Ukrainian Armed Forces counterattacks near Avdiivka and Russian fakes about the capture of Maryinka – what happened at the front this week
The 662nd day of the Ukrainian people’s heroic resistance to Russian aggression is upon us.
Many significant events took place in Ukraine this week.
The enemy launched a large-scale cyberattack on one of the largest mobile operators, Kyivstar, leaving millions of Ukrainians without cellular service and the Internet, and some ATMs and terminals stopped working.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted a series of successful counterattacks near Avdiivka, and President Zelenskyy visited the United States and Norway.
Read about the latest developments on the frontline and the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union in Fakty ICTV.
Cyberattack on Kyivstar
On December 12, at 05:26, the first interruptions in the Kyivstar network were recorded.
Millions of Ukrainians were left without cellular service and the Internet, and some ATMs and terminals stopped working.
As of the evening of December 15, mobile internet and more than 90% of Kyivstar’s mobile base stations were back online, the company’s CEO Oleksandr Komarov said.
British intelligence reported that it was the largest hacker attack on telecom infrastructure in the world.
– “The occupiers wanted to cut off communications, they believe that our Armed Forces are tied to mobile communications. They did not achieve their goal because Kyivstar has almost fully restored its potential. This did not affect the course of hostilities in any way,” said military expert Petro Chernyk.
The hacking of Kyivstar’s systems also led to the blocking of several large banks, payment terminals, gas stations and even air raid warning signals. For example, customers of Monobank, a popular bank in Ukraine, could not use its website due to the services it offers as a result of a hacker DoS attack.
The situation near Avdiivka and Maryinka
Ukrainian troops continue to repel Russian attacks in the Mariinka sector. Ukrainian defense forces are holding back the enemy in the areas of Novomykhailivka and Krasnohorivka.
Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria operational and strategic group of troops, said that the fighting for Maryinka is ongoing and denied Russian media’s claims that the occupiers had allegedly captured the town.
Photo: Fakty ICTV
Meanwhile, military expert Petro Chernyk urged Ukrainians not to trust the Russian media’s fabrications and to wait for official reports from the General Staff.
– We must learn to trust our military at the highest level. The enemy will do everything possible to make us distort reality for ourselves. The enemy is a master at propaganda and any information they throw in that they have allegedly taken a settlement should be heavily filtered,” he said.
Earlier in the week, in the Avdiivka sector, the Ukrainian Defense Forces conducted a series of successful counterattacks near Stepove.
Photo: Fakty ICTV
U.S. intelligence reports that since the beginning of their offensive in this area, the occupiers have suffered more than 13,000 casualties along the Avdiivka-Novopavlivka line and lost more than 220 combat vehicles.
Meanwhile, the occupiers themselves report significant advances near Avdiivka, although ISW notes that the information disseminated in the Russian media and information space is a false and overly optimistic view of the situation at the front.
Zelenskyy’s visit to the United States
At the beginning of the week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a working visit to the United States. He met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown.
They discussed challenges to global security, developments at the frontline and further Ukrainian-American defense cooperation.
During a meeting with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Michael Johnson, the Ukrainian president raised the issue of the need to supply Ukraine with longer-range ATACMS.
And during Zelenskyy’s visit to Oslo, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said that by the end of 2023, his country would provide Ukraine with an additional $800 million aid package.
Negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU
On December 14, during a meeting of the European Council, EU leaders decided to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU. In his turn, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called this event a historic day.
The start of Ukraine’s negotiations with the EU is the penultimate stage before joining the EU. The final step will be the procedure for preparing the formalities for Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
In turn, the accession negotiations themselves mean the gradual implementation of EU laws and standards by official Kyiv, and later each EU member state will have to confirm the compliance with these standards in all sectors.
According to Euro-optimists, Ukraine could join the EU in 2030.
Read more about what the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU means in ICTV’s Facts.