Russia once again attacked Ukraine with drones during the night. Once again the port city of Odessa on the Black Sea was hit. The General Staff in Kiev reported a repelled attack on the city of Kupyansk.
According to Ukrainian authorities, a woman was killed in a massive Russian drone attack on the port city of Odessa. At least eight other people were injured in the nighttime attack, including a nine-year-old boy, Odessa’s military governor Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram. “Residential buildings, a church and vehicles were damaged,” said Kiper. Fires also broke out in several places due to the impacts.
According to Kiper, a district heating pipe was also hit and a thermal power plant failed. Odessa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov said on Telegram that more than 40,000 people as well as medical and social facilities were without heating. Trukhanov spoke of a “massive combined enemy attack.”
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said 51 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight. This repelled an attack that was aimed at coastal regions. The information could not be independently verified.
Fires broke out in several buildings in Odessa after the Russian attack.
US broadcaster: Increase in drone attacks after Trump victory
Russia has long been systematically bombarding civilian targets in its neighboring country with drones and missiles. The Russian attackers are particularly targeting energy and heat supplies, and this has serious consequences for people as winter approaches. About half of Ukraine’s electricity capacity was knocked out of service by Russian attacks.
In recent weeks, the number of drone attacks has increased alongside falling temperatures. According to the US broadcaster ABC, the number of attacks rose by 44 percent in the week after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election in the United States. Trump has announced that he wants to broker a quick peace between Russia and Ukraine.
There are fears in Ukraine and its European supporting countries that the USA, as its most important ally, could soon stop its aid to Kiev – and that Russia will effectively emerge as the victor from the war of aggression that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin launched in February 2022 through a unilateral peace settlement at the expense of Ukraine had.
According to Kyiv, attack on Kupyansk repelled
In a video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky only made vague comments about the situation at the front. He praised the efficiency of Ukrainian defenders in the Kupyansk area in northeastern Ukraine. There had previously been reports that armored Russian vehicles had entered the strategically important small town in the Kharkiv region. The General Staff in Kyiv later declared the attack repelled.
Map of Ukraine and Russia, light hatched: territories occupied by Russia
Russian troops occupied Kupyansk from February to September 2022 before the city was recaptured by the Ukrainians. The Russians have now moved close to Kupyansk again. The Ukrainian defenders are under heavy pressure along the entire front line.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
Zelensky announces ten-point plan
Zelensky also announced a ten-point plan. This will be presented next week and is intended to ensure Ukraine’s internal security, said the Ukrainian President. There will be a doctrine developed with representatives of civil society and companies that should give the country stability. Among other things, it is about energy supply and the production of weapons. He did not give any further details.
