Russia attacked the oncology hospital in Kherson as part of last night’s attacks.
“The horror! People are alive. We evacuated the patients.” – Iryna Sokur, director of Kherson Regional Oncological Center.
“It took 25 years to build it. One second to ruin.”
Yesterday, Russian guided aerial bombs (KABs) destroyed the hospital.
There will be tribunals.
— Zarina Zabrisky (@zarinazabrisky.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 6:26 PM
Ruins of the Kherson oncology hospital
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 6:13 AM
russians dropped 2 aerial bombs on a cancer hospital in Kherson last night.
Fortunately, patients and medical staff were not hurt.
Targeting…— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 8:16 AM
Russia, however, is trying to make hay over drone strikes in Kazan earlier today.
Kazan, Russia – This morning, the city was attacked by drones, with several hitting high-rise buildings. A total of 6 to 8 explosions were reported across the city. One possible target was the Kazan Helicopter Plant.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 3:43 AM
“The “Greenwich” residential complex, situated next to the “Azure Shores” skyscraper in Kazan, which was struck by a drone today, may house an apartment belonging to Timur Shagivaleev, the CEO of the “Alabuga” Special Economic Zone”
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 4:53 AM
It seems plausible that the intended target was a high-ranking war criminal. However, it remains unclear whether the strike was successful.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 4:53 AM
This get’s to a question from last night’s comments about targeting civilian governmental officials. The answer is it depends who the government official is and what their role in the war is. It also depends on where they are going to be targeted – as in what is the facility and what’s around it – and how they’re going to be targeted – are you using a drone with a small amount of explosive or are you dropping a bunker buster on them while they’re dropping their kid off at daycare. If this individual was involved in committing war crimes in Russia’s genocidal re-invasion of Ukraine then he was most likely a legitimate target. If the weaponeering was done to mitigate civilian harm, then the strike should be within the Law of Armed Conflict.
It is is important to keep in mind that you can do every bit of target development, the weaponeering, the deconfliction and adjudication and still have something go wrong. Which may have happened with this strike. It is also important to remember that whomever the approving authority is for the strike can determine that military necessity makes the strike necessary even if the facility is dual use, purely civilian, and/or there is a chance for collateral damage and civilian casualties. We will have to wait for more, and quite frankly more independent reporting that what we’ve got right now before we have the answers to those questions.
That said, the Ukrainians have gone out of their way for almost three years to mitigate and minimize civilian harm while the Russians commit war crime after war crime after war crime. Such as targeting the oncology hospital in Kherson last night. Which, just off the top of my head, is at least the tenth hospital they’ve targeted over the past three years.
For more information on how we do and think about these things, I recommend you read Annex A of Joint Publication 3-60: Joint Targeting.
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
We Will Definitely Continue to Strike Russian Military Targets Used in The Terror Against Our People – Address by the President
21 December 2024 – 18:26
Dear Ukrainians!
Today, the removal of debris and rubble in Kyiv following yesterday’s missile attack has been completed. And today, the works also continue throughout the day in our Kherson after Russian bombs hit an oncology center. Fortunately, there were no casualties: people – patients and medical staff – had taken shelter. This center remained operational even during the war, in a limited capacity – providing only those services that could not be relocated from Kherson to other hospitals in the region.
In particular, the linear accelerator was located exclusively there, in Kherson, and it was the only place in the city offering radiotherapy treatment. The Russians could not have been unaware that this is specifically a medical facility, and one of great value to the residents of Kherson. So this deliberate strike was nothing less than a heinous act of cruelty against civilians.
There were also Russian strikes on Kharkiv, on Nikopol, on the Donetsk region. It is pure terror, deliberately carried out by Russia, for which these inhumane individuals from Russian aviation are even being rewarded. But they will certainly be held accountable – the time will come.
And we will definitely continue to strike Russian military targets – with drones and missiles, increasingly with Ukrainian-made ones, specifically targeting military bases and Russian military infrastructure used in this terror against our people.
