Ukraine Latest: Ten Killed in Russia’s Kherson Rocket Attack

(Bloomberg) --

On Christmas Eve, the 10-month mark of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin troops killed ten and wounded dozens more in a Grad systems attack on the southern city of Kherson, Ukrainian officials said. Images showed bodies strewn in a shopping area, along with damaged cars and buildings. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine is bracing for “different variants of actions” by Russia following a meeting on Friday with his top military commanders. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia may mount another big offensive during the winter, including a second attempt to capture Kyiv.  

Russia’s economy is forecast to contract by 2.7% next year on the heels of the 2022 3.3% decline, before potentially expanding in 2024, according to a survey of economists. 

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

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On the Ground

Ukraine’s troops continue to repel Russia’s attacks in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Over the past 24 hours, Russia’s troops carried out three missile- and 10 air-strikes, including on civilian infrastructure in Donetsk region, according to Ukraine’s Military Staff. On top of that, Kremlin troops launched 62 attacks by multiple rocket launchers, causing damage to civilian facilities in the city of Kherson, with casualties among local citizens. 

(All times CET)

Toll in Russian ‘Pleasure’ Attack on Kherson Now Ten (12:30 p.m.)

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Saturday’s Russian rocket attack on residential areas of the recently-liberated city of Kherson “killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure.”   

Ten people were killed and dozens wounded, including 18 in critical condition, after Russian troops shelled Kherson with Grad (multiple rocket launcher) systems, local governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said on TV. Eyewitnesses told AFP that a department store and a market were among the locations struck. 

Saturday marks the 10-month mark in Russia’s invasion, which Moscow conceived as a “special military operation” that would depose the government in Kyiv within days or weeks.   

Ukraine Says Russia Slow-Walking Grain Ship Inspections Again (2:30 p.m.) 

Some 90 vessels set to load Ukrainian grain for export are held up in the Bosporus Strait by inspection delays, Ukraine’s seaport authority said, blaming the slowdown on Russia. 

Five to seven ships are being inspected by each day by the Joint Coordination Center comprising representatives from the UN, Ukraine, Turkey and Russia, the authority said. The lowest number needed to ensure smooth shipping is 12 per day, it added. 

Russia’s delegation began to slow-walk the inspection process in late October, according to Ukraine, after the Kremlin agreed to extend the shipment deal.  

Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Bracing for ‘Different Variants’ by Russia (8:30 a.m.)

Ukraine’s president said the country’s armed forces are preparing for “different variants of actions” by Russia, following a meeting with top military staff on Friday. The comments, in Zelenskiy’s nightly video address, came amid growing concerns that Kremlin may renew its offensive from the north, including another push toward Kyiv. 

The US military has said it doesn’t see an indication of a coming offensive by Kremlin troops, thousands of whom are training in Belarus.  Even so, it’s a possibility that must be taken seriously, said analysts at the Institute for the Study of War.  

“Moscow has been setting conditions for a new ‘most dangerous course of action,’ a renewed invasion of northern Ukraine possibly aimed at Kyiv,” since at least October,” the US-based analysts said. “This MDCOA could be a Russian info op or could reflect Putin’s real intentions.” 

Pink Floyd Says Its Single Raised £500,000 for Ukraine (8:20 a.m.) 

The British rock band said its single “Hey, Hey, Rise Up” had raised £500,000 ($602,650) “to help alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people,” including £50,000 kicked in by band members, since its release in April. 

Featuring vocals by the Ukrainian singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk from the band Boombox, it was the first original music released by Pink Floyd as a group since 1994. 

The funds will be donated to five Ukrainian charities including Hospitallers, a voluntary paramedic organization; and Livyj Bereh, which provides supplies and the reconstruction of houses and schools, the band said on Twitter. 

Russian ‘Land Grab’ Mustn’t be Rewarded: German President (8 a.m.)

While an end to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine doesn’t seem likely anytime soon, any peace deal must not reward Russia’s “land grab” or abandon the Ukrainian people to “the despotism and violence of their occupiers,” said German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. 

“Until peace can be achieved, it is an imperative of humanity that we stand by the attacked, the threatened and the oppressed,” Steinmeier said Saturday in an address to the nation. Europe is experiencing “rough times” and “facing headwinds” but nations on the continent have closed ranks and Germany is “rising to the challenge,” he added.  

Ukraine Stepping Up Diplomacy in Africa, Latin America, Asia (7:10 a.m.)

Ukraine’s government plans to upgrade its diplomatic service and strengthen its embassies, foremost in the countries of the Global South including Latin America, Asian nations, and the Pacific region, Zelenskiy said. 

“The first are the countries in which our influence is still less than we need from the point of view of the national security of Ukraine and the interests of our people,” he said in his regular nightly statement after meeting on Friday with the nation’s entire diplomatic corps.  

Pelosi Praises $47 Billion in Assistance (11 p.m.)

Passage of the spending $1.7 trillion spending measure by the House funnels $47 billion toward the effort to help Ukraine’s defense against Russia. It came two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed both houses of Congress in his first trip outside his war-torn homeland since the invasion began in February. 

“As the president of Ukraine said the other night, it isn’t about charity. It is about security,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her last floor speech as speaker.

The measure adds to the more than $65 billion already appropriated this year to address the conflict. 

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