Strikes hit civilians and the vehicle of aid workers in Zaporizhzhia, while Ukrainian forces in the East combat a brutal ongoing offensive, and Zelensky debuts new weapon advancements.
IAEA convoy hit amid strikes in Zaporizhzhia
A missile strike Tuesday hit a private clinic in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least four people and wounding more than a dozen, officials said, as Russia steps up attacks in southern regions partially under its control. National Police said the “death toll has risen to four,” while 19 people were wounded, including a 5-year-old child, after a Russian missile “hit a private clinic in the center of Zaporizhzhia.”
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A video of the attack shared by the president’s Telegram channel showed rescuers carrying a corpse in a white body bag and searching through rubble after the attack, which destroyed a clinic and an office building in central Zaporizhzhia.
The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear agency, which monitors the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant currently under the control of Russian troops, said one of their cars was damaged by a drone. “A drone hit and severely damaged an official vehicle of the IAEA on the road to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant today,” the UN organization said on X, posting an image of the armored vehicle. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said no one was injured but condemned the attack.
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Southern Ukraine has seen intensified strikes in recent weeks, reinforcing fears of a new Russian offensive. Despite not fully controlling it, Zaporizhzhia is one of four Ukrainian regions Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022.
In November, the Ukrainian military warned that Russia was building up infantry and armored vehicles while stepping up aerial bombardments ahead of planned attacks along Ukraine's southern front. Escalated fighting in Zaporizhzhia would pose a significant threat to Ukrainian forces, which are losing ground in the eastern Donetsk region and Russia's border region of Kursk.
Moscow has made steady gains in recent months, including on Tuesday, when the Russian defense ministry said it had captured the village of Zhovte near the Kyiv-held supply hub of Pokrovsk. Ukraine has been pleading with allies for more support to help it fend off Russian troops on the battlefield and daily aerial attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that call after the Zaporizhzhia attack. “We don't have enough systems to protect our country from Russian missiles,” he said in his evening address on Tuesday. “But our partners have these systems. Again and again, we repeat that air defenses should save lives, not gather dust in warehouses.”
A race against time and Russian advances
Ukraine is racing to construct defensive fortifications as Russian forces make swift advances in the eastern Donetsk region. The front line has been pushed westward, in some areas coming as close as 15 kilometers to the border of the Dnipropetrovsk region, raising alarms about the potential for a significant breach in Ukraine's defenses.
Dmytro Razumkov, a former ally of Zelensky and current member of the parliamentary committee investigating defense construction delays, highlighted the gravity of the situation. “The situation with fortifications is another factor demoralizing troops,” he told the Financial Times. Razumkov pointed out a lack of centralized coordination, stating, “Funds are scattered among all the regions and everyone is building their own thing. There is no one person who is responsible for the quality, for planning, for how these positions will be transferred and to whom, and who will supervise them.”
The Dnipropetrovsk region, a crucial hub for Ukraine's military command and support infrastructure, has invested $7.3 million in fortifications over the past year. However, progress has been slow, with efforts only gaining momentum in recent months. The current focus of Russia's offensive is around the towns of Kurakhove and Velyka Novosilka, as well as the logistics center of Pokrovsk, which are strategic gateways to Dnipropetrovsk.
Military analyst Rob Lee emphasized to FT the superiority of Russia's military engineering corps in constructing fortifications. “Clearly [Ukraine] didn't have great defenses built behind it,” Lee noted, explaining Russia's rapid advance after capturing Vuhledar. He stressed the importance of Ukraine building “enough good (defensive) positions that troops can fall back to,” including within urban areas.
Compounding these challenges is a severe manpower shortage in Ukraine's engineering units. Stanislav Buniatov, an assault battalion commander, highlighted the strain on infantry. “The combat potential of an infantry fighter will be reduced to zero if he has to expend energy building positions during the day, especially during the winter,” he explained.
But Russian forces are facing troubles of their own. According to a recent Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report, the Kremlin appears to be losing power across the military and economic sectors. Analysts said they expect Russia’s economy to continue tanking, leading to more systemic corruption, labor shortages, and inefficiency in the defense industry.
“Russia continues to face staggering costs required to maintain its war effort against Ukraine, with mounting economic strain, labor shortages, and systemic corruption threatening the sustainability of the Russian defense industrial base,” the report says.
New developments in Ukraine’s domestic weapons industry
Zelensky revealed several new developments in Ukraine’s domestic weapons arsenal on Tuesday. At the 2024 Borys Paton National Prize of Ukraine Award Ceremony, Zelensky announced that the Ukrainian-made Palianytsia missile entered mass production, marking a major milestone.
In addition to the Palianytsia, the president mentioned the combat debut of the Peklo missile drone: “The missile-drone Peklo has successfully completed its first combat deployment, and just days ago, we delivered the first batch to our defense forces.”
He emphasized the weapon’s rapid transition from development to deployment and lauded other highly effective Ukrainian-made drones already in active use, including the reconnaissance drone Hor, night bombers Vampire and Heavy Shot, and FPV drones Kolibri and Kamik.
The president also revealed ongoing trials of the new Ruta missile and hinted at the potential of the long-range Neptune missile, describing it as a future “terrifying reality for the occupiers.”
“Now, these are not just words; these are very specific results. Your personal achievements. And thus, the achievements of the entire state,” Zelensky concluded.
“These are works that have been brought to life – collaborative efforts where an idea is born in a bright mind, developed within a scientific team, implemented at a defense enterprise, and then directly strikes the enemy on the front lines and in their territory.”
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