Our defense is entirely just. I thank all those around the world who support Ukraine in this, particularly those advocating for increased defense spending in European countries, for the modernization and technological advancement of arsenals in Europe. And I thank all those who ensure that the pressure on Russia for this war is increased.
I would also like to commend our rescuers and police officers who have been particularly outstanding in helping people these weeks.
Donetsk region: employees of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the region Henadii Demydenko, Vladyslav Pospelov, Serhii Akhmetin, Oleksandr Hurtovyi, Yaroslav Zaitsev, and police officers Yevhenii Musiichuk and Yevhen Afendikov. Thank you, guys!
Kharkiv region: Ruslan Kurbanov, Mykhailo Kovalenko, Volodymyr Obolentsev, Mykhailo Chornomorets, Dmytro Kushnir – these are employees of the State Emergency Service – as well as officers of the National Police in the region Oleksii Nesterenko, Inna Kucherenko and Oleksandr Sukhar. Thank you!
Zaporizhzhia: employees of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhia region Serhii Safronov, Vitalii Sheremet, Oleksandr Sychov, Viacheslav Penchev and Ihor Dubinin, police officers Vitalii Pustovar, Yevhen Kulyk and Valerii Kurbakov. Thank you!
And also, the employees of the Interregional Center for Rapid Response of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine Oleksandr Zhurid and Andrii Balashov. Employees of the Mobile Rescue Center of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine Vitalii Loik and Mykola Koloda. Rescuers from the Cherkasy region Vladyslav Berdnyk and Oleksandr Kucherenko. And Kyiv rescuers Viktor Balatsky and Yurii Palienko. Thank you, all of you, I am very grateful to your colleagues and everyone who works for Ukraine and Ukrainians!
I thank everyone who defends our state!
Glory to Ukraine!
Georgia:
President Salome Zourabichvili stated that tomorrow, December 22, at 21:00, she will address those gathered for the protest on Rustaveli.
#GeorgiaProtests
#TerrorinGeorgia— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 9:24 AM
Salome Zourabichvili: “We must use all kinds of pressure to force Ivanishvili to call for new elections. I am personally ready to meet with him.”
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 9:56 AM
It’s wrong that most of our partners only react to violence without addressing the root cause of violence and the demand of the tortured – the need for new elections.
The OSCE/ODIHR final report leaves no doubt either.
The crisis either ends with new elections or with a Russia.— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 9:19 AM
December 21 – #Tbilisi
#GeorgiaProtests: Day 24Protesters from across Georgia marched through Tbilisi along various routes, uniting on Rustaveli Avenue. They performed the traditional war dance Khorumi, symbolizing unity and determination.
— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) December 21, 2024 at 3:04 PM
People are dancing alongside the dancers – Khorumi, a Georgian national martial dance, performed on Rustaveli Ave.
21:25.
#GeorgiaProtests
day 24— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 12:31 PM
I do not and cannot know how exactly things unfold. But what I know is that Georgians have been out since early April, only went home in hopes of elections; now we have no anticipation of anything but breaking the regime, our determination is more fierce, and our scales are larger than ever. 1/3
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 6:08 PM
Most protesters have the sense that we are giving birth to a new, civic, responsible, free nation, and nothing can really uproot this sentiment – the more violent they get the worse it is for them. 2/3
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 6:08 PM
Even IF these protesters go home, and I don’t think they will, there will be something else again that brings them out, endlessly.
The new elections is the only outcome. Support us in this! 3/3.— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 6:08 PM
Popular Facebook user Robi Getiashvili states, he used to be afraid of losing what could be in future, but now he is afraid of losing what we already have out in the streets. That’s what the mood is in Georgia.
New, free and fair elections for Georgia! #GeorgiaProtests— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 6:25 PM
The Rose Revolution was a top-down revolution; what’s happening now is a bottom-up revolution, with fundemantal palpable outcomes in every area of life and every aspect.
