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 Life 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 forces into one of the NATO nations.
Republicans, however, argued that the bill lacked immigration changes and blocked the entire $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 intense fighting 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 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 meters to the south, Ukraine has continued to control the area.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s military stated in its daily conclusion that 34 Russian episodes in the Avdiyivka area were repulsed by Russian forces, making up more than one-third of the 91 assaults that Kyiv’s forces fought off on the whole front line over the previous 24 hours.
Independent confirmation of the field information was impossible.
On December 6, the United Nations issued a warning that Moscow was intensifying its attacks on Ukraine’s power system due to the country being hit by heavy storms and freezing conditions.
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 assaults on residents and civilian infrastructure may end right away, he declared. 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 models, Ukraine for the first time this warm season asked citizens to conserve electricity.
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 requirement. By using energy “wisely and economically, especially during peak hours,” the government urged consumers to support power workers.
Russian attacks that have been ongoing and have resulted in significant damage have put pressure on Ukraine’s energy grid.
Russia is still attacking crucial grain export equipment.
Oleh Kiper, the governor of the Odesa area, stated in a message on his Telegram channel that it launched helicopter strikes on the Danube harbor of Izmayil on December 7 that resulted in the death of one person and damage to port 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 attack with Shahed-136/131 drones was launched from Cape Chauda in the Crimean region under Moscow’s occupation.
“They specifically attacked the infrastructure of the Danube port.” Cars, trucks, and a grain elevator were all damaged. According to Kiper, one of the truck drivers was killed, and a fire broke out but was quickly put out by emergency personnel.
Ukraine has been shipping meals 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, causing significant damage and interfering with Ukrainian grain exports. On the territory of Romania, a NATO member, debris from broken Russian drones has even crashed.
