December 30, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo, Eliza Mackintosh, Leinz Vales, Aditi Sangal, Matt Meyer and Adrienne Vogt, CNN

Updated 5:04 PM ET, Fri December 30, 2022
18 Posts
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8:30 a.m. ET, December 30, 2022

Kremlin expresses "extreme concern" over claim of Ukrainian missile downed in Belarus

From CNN’s Darya Tarasova and Allegra Goodwin

Investigators gather near fragments of a munition downed by Belarusian air defences outside the village of Harbacha in the Grodno region, Belarus, on December 29, 2022.
Investigators gather near fragments of a munition downed by Belarusian air defences outside the village of Harbacha in the Grodno region, Belarus, on December 29, 2022. (Vadzim Yakubionak/BelTA/Reuters)

The Kremlin on Friday expressed “extreme concern” after Belarus said the wreckage of a Ukrainian missile had landed on its soil Thursday. 

“The Kremlin is concerned about the incident with the fall of the Ukrainian rocket in Belarus,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 

“This is an event that causes extreme concern not only among us, but also among our Belarusian partners,” Peskov continued, adding the armed forces of the two countries were “in constant contact.” 

Peskov’s comments come after the Belarusian defense ministry claimed on Thursday that it had shot down the missile and that fragments from the Ukrainian S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile had then landed on its territory in an area close to the country’s border with Ukraine.

CNN was not able to independently verify the ministry's report. 

Responding to the allegation, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said it was “aware of the Kremlin's desperate and persistent efforts to drag Belarus into its aggressive war against Ukraine,” adding it would "not rule out" a "deliberate provocation" from Russia. 

CNN's Uliana Pavlova, Radina Gigova, Niamh Kennedy and Yulia Kesaieva contributed reporting to this post.

8:12 a.m. ET, December 30, 2022

3 Ukrainians killed in cross-border shelling 

From CNN's Denis Lapin

Three people have died in cross-border shelling in northern Ukraine, according to the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko said that two people were killed and another two wounded in Russian shelling on the village of Katerynivka, in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

In the town of Semenivka, in the northern Chernihiv region, artillery fire left one person dead and cut off electricity, according to Tymoshenko.

8:04 a.m. ET, December 30, 2022

Ukraine's electricity deficit is stable after latest round of Russian attacks, energy provider says

From CNN's Denis Lapin

Workers repair high-voltage power lines damaged by recent missile strikes near Odessa, Ukraine, on December 29.
Workers repair high-voltage power lines damaged by recent missile strikes near Odessa, Ukraine, on December 29. (Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP/Getty Images)

Ukrenergo, Ukraine's national energy company, said that the electricity deficit was stable after Russia's missile attacks on Thursday, but that the situation in the south and east "remains difficult."

"As of December 30, the power system deficit is at the same level as before the 10th massive Russian missile attack," it said Friday in a post on the messaging app Telegram.

"Thanks to the professional actions of Ukrenergo's dispatch centre, the consequences of the damage had a much smaller impact on the operation of the power system than the enemy expected," Ukrenergo said. "The power system resumes normal operation as planned. Power generation continues to increase its capacity."

The company said the situation in Ukraine's southern and eastern regions was "difficult" due to strikes on some power facilities. "Repair crews together with generation and regional power companies are working to repair the damage," it said.

7:17 a.m. ET, December 30, 2022

Russia claims "all assigned targets" struck in Thursday's wave of missile attacks

From CNN's Tim Lister

Rescuers clear debris from homes destroyed by a missile attack on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 29.
Rescuers clear debris from homes destroyed by a missile attack on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 29. (Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia's Defense Ministry has claimed that a wave of missile attacks against Ukraine on Thursday, believed to be one of the biggest barrages yet in the war, "neutralized'" all their assigned targets.

In its daily summary of operations, the ministry said that Russia's armed forces "launched a massive attack, using high-precision long-range air- and sea-based armament, at the military control framework, and the power facilities that ensured operating of Ukrainian defence industry."

It added that the attacks had disrupted rail traffic, blocking the delivery of "foreign-manufactured armaments" to Ukraine's armed forces.

"All the assigned targets have been neutralised. The attack has resulted in stopping the production and maintenance of military hardware and ordnance, as well as in terminating the redeployment of reserve forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from western regions of Ukraine," the defense ministry said in a statement.

But Ukraine delivered a dramatically different assessment of the damage wrought by Thursday's onslaught. The Ukrainian military on Thursday said the vast majority of missiles launched by Russia were intercepted by its air and defense forces, and that power capacity was restored in the hours after the attacks. Three people were killed in the attacks, according to Ukrainian officials.

Detailing the ongoing battle in eastern Ukraine, Russia's Defense Ministry also claimed that its forces had inflicted heavy losses on Ukrainian troops in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, killing more than 200 Ukrainian troops. It said Russian forces had successfully targeted US-made equipment and brought down one MiG-29 fighter aircraft over Donetsk, as well as a number of drones.

Ukrainian officials have said that both Ukrainian and Russian forces are suffering significant losses in Donetsk. CNN could not confirm Russia's claims.

But in spite of Russia's purported victories on the battlefield, the ministry did not claim any territorial advances against Ukrainian forces, adding credibility to reports that the two sides are locked in a stalemate.

8:15 a.m. ET, December 30, 2022

Russian forces shell entire frontline in Donetsk overnight, Ukrainian official says

From CNN's Tim Lister and Denis Lapin

Russian forces shelled the entire frontline of the Donetsk region on Thursday night into Friday morning, according to the head of the regional military administration, as fighting in the eastern Ukrainian region grinds on.

