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 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
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“Putin won’t stop there if he conquers Ukraine. 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 soldiers into one of the NATO nations.
Republicans, however, argued that the bill lacked immigration changes and blocked the complete $106 billion request, which also included money for Israel, Taiwan, and to strengthen the southern U.S. border.
With spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying on December 7, “It is to be hoped that there remain enough people with sober minds among American congressmen,” and claiming 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 offer up to $4.5 billion.
In the midst of intense fighting in the east, particularly in and around the industrial area 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 some 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 town of Avdiyivka, which is only 10 kilometers to the south, Ukraine continues to control the place.
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 field information was impossible.
On December 6, the United Nations issued a warning that Moscow was intensifying 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 human conditions in addition to causing civilian casualties.
“All assaults on residents and civilian infrastructure 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 also keeps attacking important grain export infrastructure.
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 deaths of ten people and damage to port 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 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.
“They specifically attacked the infrastructure of the Danube port.” Trucks, a grain elevator, and the inventory 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 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 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. Additionally, debris from broken Russian drones has landed on the territory of Romania, a NATO member.
