If Russia wants to stop the war, it can do so anytime.
It can stop launching missiles.
It can stop occupying.
It can stop killing.
It can just leave.
Russian forces conducted a series of drone strikes on Ukraine on the night of December 17 to 18.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 81 Shahed drones and other types of drones from Bryansk, Kursk, and Oryol oblasts and Millerovo, Rostov Oblast.[78] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 51 drones over Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhia oblasts and that 30 drones were "lost" due to Ukrainian countermeasures.
Ukrainian forces downed 51 drones over Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhia oblasts
Ukrainian forces reportedly struck a chemical plant in Rostov Oblast on December 18. Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation Head Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko reported that unspecified actors struck the Kamensky Chemical Plant and that the plant produces rocket fuel, explosives, and ammunition components and disposes of spent rocket systems.[1] Acting Rostov Oblast Governor Yury Slyusar claimed that Russian forces downed 10 missiles over Rostov Oblast… Russian sources amplified footage purportedly showing Russian air defenses downing the missiles, and a Russian insider source claimed that Ukrainian forces also targeted the Taganrog Metallurgical Plant.[3]
Ukraine's European allies continue to provide monetary and defense industrial support to sustain Ukraine's war effort. German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall announced on December 17 that the company will supply Ukraine with nine million euros ($9.34 million) worth of 155mm propellant charge modules of various types in January 2025.[4] Rheinmetall will deliver tens of thousands of propellant charges as part of the contract and is also planning to produce unspecified artillery ammunition and produce and deliver an unspecified number of Lynx infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine in the future. Global propellant charge shortages may be limiting Ukraine's ability to produce ammunition domestically, and the delivery of additional modules will likely support Ukraine's ongoing efforts to expand its domestic ammunition production capabilities.[5] The European Commission reported on December 18 that it disbursed nearly 4.1 billion euros ($4.25 billion) worth of grants and loans to Ukraine as part of the second payment of the European Union's (EU) Ukraine Facility program.[6] Reuters reported on December 17 that an unspecified source stated that NATO recently began overseeing coordination of Western military assistance to Ukraine.[7]
www.understandingwar.org/...
- Ukrainian forces reportedly struck a chemical plant in Rostov Oblast on December 18.
- Ukraine's European allies continue to provide monetary and defense industrial support to sustain Ukraine's war effort.
- Russian Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov heavily inflated alleged statistics about Russian territorial gains in 2024.
- The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on December 18 that Russian authorities detained the suspect who planted the improvised explosive device (IED) that killed Russian Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Defense Forces (NBC) Head Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his aide, Major Ilya Polikarpov, in Moscow on December 17.
- Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Kreminna, and Pokrovsk.
- The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) is increasingly tricking conscripts into signing military service contracts to fight in Ukraine likely in an effort to generate more assault forces and maintain the tempo of Russian offensive operations in Ukraine.
Fighting continued in the main Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on December 18, but there were no confirmed advances…. The commander of a Ukrainian platoon operating in Kursk Oblast stated that Russian forces are attacking in small and large infantry groups but are using less equipment due to Ukrainian first-person view (FPV) drone strikes.[17] Elements of the Russian "Arbat" Special Purpose Battalion (Donetsk People's Republic [DNR] "Pyatnashka" International Volunteer Brigade, 51st Combined Arms Army [CAA]) are reportedly operating near Plekhovo; elements of the 56th Airborne (VDV) Regiment (7th VDV Division) are reportedly operating near Novoivanovka (southeast of Korenevo); and elements of the 1434th "Akhmat-Chechnya" Regiment are reportedly operating in the Sudzha direction.[18]
