Romanian radar systems detected a small flying object, likely a drone, which violated the national airspace up to 6 km inside the country, the Ministry of National Defense of Romania reports.

The ministry stated that the radar first detected the signal at 21:04 GMT on December 26, 15 km east of Chilia Veche commune in Tulcea County.

The authorities alerted the local population to seek shelter and began the procedure for calling in fighter jets, but the radar lost the signal at 21:09 GMT.

“We clarify that although combat aircraft were prepared to intervene within the prescribed timelines, the situation did not require their takeoff,” the statement said.

According to the report, there is no information about a possible targeted strike on Romanian territory.

“The forces and resources of the Combat Air Police Service, both from the Romanian army and those deployed by NATO countries on national territory, continuously monitor Romania’s airspace and its adjacent areas, ready to act at any moment, depending on the situation in the area of responsibility,” the ministry stated.

In October, the radar detected several signals of drones that had entered Romania’s airspace on different days. However, the fighter jets were unable to detect them, and no crash site was identified.

In addition, during the massive Russian attack on December 25, Ukraine informed the Romanian military leadership that at approximately 7:30 a.m., a Russian missile entered Moldova’s airspace. Afterward, it passed over the Romanian city of Darabani “for about two minutes.”

Monitoring groups reported that the Russian missile traveled 140 kilometers over Moldova and Romania.

However, the Ministry of Defense of Romania stated that the country’s air surveillance system, as part of the integrated NATO system, did not detect such a situation.

The Defense Forces eliminated three officers of the Russian army in the Zaporizhzhia region. The occupiers gathered for a meeting and were taken out by HIMARS, according to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU).

“Three officers from the senior command staff of the Russian occupation forces were eliminated as a result of a successful operation by the Department of Active Measures of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), the Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces, and the Tavriia Operational Group,” the statement reads.

Operation details

DIU personnel obtained information about a planned meeting involving officers of the command of the 4th Guards Military Base of the Russian occupation forces, participating in the war against Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhia region.

“After verifying and confirming the information, military intelligence officers developed an operation plan that involved the Tavriia Operational Group, the Unmanned Systems Forces, and the SSU’s tactical group Typhoon,” DIU noted.

According to intelligence, immediately after the field meeting of the occupiers began, a precision strike by HIMARS targeted the gathering of Russian officers and their vehicles. When the evacuation team of the invaders arrived, it was attacked by strike drones from Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces.

Who was eliminated

As a result of the operation, three officers of the Russian occupation forces were eliminated:

• Captain Dmitry Olehovych Nahornyi, commander of the 1st battalion of the 135th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Russian Armed Forces;
• Captain Hryhory Aleksandrovich Krokhmalov, deputy head of intelligence staff and chief of reconnaissance of the 135th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Russian Armed Forces;
• Captain Yurii Viktorovich Fomin, commander of the anti-aircraft battery of the 4th Guards Military Base of the Russian Armed Forces.

Additionally, five vehicles of the occupiers were destroyed.

Ukrainian strike on command post in Lgov

On the night of December 25, the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the location of the command post of the 810th Separate Marine Brigade in Lgov, Kursk region. The enemy suffered losses among the officer corps.

In particular, as clarified later by the Defense Forces, up to 18 Russian military personnel, most of whom were staff officers, may have died in the strike on Lgov.

On the night of December 27, the enemy launched two Iskander-M missiles and more than 20 drones. Air defense managed to destroy 13 drones, according to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to the Air Force, the enemy launched against Ukraine:

• Two Iskander-M ballistic missiles from the Voronezh and Kursk regions;
• 24 strike drones of the Shahed type and other drones from the directions of Orel, Bryansk, and Millerovo.

To repel the air attack, the following were involved:

• Anti-aircraft missile forces;
• Electronic warfare units;
• Mobile fire groups of the Air Force and Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

As of 9:00 a.m, Kyiv time, the confirmed destruction of 13 drones was reported in the Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions. Additionally, 11 drones were lost in a location without causing negative consequences.

Shelling of Ukraine

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russian Federation has regularly launched strikes on Ukrainian territory, employing a wide arsenal of weapons. Among the main types of weapons used are artillery systems, various missiles, aerial munitions, and drones. Recently, nighttime attacks on Ukraine have become more frequent. For instance, on the night of December 26, Russia used 31 strike drones. On that occasion, air defense shot down 20 of them, while the remaining 11 were lost in location.

Russian forces continue active assaults in the Lyman direction, with the number of attacks in this area exceeding combat clashes near Kurakhove within a day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.

“With aviation support, the enemy attacked 25 times in the Lyman direction, attempting to advance near the settlements of Kopanky, Cherneshchyna, Novoserhiivka, Platonivka, Zelenyi Hai, Druzheliubivka, Makiivka, Terny, Zarichne, and Torske,” the statement says.

In comparison, for example, in the Kurakhove direction, Ukraine’s Defense Forces repelled 23 enemy assaults. Russian troops concentrated their main offensive efforts near the settlements of Petropavlivka, Slovianka, Andriivka, and Kurakhove.

