{"id":120882,"date":"2024-12-31T12:57:37","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T12:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-russian-helicopter-shot-down-in-historic-sea-drone-strike-as-kyiv-attacks-oil-depot-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2024-12-31T12:57:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T12:57:37","slug":"ukraine-russia-war-latest-russian-helicopter-shot-down-in-historic-sea-drone-strike-as-kyiv-attacks-oil-depot-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-russian-helicopter-shot-down-in-historic-sea-drone-strike-as-kyiv-attacks-oil-depot-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russian helicopter shot down in historic sea drone strike as Kyiv attacks oil depot – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Ukrainian strike on a Russian chopper is the first time an unmanned sea drone has shot down an aerial target, Kyiv said
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A Russian helicopter<\/a> was shot down by an uncrewed Ukrainian<\/a> naval drone, in what Kyiv\u2019s spy agency<\/a> says was the first such strike in history.
In a battle near Cape Tarkhankut, on Crimea\u2019s western coast<\/a>, a missile-armed Magura V5 maritime drone struck a Russian Mi-8 helicopter. Dramatic video footage appears to show the moment the chopper was downed into the sea.
It is the first time an aerial target was destroyed by an uncrewed vessel, Ukraine\u2019s GUR spy agency said in a post on Telegram.
Another Russian helicopter was damaged but managed to reach an airfield, the agency said. The reports have not yet been independently verified.
It comes after a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil depot in the western Smolensk region of Russia, according to local governor Vasily Anokhin.
Wreckage from one of the 10 Ukrainian drones shot down by Russian air defences fell on the oil facility, Anokhin added in a mssage on Telegram. He said the situation is now \u201cunder control\u201d, offering no further detail.
Meanwhile, Kyiv brought home 189 former captives in a prisoner exchange with Moscow on Monday, in which 150 Russian soldiers were also freed.
The Biden<\/a> administration has announced almost $6bn in military and budget aid for Ukraine before president-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.
\u201cI\u2019ve directed my administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible,\u201d Mr Biden said in a statement.
\u201cAt my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine\u2019s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office.\u201d
This includes $2.5bn more in weapons and $3.4bn in economic assistance to help pay for other government services.
When Boris Yeltsin suddenly resigned as Russia<\/a>\u2019s first post-communist president on New Year\u2019s Eve, 1999, his country seemed to be spiralling downhill into economic and political disintegration. Few gave his largely unknown successor as acting president much chance <\/a>of reversing the economic implosion or remaining in office for long.
The then prime minister Vladimir Putin<\/a>\u2019s media operation had already begun to portray the ex-KGB operative in stark contrast to the moribund Yeltsin as an action man<\/a>. That same year the second Chechen war on the country\u2019s southern border raged. Twenty-five years later, Vladimir Putin is still in the Kremlin but Russia is again in the grip of war on its post-Soviet periphery after last week\u2019s downing of an airliner over Chechen airspace<\/a>.
Mark Almond writes:<\/em><\/strong>
Crisis has aided the Russian strongman\u2019s regime stability far more than any index of economic success, writes Mark Almond
A Ukrainian drone attack has caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil depot in Russia\u2019s western Smolensk region, local governor Vasily Anokhin said.
Russian air defences shot down 10 Ukrainian drones but the wreckage of one of them fell on the oil facility, Anokhin wrote on Telegram according to Reuters.
The situation is now \u201cunder control\u201d, he added, but no further details were issued.
China and Russia have always moved \u201chand in hand\u201d on the right path, Chinese president Xi jinping said according to the Xinhua news agency.
It comes months after the two countries struck together a \u201cnew era strategic partnership\u201d on several issues, including Taiwan, Ukraine and rivalling the United States.
Russia\u2019s state-run RIA news agency reported Moscow\u2019s ambassador to Beijing as saying that Mr Xi will visit Russia in 2025.
Mr Xi expressed his desire to maintain close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin in an exchange of New Year greetings.
Ordinarily, it\u2019s historians writing after the fact that identify the pivotal dates in wars when the road to victory or defeat becomes clear. Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine is different: it\u2019s clear in advance that 20 January 2025 will change the course of the conflict. Since well before the US election, there has been no doubt that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could be decisive for Ukraine\u2019s continuing ability to resist Russia\u2019s onslaught.
It\u2019s long been apparent that the outcome of the war will be decided far from the battlefields in the east and south of the country, and in fact not in Ukraine at all. Both Russia and Ukraine are supported by coalitions of nations whose contributions to their respective war efforts are crucial. The key difference is that in Ukraine\u2019s case, the biggest backer by volume may be about to pull the rug from under the country\u2019s ability to continue the struggle to survive.
Military expert Keir Giles writes:<\/em><\/strong>
With a Russian apologist preparing for his inauguration, Keir Giles plots out how he believes Putin will use the new American president, Ukraine\u2019s defenselessness and the chill of life without a US security blanket to proceed with his long-term goals of domination
Ukrainian forces have released footage which they say shows the historic strike by a naval drone on a Russian helicopter.
\u201cA historic strike: Defence intelligence of Ukraine warriors destroyed an aerial target using a Magura V5 naval drone,\u201d the Ukrainian military\u2019s official X account says.
\u201cA Russian Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed using R-73 \u2018SeeDragon\u2019 missiles near Cape Tarkhankut in temporarily occupied Crimea.
\u201cAnother enemy helicopter was damaged and returned to the airfield.\u201d
On a frigid morning in Moldova\u2019s capital, 39-year-old postal worker Petru Murzin braces for a difficult winter as he fears a looming energy shortage could leave many Moldovans with \u201cno heating, no light.\u201d
His concerns aren\u2019t unfounded.
On Jan. 1, Russia\u2019s state-owned energy giant Gazprom is set to halt gas supplies to the European Union candidate country over an alleged $709 million debt for past supplies, a figure fiercely disputed by Moldova\u2019s pro-Western government, that has accused Moscow of weaponizing energy as a political tool to destabilize the country.
\u201cI feel that we\u2019ve entered a crisis that is quite difficult to resolve \u2026 which worries me greatly,\u201d Murzin told The Associated Press in Chisinau. \u201cPrice increases are one thing, but when there is no gas at all, that\u2019s something entirely different.\u201d
Read the full report: <\/em><\/strong>
Moldovans are bracing for a difficult winter ahead as a looming energy shortage could leave them without enough energy
A missile attack on Ukraine\u2019s northeastern Sumy region has damaged 12 multi-storey residential buildings, including educational institutions and social facilities, the region\u2019s military administration has said.
“Today, on 31 December, the enemy launched a missile attack on infrastructure facilities in the Shostka hromada. The aftermath of the Russian attack is being established,\u201d the administration wrote on Telegram according to Ukrainska Pravda.<\/em>
Mykola Noha, head of Shostka city administration, said:\u00a0 “Some infrastructure facilities have been destroyed. Twelve multi-storey residential buildings, two educational institutions, and other social facilities were damaged. Emergency rescue units are responding. Damage and losses are being assessed.”
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