Ukraine Latest: Zelenskiy Cites Progress on Getting Air Defenses

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(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine’s president,Volodymyr Zelenskiy,said “this week we made important progress” on getting “more modern and more powerful” air defense systems. He commented after US officials said a decision to supply Patriot air-defense missile batteries awaits a final decision by President Joe Biden.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded “absolutely” when asked if such weapons would be targeted by Russia, declining to comment further. Russia regularly targets the weapons systems provided by the US and European allies.

Russia launched a drone strike on Kyiv early Wednesday, the first such attack in weeks, hitting some four residential buildings and an administrative complex, the city’s military administration said. Air-defense forces shot down 13 drones. The assault comes as the country continues to suffer from significant power shortages from previous attacks, the nation grid operator said.

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On the Ground

Russian shells damaged the building of the Kherson regional state administration in the southern city center on Wednesday morning, the deputy head of Zelenskiy’s administration, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Telegram. Ukrainian troops repelled attacks near 14 settlements in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions in the country’s east over the past day, the country’s General Staff said on Facebook.

(All times CET)

Zelenskiy Cites Progress on Getting More Powerful Air Defenses (7:43 p.m.)

Zelenskiy said his government is “doing everything to get more modern and more powerful systems.”

“This week we have made important progress on the air defense issue,” Zelenskiy said in his daily address to the nation, without elaborating. “We are preparing agreements that will strengthen our defense capabilities and give Ukraine more operational capabilities, “ he said after reports that the US is weighing delivery of the advanced Patriot system.

Zelenskiy said Russian troops are destroying city after city in the eastern Donbas region. “Every day and every meter is given extremely hard,” he said.

Russia Rejects Talk of a Christmas Cease-Fire (7:16 p.m.)

Zelenskiy has suggested Christmas would be an apt occasion for Russia to withdraw some of its troops as a good-faith gesture that it’s ready to “abandon aggression,” and there has been speculation that the holiday could provide an occasion for some sort of cease-fire.

But Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters “there is no such topic on the agenda.”

Russia’s Initial Response to Oil Cap Holds Back From Retaliation (4:20 p.m.)

Russia’s initial response to the crude-price cap holds back from any drastic retaliatory measures that could further disrupt global oil supplies.

A presidential decree due in the coming days won’t include a price floor for crude sales that was being considered last week, people with knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity as the document is still being finalized in the Kremlin. It won’t ban specific countries from buying Russian oil, but will prohibit sales through any contract that mentions a price cap, the people said.

Rain and Blackouts Strand Third of Ukraine’s Corn Crop in Fields (12:12 p.m.)

A third of Ukraine’s corn crop remains unharvested in fields as winter sets in, adding further strain on its vital farming sector.

Growers have been hit by a series of hurdles: Record autumn rainfall muddied fields. The war has depressed how much farmers can fetch for their goods. And strikes on the country’s infrastructure limited electricity needed to dry soggy grain.

Zelenskiy Aide Reports New Prisoner Swap; US Citizen Released (11:50 a.m.)

Another 64 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home after a swap with Russia, Andriy Yermak, a top presidential aide, said on Telegram. A US citizen who “helped our people” was also released, Yermak wrote. He didn’t comment on the number of Russian POWs released.

John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, confirmed “that a US national has been transferred as part of transfer between prisoners between Russia and Ukraine today. We certainly welcome that news, but for privacy reasons I really can’t go into any more detail about this individual.”

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