Meanwhile, in the Vremivka direction, the enemy carried out 24 assaults on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the settlements of Yantarne, Vremivka, Kostyantynopil, Novyi Komar, and Kostyantynopolske.

‘Hottest’ direction

In total, 171 combat clashes were recorded over the past day. The Russians attacked most intensively in the Pokrovsk direction. In this sector, Ukrainian forces stopped 42 enemy assault and offensive actions toward Vozdvyzhenka, Myroliubivka, Promin, Lysivka, Zelene, Dachenske, Novyi Trud, Pishchane, Pokrovsk, Novoolenivka, Vovkove, Shevchenko, and Novotroitske.

Situation on other fronts

• Kharkiv direction: Two enemy attacks occurred near Vovchansk and Starytsia.
• Kupiansk direction: Nine enemy assaults targeted Ukrainian positions near Zapadne, Lozova, Kruhliaivka, Bohuslavka, and Nova Kruhliaivka.
• Siversk direction: The aggressor attempted four assaults near Bilohorivka and Hryhorivka but failed.
• Kramatorsk direction: Four attacks occurred near Chasiv Yar, Stupochky, Bila Hora, and Oleksandro-Shultyne.
• Toretsk direction: Thirteen assaults targeted positions near Diliivka and Toretsk.
• Huliaipole direction: The enemy conducted no active operations.
• Orikhiv direction: Near Novоandriivka, Russian invaders made one unsuccessful attempt to dislodge Ukrainian forces.
• Prydniprovsk direction: Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions three times but retreated after suffering losses.
• Kursk direction: Ukrainian forces repelled 20 enemy attacks. The invaders launched 424 artillery strikes, including 30 from multiple launch rocket systems, and carried out 24 airstrikes, dropping 34 guided aerial bombs.
• Volyn and Polissia directions: No signs of offensive group formations were detected.
• Chernihiv and Sumy regions border: The enemy actively used artillery and aviation from Russian territory to shell Ukrainian settlements.

Russian losses in Ukraine

Over the past day, Russian losses amounted to 1,650 military personnel. Ukrainian forces also destroyed:

• 14 tanks;
• 18 armored fighting vehicles;
• 22 artillery systems;
• one air defense system;
• 28 UAVs;
• 82 military vehicles;
• one unit of special equipment.

Furthermore, the aviation, missile forces, and artillery of Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck ten areas of enemy personnel concentration, destroyed one command post, one artillery system, and one other key enemy asset.

The Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, in a comment to The War Zone, stated that the passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines that crashed in Kazakhstan was shot down by a Russian air defense system. The plane was struck by the Pantsir-S1 complex.

 

“As far as we know, the jet was shot down by a Russian Pantsir S1 air defense system on Russian terrain,” Budanov said.

A US official also told the publication that the Russian air defense system might have struck the plane.

According to Reuters, citing four sources familiar with the investigation, the Embraer 190 plane of Azerbaijan Airlines came under fire after deviating into an area where Russia was actively deploying air defense systems against Ukrainian drones.

The plane crash in Kazakhstan

On December 25, in the Aktau region of Kazakhstan, a passenger plane, Embraer 190, of Azerbaijan Airlines, crashed. The plane was carrying 67 people and was en route from Baku to Grozny.

The crash claimed the lives of 38 people, while the other passengers sustained injuries, including children.

Reports indicate that in Grozny, where drones had previously been shot down, Russian air defense targeted the plane, preventing it from landing. According to media and analysts, the plane was struck by the Pantsir surface-to-air missile and gun system. As Euronews reports, a missile exploded near the plane, and its fragments struck the passengers and crew.

In Azerbaijan, authorities confirmed that the cause of the crash near Aktau was a Russian missile. Reuters notes that Baku is awaiting Russia’s acknowledgment of shooting down the Azerbaijani plane.

More details about the plane crash in Kazakhstan and how Russia is concealing the air defense version can be found in the RBC-Ukraine article.

Russian forces have likely occupied the city of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region. However, it may be challenging for enemy forces to advance further west from this settlement, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) informs.

The report states that Russian forces have likely captured the city of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region. Geolocated footage released on December 24 and 25 shows that Russians have recently advanced in the western part of the city and up to a windbreak southwest of the settlement.

According to ISW’s assessment, Russian forces likely advanced to the administrative boundaries and captured this settlement, as well as fields south of the city and north of the village of Dalne.

Russian military bloggers claim that units of Russia’s 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade (51st Combined Arms Army (CAA), formerly the 1st Donetsk People’s Republic Army Corps (DNR AC)) raised the flag over the western part of Kurakhove. Meanwhile, units of the 110th and 114th Motorized Rifle Brigades of the 51st CAA, as well as the 20th and 150th Motorized Rifle Divisions (both part of the 8th Combined Arms Army, Southern Military District, SMD), are conducting offensives along the northern and southern flanks of Kurakhove.

