Here is the situation on Wednesday, December 11:
Military
- Ukraine’s National Police said four people were killed and 19 injured in a Russian missile attack on a private medical clinic in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said a kamikaze drone severely damaged one of its vehicles while it was being driven by officials monitoring Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said no staff were injured but that the attack on teams working to prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict was “unacceptable”.
Politics and diplomacy
- Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, arrived in Beijing on a two-day visit for talks with Chinese leaders, Russian news agencies reported.
- The United States Treasury said it disbursed a $20bn loan for Ukraine backed by the proceeds of frozen Russian assets, as part of a $50bn G7 support package announced in October.
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said peace talks on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine could begin this winter.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said his country is hosting dozens of Russian nuclear weapons and will prepare facilities for the planned deployment of Moscow’s newest hypersonic ballistic missile. The latest development comes as Belarus has become increasingly involved in Russian nuclear weapons drills, part of Moscow’s efforts to discourage the West from ramping up support for Ukraine.
-
The US State Department approved the potential sale to Ukraine of F-16 sustainment services and related equipment for $266.4m, the Pentagon said. The principal contractors will be Sabena, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Pratt and Whitney, according to the Pentagon.
- The United Kingdom will provide intelligence to a newly formed unit in Cyprus tasked with preventing Russia from evading international sanctions. Cyprus has frozen $1.9bn in Russian assets since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.