December 19, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian children are asking Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, for weapons, air defense systems and victory this Christmas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, the day the country celebrates Saint Nicholas Day.

“On Saint Nicholas Day today … Russian terrorists gave a gift to Ukrainian children with new strikes,” Zelensky said in a virtual address to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) leaders’ summit. 

Saint Nicholas Day, or Svyatyy Mykolay Day, is celebrated in Ukraine on Dec. 19, based on the old Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. The saint's feast day is normally celebrated on Dec. 5 or 6 in Western Christian countries.

Zelensky urged leaders from the JEF -- composed of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom -- to continue to support Ukraine with military aid to “speed up the movement of our armed forces towards victory.” 

“Our victory will be the victory for each of you, for Europe, for your people – a victory that the whole world, I'm sure, looks forward to,” said Zelensky. 

Ukraine would be better able to defend itself from drone and missile attacks by Russian forces if it were provided with fighter aircraft and Patriot missile defense systems, according to a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force.

Speaking on Ukrainian television on Monday following a wave of drone attacks on the country, Yurii Ihnat said that “F-15 and F-16 aircrafts could effectively fight the threats that we have today -- missile attacks and attacks by Shaheds (Iranian-made drones used by Russian forces)."

Some background: Last week, CNN exclusively revealed that the US was finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine.

Ukraine has been calling for the US to send the Patriot, the US' most advanced ground-based air defense system, which is highly effective at intercepting ballistic and cruise missiles, as it comes under a barrage of Russian attacks that have destroyed key infrastructure across the country.

It would be the most effective long-range defensive weapons system sent to Ukraine, and officials say it will help secure airspace for NATO nations in eastern Europe.

Russian forces bombarded Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight using drones, Grad multiple rocket launcher systems and other heavy artillery, according to local authorities.

Nikopol was struck by more than 60 Russian shells, Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the region's military administration, said Monday in a statement on the messaging platform Telegram. The district, which is controlled by Ukrainians, lies on the west bank of the Dnipro River, across from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Towns and villages in the district, including Chervonohryhorivka, Myrove and Marhanets, were targeted, according to Reznichenko. There were no casualties, but civilian infrastructure and power systems were hit, leaving a path of destruction. Shelling in Chervonohryhorivka alone damaged 11 houses, six outbuildings, cars, a gas pipeline and power line, Reznichenko said. Due to the attack, a water pumping station had been “disconnected,” he added, leaving several villages cut off from any water supply.

Reznichenko added that Ukraine's air defense had intercepted two Russian drones flying in the region.

The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 30 out of 35 drones launched by Russia from Sunday night into Monday, but those that dodged air defenses damaged power systems and civilian targets.

The Iranian-made, self-detonating Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 drones were launched from the “eastern coast of the Sea of Azov," the Air Force said in a statement on Facebook.

Many of the drones targeted Kyiv, according to the city's military administration, which said 18 out of 23 spotted in the sky over the capital were intercepted. There were no casualties, but authorities said that one critical infrastructure facility was hit. Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said that emergency services were working to limit the consequences of the attack.

The drone attacks come after several cities in Ukraine, including the capital, were hit by Russian missile strikes on Friday that dealt a major blow to the country's civilian infrastructure, leaving many people without light, power or heat.

A critical infrastructure facility was damaged in a Russian drone attack in Kyiv on Monday according to a Ukrainian military commander.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said on Telegram that Ukrainian forces shot down 18 of the 23 Iranian-made Shahed attack drones launched by Russia at the capital on Monday.

Authorities earlier said Ukrainian air defenses had shot down nine Russian drones in Kyiv.

Popko added that two districts of the capital bore the brunt of the damage. A road in Solomyanskyi district was damaged and fragments of a drone landed on a high-rise residential building in Shevchenkivskyi district.

Two people were injured in the attacks, which come after several cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv, were hit by Russian missile strikes on Friday that dealt a major blow to the country's civilian infrastructure, leaving many people without light, power or heat.

Two people were injured and homes were damaged after Russian drones attacked Kyiv early Monday, according to the Ukrainian capital's military administration.

Critical infrastructure facilities were also damaged, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said Monday on Telegram, adding that technicians are working to stabilize power and heat supply.

Earlier Monday, Ukrainian air defenses shot down nine Russian drones in Kyiv, according to authorities.

It comes after several cities in Ukraine, including the capital, were hit by Russian missile strikes on Friday that dealt a major blow to the country's civilian infrastructure, leaving many people without light, power or heat.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down nine Russian drones early Monday as Moscow's forces resumed attacks on Ukraine's capital.

The Kyiv City military administration gave the all-clear after the capital came under fire from what it said was "a barrage of ammunition."

Several explosions were heard in Kyiv early Monday, according to a CNN team on the ground.

The new attacks come as several cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv, reel from a series of Russian missile strikes on Friday that dealt a major blow to the country's civilian infrastructure, leaving many Ukrainians without light, power or heat.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his nightly address on Sunday said electricity had been restored to a total of 9 million Ukrainians, as the country recovers from a barrage of Russian attacks that hit on Friday.

Zelensky had already said that 6 million people had power restored on Saturday following another Russian missile attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Zelensky said the return of power was "already a result for 9 million of our people.” 

In most of Ukraine's cities transport operations have returned to normal, he added.

Freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was recently exchanged in a prisoner swap with WNBA star Brittney Griner, visited the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, according to Russian state media.  

Bout attended an opening event for the Luhansk branch of the pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR).

Bout said he was glad to visit Luhansk for the first time and expressed confidence that the occupied region "would soon be peaceful, and people would live without fear for their future," Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported Sunday. 

Leader of the ultra-nationalist LDPR Leonid Slutsky said they had to change their route to Luhansk twice due to the fact that "high-precision weapons were working nearby.” 

Last week, Bout told Russia's RT that he “wholeheartedly” supports Moscow’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine and that if he had the opportunity and necessary skills, he would certainly go as a volunteer fighter.

More background: Luhansk is part of the broader Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and is one of four territories annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in defiance of international law.

Moscow-backed separatists control the territory under the self-proclaimed title of the Luhansk People's Republic, which is not recognized by Ukraine or any other nation outside of Russia and its ally Syria.