Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russian helicopter shot down in historic sea drone strike as Kyiv attacks oil depot

The Biden administration announced nearly $6 billion in military and budget aid to Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.

“I have directed my administration to continue increasing aid to Ukraine as soon as possible,” Biden said in a statement.

“At my direction, the United States will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war until the end of my time in office.”

That includes another $2.5 billion in weapons and $3.4 billion in economic aid to pay for other government services.

The Prime Minister at the time Vladimir PutinA media operation has already begun to portray the former KGB operative in stark contrast to the dying Yeltsin as shareholder. In the same year, the second Chechen war raged on the country’s southern border. Twenty-five years later, Vladimir Putin is still in the Kremlin, but Russia is once again in the grip of war on its post-Soviet periphery after last week’s shooting down a plane over Chechen airspace.

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil storage facility in Russia’s western Smolensk region, local governor Vasiliy Anokhin said.

Russian air defense shot down 10 Ukrainian drones, but the wreckage of one of them fell on an oil plant, Anokhin wrote on Telegram, as reported by Reuters.

The situation is now “under control”, he added, but no further details were given.

China and Russia have always walked “hand in hand” on the right path, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, according to the Xinhua news agency.

It comes months after the two countries jointly forged a “new era strategic partnership” on several issues, including Taiwan, Ukraine and rivalry with the United States.

Russia’s state news agency RIA reported that Moscow’s ambassador to Beijing said Xi would visit Russia in 2025.

Mr Xi expressed his desire to maintain close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an exchange of New Year greetings.

Usually historians write after the fact to identify key dates in wars when the path to victory or defeat becomes clear. Russia’s war against Ukraine is different: it is clear in advance that January 20, 2025 will change the course of the conflict. Even before the US elections, there is no doubt that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could be decisive for Ukraine’s continued ability to resist Russian aggression.

It has long been obvious that the outcome of the war will be decided far from the battlefields in the east and south of the country, and in fact not in Ukraine at all. Both Russia and Ukraine are supported by coalitions of nations whose contribution to their war efforts is crucial. The key difference is that in the case of Ukraine, the biggest player in terms of volume could pull the rug under the country’s ability to continue fighting for survival.

Military expert Keir Giles writes:

Ukrainian forces released a video showing a historic attack by a naval drone on a Russian helicopter.

“Historic Strike: Defense Intelligence of Ukrainian Warriors Destroyed Aerial Target Using Magura V5 Naval Unmanned Aerial Vehicle,” Ukraine’s Army X official report said.

“A Russian Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed by R-73 ‘SeeDragon’ missiles near Cape Tarkhankut in temporarily occupied Crimea.

“Another enemy helicopter was damaged and returned to the airfield.”

On a cold morning in Moldova’s capital, 39-year-old postal worker Petru Murzin is bracing for a harsh winter as he fears the coming energy shortage could leave many Moldovans without “heating, without light”.

His concern is not unfounded.

Russian state energy giant Gazprom will halt gas supplies to the European Union candidate country on Jan. 1 due to an alleged $709 million debt owed on past deliveries, a figure hotly contested by Moldova’s pro-Western government, which has accused Moscow of weaponizing energy as a political tool to destabilize the country.

“I feel that we have entered a crisis that is quite difficult to solve … which worries me a lot,” Murzin told The Associated Press in Chisinau. “Increasing prices is one thing, but when there is no gas at all, that is something completely different.”

A rocket attack on the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy damaged 12 multi-story residential buildings, including educational institutions and social facilities, the region’s military administration said.

“Today, December 31, the enemy carried out a rocket attack on infrastructure facilities in Šoštanska Hrmad. The consequences of the Russian attack are being determined,” the administration wrote on Telegram. Ukrainska Pravda.

Mykola Noha, head of the Shostka city administration, said: “Some infrastructure facilities have been destroyed. 12 multi-storey residential buildings, two educational institutions and other social facilities have been damaged. Emergency units are responding. Damage and losses are being assessed.”