Several loud blasts heard in Kiev and Russian troops stationed in Belarus to begin military exercises as fighting enters its 298th day.
(Reuters)
Monday, December 19, 2022
Nine drones shot down in Kiev’s airspace early Monday – military administration
Nine Iranian-made Shahed drones were shot down in Kiev’s airspace, the capital’s military administration said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Air alert continues in Kiev,” the administration said. “The enemy is attacking the capital with ‘Shahed’ barrage ammunition. Air defence is being at work.”
Blasts heard in Kiev city and region early morning
Several loud blasts were heard early morning in Kiev and the region that surrounds the Ukrainian capital, Reuters witnesses reported.
Earlier, Oleksiy Kuleba, governor of the Kiev region, said that the region was under a drone attack.
It was not immediately clear whether the blasts were air defence systems destroying the drones or hitting targets.
Nine Iranian-made Shahed drones shot down in Kiev’s airspace, the capital’s military administration says on the Telegram messaging app pic.twitter.com/CtLcShYDUV
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) December 19, 2022
Russian troops stationed in Belarus to begin military exercises
Russian troops that were moved to Belarus in October to become part of a regional formation will conduct battalion tactical exercises, the Russian Interfax news agency reported, citing the Russian defence ministry.
“The final assessment of the combat capability and combat readiness of the units will be given by the command at the final stage of coordination – after the battalion tactical exercises have been conducted,” Interfax cited the ministry’s statement.
It was not immediately clear when and where in Belarus the exercises will be conducted.
Belarus defence ministry said in October that 9,000 Russian troops were moving to the country as part of a “regional grouping” of forces to protect its borders.
Ukraine’s capital struggles with power outages after Russian attacks
Power outages continued in Ukraine’s capital after Russian missile attacks damaged energy infrastructure.
Problems with water supply and heating which Kiev suffered for two days following the latest wave of attacks have been largely resolved.
Residents of Kiev, where temperatures were below freezing throughout the weekend, flocked to aid centres known as “invincibility points” that operate in many parts of the city during the hours of power cuts at their homes.
For live updates from Sunday (December 18), click here
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
