Selensky took stock

How Russia terrorized Ukraine this week

(Bild: AFP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has taken stock of the Russian attacks against his country over the past seven days. "In total, Russia has used more than 370 attack drones, around 280 guided glide bombs and 80 missiles of various types against Ukraine this week," wrote Zelenskyi on Facebook. 

"Even on Christmas night, the terrorists carried out a massive airstrike," Selensky emphasized.

Heavy fighting in Ukraine and near Kursk
The parts of the western Russian region of Kursk occupied by Ukrainian troops were once again the scene of heavy fighting on Sunday. A total of 35 Russian attacks took place there over the course of the day, as the General Staff in Kiev announced in its evening situation report. The attacks were massively supported by artillery. No details were given about the exact course of the front and no specific locations were given.

The parts of the western Russian region of Kursk occupied by Ukrainian troops were once again the scene of heavy fighting on Sunday

(Bild: AP/The Associated Press)

Ukrainian troops had taken control of this area of Russia in a surprise attack in the summer. The Russian military has been trying to recapture these regions for weeks. Of the approximately 50,000 soldiers deployed by Moscow, around 10,000 are fighters from North Korea. According to the Ukrainian armed forces and Western observers, the troops provided by North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un have recently suffered heavy losses.

Fighting in the east too
Fierce fighting is also continuing in eastern Ukraine. The Pokrovsk region on the edge of the Donbass was targeted by the Russian forces, who attacked the Ukrainian defense lines there 26 times during the course of the day with the support of artillery and fighter planes. The attacks were repulsed, according to the general's office in Kiev. The reports from the combat zones could not be independently verified.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Vadim Ghirda / AP / picturedesk.com)

The Russian attacks were primarily directed against objects in Ukraine's energy infrastructure. In addition, apparently indiscriminate residential buildings were also attacked and damaged. Several people died in the course of these attacks.

Larger waves of attacks
According to the British Ministry of Defense, Russia has changed its tactics in its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine. Russia has most likely decided to allow more time to pass between attacks since August 2024 in order to build up stocks, the British wrote on X. Moscow is relying on less frequent, larger waves of attacks rather than more frequent, smaller attacks.

With these combined mass attacks, the Russian military is overloading the Ukrainian air defenses. In addition to the actual combat drones, Russia is also deploying so-called decoy drones, which are loaded with little or no explosives. This forces the Ukrainian air defense to waste valuable ammunition.