Ukraine war latest live: Russia ramping up pressure on Myrnohrad as fight inside Pokrovsk outskirts continues
Hello, this is Francis Farrell reporting from Kyiv on day 1,391 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Today's top stories:
- Zelensky says Russia continues to demand all of Donbas, adding that Ukraine will not withdraw
- ‘No need to hold referendums’ — Amid US pressure, Ukrainians reject territorial concessions
- European leaders present 6-point security, recovery plan for Ukraine
Latest news from the War Desk:
Russia denies Ukraine’s claim of submarine strike in Novorossiysk
Last updated 4:44 p.m. Kyiv time
Russia denied Ukraine’s claim that an underwater drone strike knocked a Black Sea Fleet submarine out of service at the Novorossiysk naval base, saying the vessel shown in footage was “intact and unharmed.”
Capt. 1st Rank Alexei Rulev, head of the fleet’s press service, said in a video that no ships or submarines or their crews suffered damage and that forces at the base “are carrying out their duties in a normal mode,” according to Russian state media.Ukraine’s
Security Service (SBU) said on Dec. 15 that it used Sea Baby underwater drones to strike a Varshavyanka-class submarine in Novorossiysk, claiming it suffered critical damage and was effectively put out of service. The SBU released video it said showed the explosion near the docked submarine.
Russia ramping up pressure on Myrnohrad as fight inside Pokrovsk outskirts continues
Last updated 3:15 p.m. Kyiv time
The Ukrainian military said on Dec. 16 that Russian troops are launching their fiercest attacks on the western outskirts of Pokrovsk while also ramping up pressure on Myrnohrad, its sister city nearby.
The 7th Air Assault Corps’s report comes as Ukraine’s grip on Pokrovsk, a city in eastern Donetsk Oblast that has seen the fiercest fighting for over a year, weakens, with Russian troops threatening the last remaining logistical routes into it.
Russian troops are attempting to break through toward the village of Hryshyne, located less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Pokrovsk, trying to “move in all directions at once,” the 7th Corps said in a Facebook post.
The 7th Corps added that Ukrainian forces are trying to thwart the Russian efforts to approach Hryshyne by cutting off Russia’s likely routes of advance with artillery and drone strikes.
In comments to the Kyiv Independent, the corps said that Russian forces were advancing toward Hryshyne as a direct result of their failure to complete the takeover of the northwestern neighborhoods of Pokrovsk.
Russian troops have been trying to make the most of the foggy winter weather, with the 7th Corps reporting a rare mechanized attack on Pokrovsk on Dec. 10.
Meanwhile, in Myrnohrad, a city located about five kilometers (3 miles) northeast of Pokrovsk, Russian troops are intensifying pressure on the Myrnohrad’s southeastern areas, trying to infiltrate the upper part of the town by moving upward, according to the 7th Corps.
According to assessments by most open-source mapping groups, including the highly trusted DeepState Map, Myrnohrad has for weeks been in a state of near encirclement, with reports that almost all Ukrainian attempts to conduct rotation in and out of the city end up in direct firefights with Russian troops.
Russia rejects Christmas truce as U.S. ramps up peace push
Last updated 2:43 pm Kyiv time
Russia has rejected a proposed Christmas truce on accounts that it could give Ukraine a temporary respite, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Dec. 16.
Peskov's comment comes after numerous temporary truces on religious holidays, including those initiated by Moscow, were previously broken by Russian troops.
Peskov claimed that Russia wants peace and that the truce would give Ukraine time to recover from heavy fighting, and blamed Kyiv for continuing what he described as a war it launched against another sovereign country.
In April, an Easter truce declared by President Vladimir Putin was violated nearly 3,000 times by Russian forces, President Volodymyr Zelensky said hours before it ended on its third day.
At least 1 killed, 16 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day
Last updated: 2:40 p.m. Kyiv time
At least 1 person has been killed and 16 others injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities reported on Dec. 16.
Russia launched 69 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force reported. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 57 of the drones, with 10 successful strikes reported.
In Sumy Oblast, a 68-year-old man was killed by a Russian first-person view (FPV) drone near Velyka Pysarivka, with one other man wounded, again by an FPV drone, near the town of Hlukhiv, according to regional authorities.
12 civilians were wounded in front-line Donetsk Oblast, with the most injuries recorded in the town of Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka, according to the regional military administration.
Three residents were injured in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, all in a Russian Shahed-type drone strike on a residential building in the center of regional capital Zaporizhzhia, Governor Ivan Fedorov said on national television.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,190,620 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Last updated: 2:40 p.m. Kyiv time
Russia has lost around 1,190,620 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Dec. 16.
The number includes 1,150 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,421 tanks, 23,737 armored fighting vehicles, 70,182 vehicles and fuel tanks, 35,172 artillery systems, 1,570 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,261 air defense systems, 432 airplanes, 347 helicopters, 91,219 drones, 28 ships and boats, and two submarines.
