Key developments on Dec. 31:
- Ukrainian sea drone downs Russian helicopter with anti-air missile in first strike of its variety
- Russian assaults harm properties and infrastructure in Kyiv and Sumy oblasts forward of New 12 months
- Ukraine strikes oil depot in Russia's Smolensk Oblast, Common Workers confirms
- Russian officers skilled for assaults on Japan, South Korea in occasion of battle with NATO, FT reviews
Ukraine's army intelligence (HUR) destroyed a Russian aerial goal with the Ukrainian-made Magura V5 naval strike drone for the primary time, HUR reported on Dec. 31.
Throughout a battle within the Black Sea off the Western tip of occupied Crimea, the particular unit Group 13 launched SeeDragon missiles from the Magura drone. The unit downed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter and hit one other helicopter, though the latter was capable of fly again to the airbase.
A video from the battle reveals the second the missiles locked onto the helicopter earlier than it exploded and crashed into the ocean.
The Magura drone has helped Ukraine push again towards Russia’s Black Sea Fleet by hanging dozens of ships this yr. They’ve been in operation for the reason that summer season of 2023.
It may cowl a distance of greater than 800 kilometers (500 miles), attain a pace of 80 km/h (50 mph), and is able to carrying a 250-kilogram warhead. Each is 5.5 meters lengthy and prices roughly 10 million hryvnias ($240,000).
In June, HUR introduced that the drones had been modified to function anti-aircraft missiles, presenting a critical risk to the Russian air pressure over the Black Sea.
Ukraine beforehand destroyed a number of notable Russian ships with Magura drones, together with a touchdown ship Caesar Kunikov, a Sergei Kotov patrol ship, high-speed Serna and Akula touchdown crafts, and a Tarantul-class Ivanovets missile corvette.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent
Russian assaults harm properties and infrastructure in Kyiv and Sumy oblasts forward of New 12 months
Russian missile and drone assaults injured at the least one particular person and broken residential buildings and infrastructure in Kyiv and Sumy oblasts on Dec. 31.
Russian troops launched 21 missiles, together with six Iskander ballistic missiles and one Kinzhal aeroballistic missile, and 40 drones in a single day on Dec. 30-31.
A girl in Kyiv Oblast was concussed after falling particles damaged the roof of a home and smashed its home windows, in line with the regional army administration.
Within the capital, missile wreckage fell onto the roof of a house within the Darnitskyi district. No casualties or damages had been reported.
Russian assaults additionally broken infrastructure within the city of Shostka, Sumy Oblast, in line with native authorities head Mykola Noha. Whereas no fatalities have been recorded thus far, the strikes damaged 12 residential buildings, two academic establishments, three boiler homes, a healthcare clinic, a dormitory, in addition to different amenities.
The damages and losses are nonetheless being clarified, Noha stated.
In the course of the mass assault, Ukraine downed six missiles and 16 drones, Ukraine's Air Power stated. An additional 24 drones had been decoys that failed to succeed in their goal.
Russia has not slowed down its attacks on Ukraine over the festive interval. President Volodymr Zelenksy stated on Dec. 29 that Moscow had escalated its aerial assaults on Ukraine through the vacation season.
On Dec. 25, Russia carried out a large-scale Christmas attack, firing 78 missiles and 106 drones towards a number of cities.
The Kyiv IndependentStanislav Aseyev
Ukraine strikes oil depot in Russia's Smolensk Oblast, Common Workers confirms
Ukraine struck an oil depot within the Yartsevo district of Russia's Smolensk Oblast, igniting the power's oil reserves, the Common Workers of Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed on Dec. 31.
The depot, which provides the Russian army, was focused in a coordinated operation involving Ukraine's Particular Operations Forces and the Unmanned Programs Forces.
The strike resulted in "highly effective explosions, a fireplace, and heavy smoke" on the web site, in line with the report. It didn’t specify which kind of weapon was used within the assault.
The affirmation follows reports from regional authorities detailing the harm attributable to an in a single day Ukrainian drone assault.
Roman Zakharov, head of the Yartsevo district, had beforehand reported on his Telegram channel {that a} Ukrainian drone focused the gas depot and an power facility, sparking fires.
The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov
Russian officers skilled for assaults on Japan, South Korea in occasion of battle with NATO, FT reviews
Russia developed offensive plans concentrating on civilian and army websites in Japan and South Korea within the occasion of a battle with NATO, the Monetary Instances reported on Dec. 31, citing paperwork proven to the outlet by Western sources.
The leaked plans, drawn up between 2008 and 2014 to coach army officers for a possible battle on Russia's jap flank, are reportedly nonetheless thought of "related to Russian technique" right this moment.
The paperwork define 160 potential targets, together with civilian and army infrastructure equivalent to roads, bridges, factories, and army installations in NATO-allied Japan and South Korea.
The plans detailed how hanging these targets might defend Russia's jap flank in a broader battle by disrupting the "regrouping of troops in areas of operational function."
Navy targets recognized within the plans embrace the central and regional command headquarters of the Japanese and South Korean armed forces, radar installations, air bases, and naval amenities. Civilian infrastructure targets embrace roads, bridges, and rail tunnels.
Different key websites embrace gas refineries, industrial amenities equivalent to steelworks and chemical factories in Busan, South Korea, and 13 energy crops, together with a nuclear complicated in Tokai, Japan.
The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek