- Russian forces conducted a limited series of drone strikes targeting energy infrastructure in Ukraine on the night of December 2 to 3.
- Trump advisers propose Ukraine concessions to Russia
- NATO membership for Ukraine off the table in proposed plans
- Analysts doubt feasibility of Trump's quick resolution promise
The Trump administration appears to be taking the Russian view, offered previously, of freezing gains in place as well as preventing Ukraine’s NATO membership.
The Ukraine Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 28 Shahed drones and other unidentified drone types (likely referring to decoy drones) from Kursk and Oryol oblasts, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai, and Millerovo, Rostov Oblast.[56] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 22 drones over Kyiv, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts; that one drone became "lost," likely due to Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) interference; and that two drones flew into airspace over occupied Ukraine and Belarus. Ukrainian official sources reported that Russian drones struck energy infrastructure in Ternopil City, Ternopil Oblast, and Rivne Oblast and that drone debris damaged residential homes and a gas pipeline in Kyiv Oblast.[57]
Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 22 drones over Kyiv, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts;
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on December 2 that Ukraine is actively seeking new ways to protect 20 undisclosed “special objects” across the country[58] Zelensky added that Ukraine still does not possess sufficient air defense systems to protect critical facilities across the country.
www.understandingwar.org/...
"The Russian (MIRV IRBM) missile was fired at Dnipro, not at Kyiv, which has much stronger missile defense systems. Perhaps, journalist Michael Nacke suggested, Putin wasn’t all that confident that the Oreshnik could really get past Western-supplied missile defenses."
WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Advisers to Donald Trump publicly and privately are floating proposals to end the Ukraine war that would cede large parts of the country to Russia for the foreseeable future, according to a Reuters analysis of their statements and interviews with several people close to the U.S. president-elect.
The proposals by three key advisers, including Trump's incoming Russia-Ukraine envoy, retired Army Lieutenant-General Keith
Kellogg, share some elements, including taking NATO membership for Ukraine off the table.
[...]
One former Trump national security official involved in the transition said there are three main proposals: the outline by Kellogg, one from Vice President-elect JD Vance and another advanced by Richard Grenell, Trump's former acting intelligence chief.
Kellogg's plan, co-authored with former National Security Council official Fred Fleitz and presented to Trump earlier this year, calls for freezing the current battle lines.
Kellogg and Fleitz did not respond to requests for comment. Their plan was first
reported by Reuters.
Trump would supply more U.S. weapons to Kyiv only if it agreed to peace talks. At the same time, he would warn Moscow that he would increase U.S. aid to Ukraine if Russia rejected negotiations. NATO membership for Ukraine would be put on hold.
Ukraine also would be offered U.S. security guarantees, which could include boosting weapons supplies after an accord is struck, according to that proposal.
Ethnographic map of Ukraine based on the 1897 census of the Russian Empire (The map was made during the USSR)
- Russia is evacuating naval assets from its base in Tartus, Syria, which may suggest that Russia does not intend to send significant reinforcements to support Syrian President Bashar al Assad's regime in the near term.
- The US announced additional military assistance worth $725 million for Ukraine on December 2.
- Russian officials continue to perpetuate information operations about prisoner-of-war (POW) exchanges in order to portray Ukraine as unwilling to negotiate and to undermine Ukrainians' trust in their government.
- India is reportedly attempting to decouple its defense industry from Russia as it increases cooperation with Western defense companies and builds up its own defense industrial base (DIB).
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and regained lost positions near Kupyansk. Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Velyka Novosilka.
- Russian forces reportedly continued to suffer significant personnel and armored vehicle losses throughout November 2024 as they attempted to maintain intensified offensive operations in eastern Ukraine.
https://t.co/IUcZriHSsu
Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the main Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast amid continued fighting in the area on December 3. Geolocated footage published on December 2 indicates that Ukrainian forces recently advanced in southern Darino (southeast of Korenevo).[16] ... Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces unsuccessfully counterattacked near Darino, Nikolayevo-Darino (southeast of Korenevo), Novoivanovka, and Pogrebki (northwest of Sudzha).[18] The commander of a Ukrainian unit operating in Kursk Oblast reported on December 3 that Russian forces are struggling to supply frontline units, transport armored vehicles to the frontline, and accumulate forces for large-scale attacks due to poor logistical support.[19] Elements of the Russian 106th Airborne (VDV) Division are reportedly operating in Kursk Oblast, and elements of the Chechen "Akhmat" Spetsnaz are reportedly operating in the Sudzha direction.[20]
www.understandingwar.org/...
www.understandingwar.org/...
www.understandingwar.org/...
www.understandingwar.org/...
www.understandingwar.org/...
