The Kyiv Independent

2022-12-30 09:12:04 Air defense downs 5 Russian drones over Kyiv.

Kyiv City Military Administration reported that five Shahed-type drones were spotted over Kyiv overnight on Dec. 30. Air defense downed all the targets.

One of the drones' loitering munition packages hit and damaged an administrative building in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district along with some of the windows in an adjacent building. Open / Comment

2022-12-30 08:37:34 ISW: Kremlin continues to manipulate Russian law to eliminate dissent, threaten Ukrainian sympathizers.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a supplement to the Russian Criminal Code on Dec. 29 that allows Russian authorities to sentence Russians to up to life imprisonment for “assistance to subversive activities,” the Institute for the Study of War reported. Open / Comment

2022-12-30 06:37:18 Governor: Air defense shoots down all Russian drones in Kyiv Oblast.

Kyiv Oblast Governor Oleksiy Kuleba reported that air defense forces shot down all the drones Russia targeted at infrastructure facilities in Kyiv Oblast in the early hours of Dec. 30. Preliminary reports indicate that none of the drones reached their targets. Open / Comment

2022-12-30 05:33:54 Bloomberg: US considers sending Bradley fighting vehicles to Ukraine.

The U.S. government is weighing sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine as part of a further package of military support, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. A final decision hasn’t yet been made. When the vehicles would be operational is also unclear, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue. Open / Comment

2022-12-30 04:26:32 Ukrainian military downs 10 drones in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Ukraine's Operational Eastern Command reported that its anti-aircraft missile units, together with the air defense units of the land forces, destroyed nine Shahed-type drones and one Marlyn-type drone in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in the early hours of Dec. 30. Open / Comment

2022-12-30 03:36:44 Air raid alert sounds in Kyiv, Cherkasy and Kirovohrad oblasts.

Air raid alerts were activated across three central regions and in the city of Kyiv early on Dec. 30 due to possible Russian drone attacks.

Kyiv City Military Administration confirmed that air defense has been active and urged the citizens to remain in shelters. Open / Comment

2022-12-30 03:10:55 Poltava mayor charged with divulging positions of Ukrainian troops.

The Security Service of Ukraine on Dec. 29 charged Poltava Mayor Oleksandr Mamai with illegally divulging the positions of Ukrainian troops during martial law.

Mamai has also been involved in corruption scandals. In 2015, Larysa Golnyk, Ukraine's most famous whistleblower judge, published video footage featuring Mamai pressuring her to close a corruption case against him. Open / Comment

2022-12-30 02:22:50 Russian media: Explosions heard at Russian Engels air base.

People living near the Engels strategic bomber military air base in Russia reportedly saw the air defense system working and heard explosions on the morning of Dec. 29, Russian media reported. Saratov Oblast Governor Roman Busargin said that the air defense destroyed an “unknown object.” Open / Comment

2022-12-30 02:03:27 Ukraine war latest: Russia launches mass missile strike against Ukraine, debris falls in Belarus

Russia unleashed a mass missile strike targeting 10 Ukrainian regions, wounding at least five civilians and hitting nearly a dozen critical infrastructure sites across the country, the State Emergency Service spokesman said at a briefing on Dec. 29.

Of 69 missiles fired by Russia, Ukraine's Air Force shot down 54, Chief Commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi reported on Telegram. 

Photo: Getty Images Open / Comment

2022-12-30 01:53:59 Zelensky signs media law criticized by journalist groups as authoritarian.

The bill has been criticized by journalist organizations as an attempt to introduce censorship. “The coercive regulation envisaged by the bill and in the hands of a regulator totally controlled by the government is worthy of the worst authoritarian regimes. It must be withdrawn. A state that would apply such provisions simply has no place in the European Union,” Ricardo Gutierrez, general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, said in July. Open / Comment