Zurab Tchiaberashvili formulated this statement impeccably now.— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 3:37 PM
People from Imereti
18:45
#GeorgiaProtests
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 9:49 AM
People from Meskheti also joined the protest march.
20:30
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 11:43 AM
Protest of People from Samegrelo
20:00
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 11:42 AM
Model Marisha Urushadze is participating in the protest march.
#GeorgiaProtests
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 9:33 AM
March of models, designers, and fashion enthusiasts.
18:00.— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 9:16 AM
This is pretty cool!
Oleksandr Usyk held the original saber of Ivan Mazepa who fought for Ukraine’s freedom from Russian invaders over 300 years ago. Mazepa was a patron of the arts, financing the construction of churches, monasteries, and educational institutions— Sofia (@sofiaukraini.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 7:08 PM
Undisputed champion.
Ukraine is power 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 6:38 PM
Yeeeaaaahh!!🥊
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 6:31 PM
Oleksandr Usyk dedicates his victory to his mother; to every Ukrainian mother❤️
— UNITED24 (@u24.gov.ua) December 21, 2024 at 7:42 PM
Usyk’s victory is a reminder: Ukraine fights, Ukraine endures, Ukraine wins.
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 6:39 PM
Our champion!
Legend!No matter if the opponent is heavier and higher, you can win. WE CAN WIN!
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 6:35 PM
russian “revenge strikes” on Ukraine is propaganda. They use this narrative to justify their terrorizing of the Ukrainian population.
The truth is, russia has been bombing Ukrainian civilians since day one of their invasion. They have used every weapon at their disposal, 👇
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 12:44 PM
except for nuclear arms, without any restrictions.
These are not “revenge strikes”; they are simply strikes that would occur regardless of Ukraine’s actions.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 12:44 PM
I’m quite impressed by the development of ground uncrewed systems in Ukraine. Ground is by far the trickiest environment.
kyivindependent.com/for-first-ti…— Ulrike Franke (@rikefranke.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 4:37 AM
The Kyiv Independent has the details:
Ukrainian forces successfully attacked Russian positions using only ground and first person view (FPV) drones instead of infantry, an army spokesperson claimed on Dec. 20.
Speaking on national TV, Sergeant Volodymyr Dehtiarov, spokesperson for the Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, said “dozens of units of robotic and unmanned equipment” supported by surveillance drones were used in the assault near the village of Lyptsi, north of Kharkiv.
Dehtiarov said the drones included ground systems equipped with machine guns, and kamikaze FPV drones.
He did not specify when the attack took place.
Commenting on the reports, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the attack highlighted the difference in attitude towards front line troops shown by Moscow and Kyiv.
“Ukrainian officials have repeatedly highlighted Ukraine’s efforts to utilise technological innovations and asymmetric strike capabilities to offset Ukraine’s manpower limitations in contrast with Russia’s willingness to accept unsustainable casualty rates for marginal territorial gains,” the ISW said.
Russian military losses in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine have exceeded 750,000 Russian soldiers, and are expected to surpass 1 million Russian troops within six months, U.K. Under-Secretary of Defense Luke Pollard said on Dec. 19.
The U.K.’s latest estimate is in line with figures from Ukraine’s General Staff, which, as of Dec. 19, sits at 768,220 troops lost since the start of the war. The figures do not specify killed or wounded, though the overall consensus is that it includes dead, wounded, missing, and captured.
“It is highly likely that they have sustained significant combat casualties, whilst only achieving limited tactical gains,” Pollard told British parliamentarians on Dec. 19.
Russia has gained ground in eastern Ukraine and Kursk Oblast in recent months but at the cost of heavy casualties.
Russian losses reached record highs in November and December, with a daily high of 2,030 troops lost in November, marking the highest daily loss since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Russian losses exceeded 45,000 troops and $3 billion worth of equipment in November.
