governor wrote on his Telegram channel.

The Russian official claims that over 10 drones were allegedly destroyed in the suburbs of Voronezh and several areas of the region.

“According to preliminary information, there are no casualties. A special headquarters has been set up by the South-Eastern Railway to expedite the recovery efforts… The threat of drone attacks in the Voronezh region remains,” the head of the Voronezh region stated.

Belgorod region

Meanwhile, the governor of Belgorod region shared on his Telegram channel that the Krasnoyaruzhsky district was targeted in a drone attack. The official holds Ukraine responsible for this airstrike.

According to him, one of the drones struck the village of Verkhososna, damaging a power line, and leaving the village temporarily without electricity. The governor added that emergency crews are working to restore power.

Furthermore, the Russian official reported that in the village of Palatovo, due to the detonation of a drone, two people were injured and hospitalized.

“In the village, windows were broken and facades were damaged in three residential houses,” said Gladkov.

It should be noted that earlier reports indicated that on December 25, drones attacked the military airfield Baltimor in Voronezh.

On December 19, explosions in the Voronezh region were also reported following a drone strike.

Additionally, on the evening of October 27, a drone attack once again targeted the Ethanol Spirit distillery in Novokhopyorsk, Voronezh region. This facility, which is also used in Russia for producing fuel for military purposes and explosives, had previously been targeted in drone strikes that same month.