LIVE – War in Ukraine: Russian attacks in southern Ukraine injure nine, according to kyiv

Uncertainty about the outcome of the war. During a major press conference, Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday warned that “no one” can predict the end date of the war against Russia. I don’t think anyone knows the answer, not even “our generals or our western partners”. However, the Ukrainian president is firm: America will not “betray” Ukraine and Washington’s promises will be “respected”.

A massive mobilization. Another important point in the speech of the Ukrainian head of state is that he proposed to mobilize “450,000 to 500,000 people” to continue to fight against the Russian invasion, and said that since he is a “very important person” he needs “more arguments to support this idea”. “When we talk about mobilization, we must understand that for one soldier, six civilians work to finance it,” he stressed. However, “How do we find three million additional taxpayers from January?” he asked again.

Mass production of drones. At the same time, Ukraine wants to produce “one million drones” for its military by 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday, as the devices play a key role in the war against Russia. According to Ukrainian officials, Ukrainian forces need between 100,000 and 120,000 drones of various types per month to fight against the Russian military.

No new US envelope. US Senate leaders on Tuesday indicated that Congress will end the year without verifying the $61 billion envelope urged by Kyiv and the White House. After weeks of negotiations, Republican and Democratic negotiators failed to reach an agreement.

New Russian attacks. Several Russian drones struck QU overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, with at least two strikes targeting the city of Kharkiv in western Ukraine, and bombings in Kherson in southern Ukraine that injured nine people. “Nine people, including four children between the ages of two and thirteen, were injured in the Kherson bombardment by the Russian invaders this evening,” said the city’s mayor, Roman Mrochko. Among these injured, “a mother and her three children have been admitted to hospital. Their condition is moderate. They have bruises and blast injuries,” he said, adding that five others were treated at the site.