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 review 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.
Life Presentation: Ukraine’s Invasion by Russia
The most recent information on the full-scale invasion of Russia, Kyiv’s counteroffensive, Western military assistance, international response, and the suffering of citizens is provided in RFE/RL’s Live Briefing. Click here to view all of RFE/RL’s coverage of the Ukrainian conflict.
“If Putin seizes Ukraine, he won’t stop there.” He’s pretty much made that clear, Biden said on December 6 in a televised statement, warning that if he took Ukraine, Putin might try to send his forces 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 pledge from Japan on December 7 that has the potential to raise the total aid package to as much as $4.5 billion.
In the midst of intense battle in the east, 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 kilometers to the south, Ukraine continues to control the region.
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 relations of Ukraine.
Independent confirmation of the battle 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 system had not only killed civilians but also made human life more difficult.
He commanded that all attacks on civilians and civilian 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 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 power shortage, according to the Energy Ministry, as the two units have been shut down and demand has increased. Customers were urged by the government to support power employees by using energy “wisely and economically, especially during peak hours.”
Russian attacks that have been ongoing and have resulted in significant harm have put pressure on Ukraine’s energy grid.
Important grain export infrastructure is still under attack by Russia.
Oleh Kiper, the governor of the Odesa area, stated in a message on his Telegram channel that it launched drone strikes on the Danube harbor of Izmayil on December 7 that resulted in the death of one person and damage to infrastructure features.
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.” 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 used its Danube ports of Reni and Izmayil on the border with Romania to deliver food to the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta since the collapse in July of a United Nations-brokered agreement allowing the safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments 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. Debris from fallen Russian drones has even crashed on the territory of Romania, a NATO member.
