As we enter the 653rd day of the war, these are the most important developments.

Here is the situation as of Friday, December 8, 2023.

Battle

• Russia launched a swarm of Iranian attack drones, damaging port infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odessa region and killing a civilian. The Ukrainian Air Force said it destroyed 15 of the 18 Shahed drones. The attack was the first on the Danube ports since November 21st.
• Ukraine urged residents to conserve electricity after Russia shelled a thermal power plant near the front line, causing severe damage as temperatures plunged below freezing. The Energy Ministry, which did not name the power plant, said two of its plants had failed, causing a “temporary power shortage” on the grid.
• United Nations officials told the Security Council in New York that increasing Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities are worsening humanitarian conditions across the country. Deputy Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca said Russia must stop its attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, which are “prohibited under international humanitarian law,” while Ramesh Rajasingham, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator, said: “The scale of deaths, injuries and The destruction of vital civilian infrastructure is high.
• Russia began deploying smaller attack groups supported by armored vehicles and air cover in its long-running attempt to take Ukraine’s eastern city of Avdiivka, Ukrainian officials said. In its update on Thursday evening, Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces had repelled 15 attacks in Avdiivka and surrounding villages, after reporting 34 attacks in its morning bulletin.
• Russia’s FSB security service said it had arrested a Belarusian accused of blowing up two trains in Siberia last month, allegedly as part of an attack Sabotage campaign carried out by the Ukrainian secret services.

Politics and diplomacy

• An aid tracker from the Kiel Institute showed that Ukraine’s allies have drastically scaled back their commitments for new aid to the country, which have fallen to their lowest level since the start of the war. The Germany-based institute said new military, financial and humanitarian aid promised to Ukraine between August and October 2023 fell by almost 90 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia hoped U.S. lawmakers would continue to do so block The White House is demanding billions in aid for Ukraine as Republicans demand immigration concessions be included in the aid package. Peskov accused US President Joe Biden of “demonizing” Russia in his attempts to get congressional approval for the spending.
• Visit to BeijingSenior European Union officials called on China to do more to pressure Russia to end its war in Ukraine. European Council President Charles Michel said the EU wants China, which has not condemned Moscow’s large-scale invasion, to “be more assertive” and “make it clear that it supports the UN Charter and this.” condemned the war caused by Russia against Ukraine.”
• Speaking to journalists after the summit, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official insisted Beijing would not be able to influence Moscow despite the bloc’s demands. Russia “is a very independent sovereign nation,” Wang Lutong, director general of the European Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a news conference. “President Putin makes his decision based on his own national interest and security,” he said.
• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised $4.5 billion to Ukraine, including funding for generators and other power supplies and measures to clear Russian mines.
• British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said during a visit to the United States that there was a strong case for seizing frozen Russian assets and using them to rebuild war-ravaged Ukraine.
• Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said he wanted to arrange a meeting between Zelensky and Hungarian leader Viktor Orban as Budapest rejected a proposal to start talks on Kiev’s EU membership. An EU summit is due to take place next week and Orban said leaders could not reach consensus on Ukraine’s membership.

weapons

• Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine’s Minister of Strategic Industries, said Kiev will work with two US companies to jointly produce 155mm artillery shells in Ukraine. The grenades are vital to the war, but Kamyshin said it was unlikely that production would begin for at least two years because Ukraine had never made such grenades before.
• Kiev said it had signed an agreement with the US to support the development of weapons production in Ukraine. “The document will facilitate the construction of production facilities in our country to provide the armed forces with the necessary weapons, especially in the areas of air defense, production of critical ammunition, and repair and maintenance,” said a statement from the Ukrainian president.