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NATO Agrees To Prioritize Protecting Ukraine’s Infrastructure.
NATO members have agreed to make protecting Ukraine’s infrastructure a top priority, alliance chief Mark Rutte said on December 4, as Russia continues to pound Ukrainian cities and towns with drone and missile strikes.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the second day of a meeting of foreign ministers from the 32-member military alliance, Rutte said the gathering discussed providing Ukraine with enough air defense systems to protect its infrastructure against Russian attacks.
“There was a clear agreement around the table last night that to help Ukraine, particularly with its infrastructure, has to be a priority,” Rutte said.
“I’m confident that allies will follow up in the coming days and weeks in making sure that whatever they can supply to Ukraine will be supplied.”
Russia has been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for the third winter in a row, causing casualties and hampering the supply of electricity to thousands of civilians.
Early on December 4, Russian drones attacked the northern Cernihiv region, damaging several houses in a village, regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus said on Telegram.
In the central region of Vinnytsya, debris from a falling drone set a house on fire in the Haysyn district, partially destroying it, Ukraine’s State Emergencies Service said on December 4.
Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched a guided air missile and 50 drones at targets in Ukraine.
Ukrainian air defense systems shot down 29 drones in nine regions — Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Khmelnytskiy, Ternopil, Mykolayiv, and Donetsk — the air force said, adding that 18 drones were neutralized after their navigation systems were jammed using Ukraine’s electronic warfare capabilities.
Separately, strong explosions were reported overnight in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, one of the main hubs for Russian oil exports and an important military port that hosts part of Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
An air alert was announced and Novorossiisk Mayor Andrei Kravchenko called on residents to take shelter because of a drone attack.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia have so far commented on the explosions.
(rferl)