Kyiv Post Morning Memo – Everything You Need to Know on Tuesday, Dec. 6

Good morning from Kyiv where the city – and the rest of the country – is assessing the damage from Russia’s latest mass missile strike against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

President Zelensky announced in his nightly address that four people were killed in the strikes but added that “our people never give up.”

What’s happening today?

While not as devastating as previous attacks, authorities are today racing to fix the country’s already battered energy infrastructure, and power cuts have been announced in all regions.

But given the relatively long time Russia spent preparing for Monday’s attack, the Kremlin likely expected to cause far more damage.

You can read more on this story here. 

What was Zelensky’s latest message?

 Unsurprisingly, President Zelensky focused on the day’s attacks, saying “I am grateful to all our warriors of the air commands ‘East’, ‘South’ and ‘Center’.

“Well done! I am also grateful to our partners for the air defense systems we are currently using. Every downed Russian missile is concrete proof that terror can be defeated.

“Unfortunately, there are victims. As of this time, there are four people killed by Russian strikes today. My condolences to families and friends.” 

What’s the latest military situation?

The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) focuses on the explosions at Engels Airbase on Monday during which two Tu-95 heavy bombers were reportedly damaged and three people killed in suspected Ukrainian drone attacks.

The MoD notes the exact cause has not yet been confirmed but if the suspicions turn out to be true, the Kremlin “will probably consider them as some of the most strategically significant failures of force protection since its invasion of Ukraine”.

It adds: “The Russian chain of command will probably seek to identify and impose severe sanctions on Russian officers deemed responsible for allowing the incident.”

The Institute for the Study of War’s Dec. 5 daily assessment covers a multitude of topics, most notably:

• Anger over the Russian military’s inability to prevent the Ukrainian strikes on Russian strategic airbases over 280 miles from Ukrainian positions outweighed praise for the latest round of strikes against Ukraine within the Russian milblogger community.
• Russian occupation officials continued the forceful transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk Regions to Russia under the guise that the children require special medical care.
• Russian senator Andrey Klishas of the ruling United Russia party proposed the Kremlin restrict the ability of Russians who fled the country to avoid mobilization to secure work upon returning to Russia.

And that’s it for today’s Morning Memo.

Kyiv Post will bring you the latest news throughout the day and we’ll be back with another edition tomorrow.