The casualty count resulting from the bombardment of Kyiv with Russian missiles and drones, with well over fifty people reported to be injured. However, a great many of the wounded did not require hospitalization, which does make me inclined to believe that it was truly just debris from intercepted missiles and drones responsible for the injuries. Regardless, it underscores the need for Ukraine to have more long range detection and interception capabilities, so that Russian projectiles can be knocked out of the skies before they reach the heart of urban centers. Late the following night, a large number of Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow and nearby regions, almost assuredly an act of vengeance for the attack on Kyiv.
The battlefield remains deadlocked, with the only notable advances happening around Avdiivka and Horlivka. In the former, Russia is slowly inching forward while near the latter, Ukraine ha pushed once again in the hills west of the city and advanced by a couple of hundred meters. The other major focal point, Krynky, is once again being subjected to a major Russian push. As with the last several attempts, Russia has suffered from quite high armored losses. While the Ukrainian garrison is under immense strain, if they can hold out, Russia will have lost an impressive amount of armored vehicles against a foe lacking armored vehicles immediately in the contested village.
A new poll has come out in Ukraine, showing that close to nine in ten Ukrainian believe that with western support that they can fully defeat Russia and reclaim all territories captured by Russia. A much smaller percentage but still strong majority of 58% are supportive of continuing the battle against Russia in the event support for Ukraine drops off, even if it means that Ukraine ultimately loses additional territories. Clearly, Ukrainian society is far from willing to throw in the towel even after the failure of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia offensive.
As I anticipated, Zelenskyy did make after leaving the United States on his way back to Ukraine. However, it was not in Brussels as I expected, it was to Oslo, Norway's capital. Norway is notable outside of the EU (though closely tied). While in Norway, Zelenskyy won additional pledges of both financial and military support from the Nordic countries which blows recent aid from the United States out of
the water. Norway pledged around $800 million USD in humanitarian and fiscal aid, and offered a military aid package totaling over $300 million USD, which includes an additional NASAMS air defense battery. Denmark impressively boasted a new military aid package which is reportedly worth at least a billion USD, which is many times larger than the latest package announced by the United States. For its part, the United States passed a record breaking defense bill; but none of this is explicitly for Ukraine, and a funding bill for Ukraine still has yet to be passed. However in a hypothetical future in which bipartisan support for Ukraine increases, it means the United States will have more assets readily available to transfer. With the White House signaling concessions on the border, there has been notably a bit more optimism today that a funding bill for Ukraine might be passed soon, though the odds still seem to be against it happening before the end of the year.
While Zelenskyy popped by Norway, there is a very strong chance he will swing down to Belgium or Poland for a visit before returning to Ukraine. He has requested a meeting with Donald Tusk, who heads the new Polish government. Given the EU summit scheduled for tomorrow, this will likely take place in Belgium, but depending on timing (or if the planned meeting happens at a later date), there is a possibility for it to be held in Poland.
And just like that, the border between Poland and Ukraine has been reopened as Tusk's new government has entered power. The backup at some border checkpoints has been so severe that Polish officials have warned that despite them being unblocked, it will still take over a day for some of them to return back to normal. Polish truckers have been denied by local officials the right to continue blockading the border; the truckers plan to appeal to other local authorities and to the judiciary. But in the meantime, the border is being unblocked and the national Polish authorities are much more in line with the EU's policy towards Ukraine.