Pavlo Kyrylenko said the towns of Vuhledar and Kurakhivska were among the settlements that came under attack. The city of Kostyantynivka, which is some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the front line, was hit by rocket fire on Thursday, damaging schools and a theater. 

The Ukrainian military also reported artillery shelling of Maryinka and Avdiivka in Donetsk on Friday morning. It said Russian forces were intensifying their assaults around several settlements immediately to the west and north of Donetsk city, an area where the front lines have changed little since the Russian invasion.

Much of the war's fiercest fighting has raged around the key Donetsk city of Bakhmut. Both sides have been locked in brutal battle there since Russian forces launched their siege on the city in earnest in May.

An adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovych, said on Thursday that Ukrainian and Russian forces were both experiencing heavy troop losses in Bakhmut, and the nearby city of Soledar, describing the fighting there as "very serious."

Elsewhere: Russian forces attacked several parts of the eastern Luhansk region, where Ukrainian forces have made modest gains since September, according to the Ukrainian military.

In the north-eastern region of Sumy, officials reported cross-border mortar fire, the consequences of which were unclear. 

And in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, authorities said that nearly twenty settlements were shelled, several of them some distance from the front lines, damaging apartments and civilian infrastructure.

6:59 a.m. ET, December 30, 2022

More than 80 Russian strikes on Kherson Thursday, Ukrainian official says

From CNN's Denis Lapin

Local resident Klavdia, 82, stands near her house which was destroyed by a Russian military strike in Kherson, Ukraine, on December 29.
Local resident Klavdia, 82, stands near her house which was destroyed by a Russian military strike in Kherson, Ukraine, on December 29. (Oleksandr Ratushniak/Reuters)

Russian forces are relentlessly bombarding Kherson in southern Ukraine with artillery and rockets, shelling the region 81 times on Thursday, Yaroslav Yanushevych, the head of the regional military administration said.

"The enemy attacked Kherson city 27 times. Enemy shells hit a store, critical infrastructure facilities, industrial enterprises, private and apartment buildings," Yanushevych said, referring to the regional capital.

One person was wounded in the shelling on Thursday. There were unofficial reports of further shelling Friday.

Some background: Ukrainian troops reclaimed Kherson city in November, but fighting has still raged in the region in recent weeks, as they try to wrest control of areas still occupied by Russia east of the Dnipro River.

Russia's retreat from Kherson -- the only regional capital that Russian forces had captured since launching their invasion in February -- represented a major blow to Moscow's war effort. Russian President Vladimir Putin formally declared Kherson "independent" in September, illegally annexing the territory.

5:11 a.m. ET, December 30, 2022

Xi says China is ready to "increase political cooperation with Russia"

From CNN's Darya Tarasova

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing was ready to ramp up political cooperation with Moscow on Friday, during a virtual meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, according to a Russian state media translation of their call.

"Against the background of a difficult international situation, China is ready to increase political cooperation with Russia" and "to be global partners," Xi said, according to the Russian state media report.
5:35 a.m. ET, December 30, 2022

Putin says Russia-China partnership more important than ever amid "unprecedented pressure and provocations from the West"

From CNN's Darya Tarasova 

China's President Xi Jinping, left, is welcomed by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the opening ceremony of "The Year of Chinese Tourism in Russia" in Moscow, on March 22, 2013.
China's President Xi Jinping, left, is welcomed by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the opening ceremony of "The Year of Chinese Tourism in Russia" in Moscow, on March 22, 2013. (Sergei Ilnitsky/AFP/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping began a call via video link on Friday by reaffirming their mutual partnership in the face of international condemnation over Moscow's war in Ukraine.

In opening remarks broadcast on Russian state TV, Putin said that the stabilizing force of the Russia-China relationship was becoming even more critical against the backdrop of increasing geopolitical tensions.

He added that relations between the Russian Federation and China were "the best in history" and could "withstand all tests," and invited Xi to Moscow in the spring of 2023.

"We share the same views on the causes, course and logic of the ongoing transformation of the global geopolitical landscape," Putin said. "In the face of unprecedented pressure and provocations from the West, we defend our principled positions and defend not only our own interests, but also all those who stand for a truly democratic system and the right of countries to freely determine their own destiny."

The Russian leader also pointed to record growth in trade, despite "unfavorable market conditions," a veiled reference to sanctions, and said they would increase trade turnover to $200 billion ahead of schedule.

Putin also said that the two countries would strengthen cooperation between their armed forces: "We intend to strengthen cooperation between the armed forces of Russia and China."

6:59 a.m. ET, December 30, 2022

Iranian-made drone damages administrative and residential buildings in Kyiv

From CNN's Dennis Lapin in Kyiv and Martin Goillandeau in London

Damage to a residential building by a Russian drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 30.
Damage to a residential building by a Russian drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 30. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

An Iranian-made Shahed drone partially destroyed a four-story administrative building and damaged a nearby residential building in Kyiv on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said, amid a barrage of Russian attacks overnight.

The drone strike on the administrative building in Holosiivskyi, a leafy southwestern district in the capital, started a fire, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, said in a post on the messaging app Telegram.

The strike blew out windows in a nearby nine-story residential building. Photos from the scene showed shattered panes of glass and shards strewn on the ground.

Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the damage was a "result of falling debris,” and that no one was injured in the attack.

Sixteen Iranian-made drones launched by Russia overnight were shot down by Ukraine's air defense forces, its military said on Friday, a day after what appeared to be one of Moscow's largest missile barrages since the war began.

Seven of the 16 drones were shot down in the Kyiv region, according to local authorities.