5 December 2023

December 2023 in brief

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 158 missiles and drones in the largest air attack of the war, and Ukrainian officials put the toll at 41 killed, 17 of them in Kyiv, with a maternity ward in Dnipro among the buildings damaged; Russia's UN ambassador said the strikes targeted only military infrastructure. ^[1] A strike on central Belgorod killed at least 21 people, including three children, Russia's emergencies ministry said, and Russia called it a terrorist attack by Kyiv before striking Kharkiv in what it called a response, injuring at least 22 people according to Ukraine's National Police. ^[1][3] Debris from a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv injured 53 people, the mayor said, strikes on Kherson burned down Ukrainian Red Cross and NGO aid warehouses, and the UN said 15 aid workers had been killed in Ukraine in 2023. ^[1][2][3] WHO recorded attacks affecting health facilities in Kharkiv and Pokrovsk. ^[1][2] The UK defence ministry said Russian forces likely controlled most of ruined Marinka, and a Ukrainian military spokesman said Russian forces had advanced 1.5 to 2 kilometres in places around Avdiivka since 10 October at heavy cost. ^[1] Ukraine's air force commander said his forces destroyed the landing ship Novocherkassk at Feodosia, which Russia said was damaged, and a cyberattack claimed by a Russian hacker group knocked out Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile operator. ^[1][2] EU leaders decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.