Russian sources have published contradictory claims about the scale of the Russian advance in Kurakhove. Some military bloggers assert that Russian forces have moved beyond the city toward the village of Dachne (west of Kurakhove). At the same time, others claim that the Russian troops are unsuccessfully attacking the Kurakhove Thermal Power Plant (TPP) to the west of the city, which, according to ISW estimates, lies outside the administrative boundaries of Kurakhove.

The Khortytsia Operational-Strategic Group of Forces acknowledged that Ukraine’s Defense Forces recently lost unspecified positions in the direction of Kurakhove.

Significant losses

The Institute for the Study of War calculated that the Russian army spent more than two months capturing Kurakhove, an area of 7.3 square kilometers. Russians intensified their offensive operations to capture the settlement in mid-October 2024.

ISW referred to geolocated video footage confirming that Russian forces first advanced toward the city in late October 2024. According to the Institute, in recent months, the Russian military concentrated between 35,000 and 36,000 servicemen in the Kurakhove direction to capture the settlement and eliminate Ukrainian resistance to its north and south.

“Russian forces have likely sustained significant casualties during this period of intensified offensive operations. Russian forces have also conducted a large number of armored assaults within and near Kurakhove over the last two months and have likely sustained significant armored vehicle losses during their effort to seize the settlement,” the report states.

Difficult prospects for Russian advancement

ISW analysts believe that Russian forces may find it difficult to advance further west from Kurakhove along the H-15 Kurakhove-Pokrovsk highway if the Defense Forces decide to defend the Kurakhove TPP and Russians fail to outflank Ukrainian positions at the TPP near Dachne or Ulakly.

Russian military bloggers claim that the Ukrainian Armed Forces maintain a presence near the Kurakhove TPP west of the settlement along the H-15 highway.

“Russian forces may struggle to advance farther westward along the H-15 highway from Kurakhove if Russian forces choose to conduct a frontal assault through the Kurakhove TPP area and if Ukrainian forces decide to allocate sufficient manpower and materiel to defend in the area,” the report states.

Russian forces may try to bypass the TPP, advancing further south of the highway through fields west and northwest of Dalne (south of Kurakhove) toward Ulakly (west of Kurakhove).

The Institute for the Study of War does not rule out that Russians may also try to advance south from the village of Stari Terny (northwest of Kurakhove and on the northwestern bank of the Kurakhove Reservoir) to Dachne (west of Kurakhove) to outflank Ukrainian positions at the TPP.

Russian forces may also attempt to advance north from Zelenivka (southwest of Kurakhove) toward Ulakly. This would threaten Ukraine’s Defense Forces’ ability to supply positions at the TPP and complicate a potential future withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the plant and positions in the fields south of Dachne.

Units involved in Kurakhove offensive

The primary forces involved in capturing Kurakhove were units of the 51st CAA amid ongoing efforts to centralize and formalize the units of this formation within the Russian armed forces.

Elements of the 51st CAA’s 5th and 110th motorized rifle brigades have participated in the most tactically significant offensive operations in Kurakhove since mid-October 2024 and have been involved in offensive operations west of Donetsk, as Russia intensified its activities in this area at least since the summer of 2024.

In addition, ISW notes that units of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division are also operating in Kurakhove, likely overseeing brigade operations in the settlement and future offensives west of it.

“Russian authorities have recently intensified their efforts to formalize former DNR units under the Russian military and will likely credit and praise these forces for their role in seizing Kurakhove in the coming days,” the ISW report states.

Situation on frontline

On the frontline of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the situation remains challenging and intense.

Ukrainian forces have advanced in the Toretsk area. At the same time, Russians are actively assaulting Ukrainian defenders near Kupiansk, Pokrovsk, and Velyka Novosilka.

Over the past day, the Russian army has lost more than 1,600 soldiers at the frontline, as well as a large number of tanks and artillery systems.

Meanwhile, the Russian military has deployed a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian defenders have eliminated an additional 1,650 Russian invaders in the past day. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) also destroyed 14 tanks, 18 armored combat vehicles (ACVs), 22 artillery systems, and 1 enemy air defense system, reports the General Staff of the AFU.

The total combat Russian losses from February 24, 2022, to December 27, 2024, are estimated to be:

• personnel – about 782,510 (+1,650) Russian troops were eliminated;
• tanks – 9,644 (+14);
• armored personnel vehicle – 19,951 (+22);
• artillery systems – 21,379 (+22);
• MLRS – 1,256;
• anti-aircraft warfare systems – 1,032 (+1);
• airplanes – 369;
• helicopters – 329;
• UAV operational-tactical level – 20,999 (+28);
• cruise missiles – 3,003;
• warships/boats – 28;
• submarines – 1;
• vehicles and fuel tanks – 32,262 (+82);
• special equipment – 3,668 (+1).

It was previously reported that South Korean intelligence confirmed information about the capture of a wounded North Korean soldier by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region. The relevant information appeared on Ukrainian media resources the previous evening.

Additionally, it should be noted that in the report published on December 27 by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) regarding the situation on the front lines in various directions, it was stated that the AFU had success near Toretsk, where they regained previously lost positions. At the same time, Russian occupiers were recorded to have advanced near Kupiansk, Pokrovsk, and Velyka Novosilka settlements.