Just hours after the U.S. Senate blocked a White House request that would have earmarked around $60 billion for Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Japan for the pledge of an additional $1 billion in aid, saying the funds will give “significant support” to the country.
President Joe Biden, who had previously urged Congress to swiftly review more military aid to Ukraine, warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin may be emboldened to seize more place if he wins on the battlefield, suffered a major defeat in the vote on whether to let the bill with the White House request to advance.
Life Briefing: Ukraine’s Invasion by Russia
The Live Briefing from RFE/RL provides you with all the most recent information on Russia’s full-scale invasion, Kyiv’s counteroffensive, Western military assistance, international response, and the plight of civilians.
“If Putin seizes Ukraine, he won’t end there.” “He’s pretty much made that clear,” Biden said on December 6 in a televised statement, warning that if Putin took Ukraine, he might try to send his soldiers into one of the NATO nations.
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 aid package up to $4.5 billion.
In the midst of intense battle in the south, particularly in and around the industrial town of Avdiyivka near the Donetsk region, Ukraine has been preparing for a second protracted winter of war with Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
For several days, 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 city of Avdiyivka, which is only 10 km to the south, the region has remained under Russian control.
More than one-third of the 91 assaults 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 reports from the field could not be independently 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 hit the nation.
According to Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca of the UN Security Council, Russia’s attacks on crucial Ukrainian civilian infrastructure had not only killed civilians but also made human life more difficult.
He commanded that all assaults on civilians and civil facilities be stopped right away. They are just unethical and are against international humanitarian law.
After a power plant close to the front line was shelled, causing severe damage and crippling two energy units, Ukraine for the first time this winter season asked citizens to conserve electricity.
There is a brief power shortage, according to the Energy Ministry, as the two units have been shut down and demand has increased. By using energy “wisely and economically, especially during peak hours,” the government urged consumers to aid energy workers.
The power grid in Ukraine has been under strain as a result of ongoing Russian attacks that have seriously damaged it.
Russia is still attacking crucial grain export infrastructure.
The governor of the Odesa area, 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 facilities.
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 military 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.
The Danube port infrastructure was specifically attacked. Cars, trucks, and a grain elevator were all damaged. One of the truck drivers was killed, according to Kiper, who also mentioned that emergency personnel quickly put out a fire that had started.
Ukraine has been shipping goods 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 used drone strikes to attack both Odesa, Ukraine’s primary Black Sea port, and the two Danube ports, severely damaging them and interfering with their ability to export grain. Additionally, debris from broken Russian drones has landed on the territory of Romania, a NATO member.
