Just hours after the U.S. Senate blocked a White House request that would have allocated about $60 billion for Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Japan for the additional $1 billion in aid, saying the funds will provide “significant support” to the nation.
President Joe Biden, who had previously urged Congress to swiftly approve more military aid to Ukraine, warned that Russian leader Vladimir Putin may be emboldened to seize more territory if he is winning on the battlefield, suffered a major defeat in the vote on whether to let the bill with the White House request to advance.
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“If Putin seizes Ukraine, he won’t stop there.” In a televised speech on December 6, Biden warned that if Putin invaded Ukraine, he might try to send troops into NATO countries. “He’s made that pretty clear.”
Republicans, however, argued that the bill lacked immigration changes and blocked the whole $106 billion request, which also included money for Israel, Taiwan, and to strengthen the southern U.S. border.
With spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating on December 7 that “It is to be hoped that there are enough people with sober minds among American congressmen” and that Biden wanted to “continue burning taxpayers’ money in the furnace of war,” the Kremlin expressed hope that Congress will continue to block military aid for Ukraine.
Zelenskiy canceled a meeting with U.S. lawmakers earlier this year because it was becoming increasingly unlikely that the support request would be granted.
He received the commitment from Japan on December 7 that could bring the total support package up to $4.5 billion.
In the midst of protracted fighting in the south, particularly in and around the industrial area of Avdiyivka near the Donetsk region, Ukraine has been preparing for a second longer winter of war with Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
For several months, Russian forces have been attempting to surround the city, which has recently emerged as the most recent example of Ukrainian resistance.
Even after Russia took control of a sizable portion of the Donetsk region in 2014, including the town of Avdiyivka, which is only 10 kilometers to the south, Ukraine continues to control the region.
More than one-third of the 91 attacks that Kyiv’s forces fought off on the whole front range over the previous 24 hours were repelled by Russian forces in the Avdiyivka area, according to the military public employees of Ukraine.
The information from the field could not be freely verified.
On December 6, the UN issued a warning that Moscow was intensifying strikes on Ukraine’s power network as large storms and freezing temperatures hold the nation.
According to Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca of the UN Security Council, Russia’s attacks on crucial Ukrainian civilian infrastructure have worsened civil conditions in addition to causing civilian casualties.
“All attacks on civilians and civil facilities must end right away,” he declared. “They are just unacceptable and are against international humanitarian law.”
After a power plant close to the front line was shelled, causing significant damage and crippling two power units, Ukraine asked people to save energy for the first time during this chilly season.
“There is a brief lack of energy,” according to the Energy Ministry, brought on by the closure of the two units and an increase in demand. Customers were urged by the government to support power employees by using energy “wisely and economically, especially during peak hours.”
Russian attacks that have repeatedly resulted in significant damage have put pressure on Ukraine’s energy grid.
Russia is still attacking crucial grain export infrastructure.
The governor of the Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, stated in a message on his Telegram channel on December 7 that it launched drone strikes on the Danube harbor of Izmayil, killing one person and damaging terminal services.
The 18 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa and Khmelnytskyi regions on December 7 were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, according to earlier reports. The defense claimed in a Telegram message that the assault with Shahed-136/131 drones was launched from Cape Chauda, in the Crimean region under Moscow’s occupation.
“They specifically targeted the infrastructure of the Danube port.” Trucks, a grain elevator, and the inventory were all damaged. One of the truck drivers was killed,” according to Kiper, who also mentioned that a fire started but was quickly put out by emergency personnel.
Ukraine has been shipping food to Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta through its Danube ports of Reni and Izmayil since the collapse of a UN-brokered agreement in July that allowed Russian grain shipments to pass safely from Black Sea ports.
Since then, Russia has launched attacks against Odesa, Ukraine’s primary Black Sea port, as well as the two Danube ports, severely damaging and interfering with grain exports from Ukraine. Additionally, debris from destroyed Russian drones has landed in Romania, a NATO member.