President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed in a rare statement that Ukraine had lost 43,000 soldiers on the battlefield since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukraine is developing numerous new types of drone systems.
Military tech developers created a new unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) with the ability to carry explosives and drive under armored vehicles, the project’s spokesperson, Viktoriia Kovalchuk, told Business Insider on Oct. 25.
The UGV, named Ratel S or Honey Badger, was developed as part of the Brave1 government initiative.
The initiative was launched in April to invest in defense tech innovations that can be utilized by the Ukrainian military, as well as serve as a platform to connect the industry’s stakeholders.
“The main idea is that the robot (Ratel S) is used as a mobile warhead that carries anti-tank mines or other explosive devices,” said Kovalchuk, adding that it can run for 40–50 minutes at an average speed or for up to two hours at a slower speed.
The Pokrovsk front:
A Russian assault column consisting entirely of civilian unarmored cars, with the USSR flag, attacked Ukrainian positions on the Pokrovsk front today:
«The attack was successfully repelled, the car with the rag was given special attention, I will upload a video in the evening.»
t.me/officer_alex…— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 7:30 AM
Kyiv:
These are most likely the 40-50% of the drones in current Russian drone attacks reported as “location lost” by the Ukrainian Air Force in its morning reports. So an attack of “100 Shahed” drones is likely only half that size, which in turn means Russian drone production may be lower than feared.
— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 4:02 AM
That’s enough for tonight.
Your daily Patron!
There are no new Patron tweets or videos tonight. Here is some adjacentish material.
Ukrainian Railways’ Food Train became the Christmas Train today on its pre-holiday route, delivering gifts & warmth to children of railway workers in several regions.🎅
💫”We thank The Howard G. Buffett Foundation for making this happen!” – Ukrainian Railways
Source: Ukrzaliznytsia
#славаукраїнi— Oksanna Zbihla (Laughlin) (@oksannaoricia.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 9:18 AM
The 🇺🇦 Food Train became the Christmas Train today with presents for the kids! 🎅
— Nate Mook (@natemook.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 7:39 AM
Open thread!
TBone
Howard Buffet is a mensch.
KatKapCC
I mean, Russia’s initial goal was to kill Zelensky and take over Kyiv within three days. And I don’t doubt for a second that they are still trying to kill him. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, damn it.
Also, Russia attacking an oncology hospital just after the GOP said “eff your pediatric cancer research” is…interesting. Two peas in a pod.
SuzieC
Russia should be bombed to the ground and leveled from the earth.
Adam L Silverman
@SuzieC: Please dial it back about 2 notches.
Gin & Tonic
@TBone: He’s a long-time very generous supporter of Ukraine.
KatKapCC
@Gin & Tonic: I wasn’t aware before now, but yeah, his foundation has done a lot of good for them.
Plus they’ve done a lot of work on environmental causes, biodiversity, conservation, etc, around the world. I still don’t think the concept of a billionaire should exist, but at least some of them are spending their wealth in some worthwhile ways.
Parfigliano
I guarantee not a single Russian will stand before a tribunal.
Nukular Biskits
Adam, with reference to my question(s) last night about the targeting of gov’t officials and your excellent primer tonight, I have to imagine a LOT of planning, etc, SHOULD go into whether to execute (no pun intended) such an action. At least by governments that try to minimize the toll on non-defense structure civilians. Which isn’t what Russia is doing.
This is a very complex question, I realize, and involves a huge decision tree (if A then X, otherwise Y, etc), but at what point does targeting civilian leadership (and, in the process of doing so, civilian infrastructure) cross the line into being a war crime?
Jay
@Parfigliano:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yan_Petrovsky
Jay
Thank you, Adam.
Rich2506
I repeated what I read on this site about Abkhazia and Georgia and had a citizen of Abkhazia exclaim that Abhkazia needs to be independent of Georgia. I don’t have anything approaching enough expertise to say one way or the other, but here’s a statement from Andrei Sakharov to that same effect: https://abkhazworld.com/aw/blogs/1962-andrei-sakharov-on-the-relationship-between-abkhazia-and-georgia
Adam L Silverman
@Nukular Biskits: Yes. I can tell you from professional experience that the overall process is not quick. That said, self defense responses, usually covered under existing Rules of Engagement (ROE) move much faster.
Gretchen
I wonder if the Russians are feeling freed by knowing Trump is their only opposition now.
Nukular Biskits
@Adam L Silverman:
I would expect as much. And the risk of casualties, both legitimate and unintended, is probably much greater.
The issue I struggle to wrap my head around is the definition of what is “legitimate” and/or defensible is probably quite malleable, depending on the actors. And I’m probably stating the obvious here.
By no means am I asserting that I have the experience or training to conclude what is or is not a legitimate non-military target. But it would seem a hospital should be off limits, regardless of how many claimed combatants were inside.
In any case, as always, I appreciate the time you put into this update every night. And, as I have said previously, those efforts are appreciated.
Jay
@Rich2506:
Was this “citizen of Abkhazia” living in The Decadent and Immoral West, or were they living and working in Abkhazia?
It’s funny, a minority of people living in “Abkhazia”, upon Georgian Independence wanted to be part of ruZZia so bad, that they raised a short lived armed revolt, with ruZZian military help, got crushed and only achieved “independence” during the ruZZian-Georgian War, when ruZZia invaded “Abkhazia”.
And now, they want nothing to do with ruZZia.
AlaskaReader
Thanks Adam
Gin & Tonic
@Adam L Silverman: As far as military targets, though… I heard from someone with a very personal stake that General Alexei Kim, Deputy Chief of the General Staff has been charged by the SBU with the attack on the Sapphire Hotel in Kramatorsk back in the summer that killed a Reuters staffer and wounded two others.
I’d recommend he avoid scooters.
Gin & Tonic
BTW, Usyk’s shirt reads “Orthodoxy or Death” – the script is either Greek or Old Church Slavonic, I’m not sure. A real mixed message there: he speaks in Ukrainian, but that slogan is very closely associated with the russian Orthodox Church, headed by ex-KGB agent Patriarch Kirill. Usyk has publicly displayed that slogan more than once before.
Rich2506
@Jay: Interesting. His Bluesky handle is @abkhazia1993.bsky.social Not very detailed. I only knew about the Sakharov statement because I asked him for details and he gave me the address of that whole site dedicated to Abhkazian independence.
Adam L Silverman
@AlaskaReader: You’re welcome.
Jay
@Rich2506:
Some advise, way over 20 years old.
“On the Internet, nobody knows you are a dog”.
bjacques
@Gin & Tonic: if it’s any help, it was Greek ultra-Orthodox monks at the Esphigmenou monastery on Mt Athos who started using it in 1972 over the Patriarch talking to Pope Paul VI (i.e. a heretic) and were officially declared schismatics in 2002. I saw it on a BBC travel show from 2016 hosted by Simon Reeves. Maybe the slogan is a reference to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church having severed ties with the Moscow Stukach Kirill, who apparently banned it in 2009.
That’s my take bases on a couple of Wikipedia articles on the slogan and the rebel monastery (I can’t seem to copy and paste the links), but you’d be far more able to research whether that really is the context intended by Usyk.
Just my two kopiikas (sp?)
Jay
That should piss off Orban to no end.
https://xcancel.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1870445191624315335#m
TBone
@Gin & Tonic: am aware of that, thank you!
pluky
@Gin & Tonic: I’m guessing Old Church Slavonic. Look at the terminal character of <s> at the end of “thanatos”. It is a C, not Σ, ς, or σ.
Gin & Tonic
@bjacques:
@pluky:
Thanks. The breadth of knowledge in Dr. Silverman’s nightly seminar is always impressive.
I used to be able to read Old Church Slavonic, but that was a *long* time ago.