Thread by @TWMCLtd

Hello again. It's Day 295 of the #RussiaUkraineWar
It's Thursday 15 December and this is the daily thread with the news, views and analysis as #Ukraine fights for its very existence.

Quite a lot happened yesterday, if you need to catch up, scroll here:

A lot of damage to #Kherson yesterday, and more deaths and misery.

Already in the early hours more MLRS rocket attacks reported. Not yet known of casualties or destruction.

#StopRussia #RussiaIsATerroristState

Another big explosion in occupied #Kadiivka (RU: #Stakhanov) in #Luhansk oblast.

Early indications are that it's another pinpoint strike by #Ukraine, likely on one of #Russia's bases.

Residents in nearby #Alchevsk also report loud explosions - probably the same incident.

Heavy fighting in #Marinka/#Maryinka in #Donetsk region.

#Russia says it's about to take the town with fighting in the centre ongoing.

#StandWithUkraine

⚡️Breaking⚡️

Another explosion at a refinery in #Russia

There's now a fire after the blast in #Angarsk, near #Irkutsk, some 5,000km from Moscow.

Two oil tanks are on fire. Two people are missing with another two missing.

#RussiaOnFire

This is said to be video of the moment #Russia's base in #Kadiivka (RU: #Stakhanov) was hit (see earlier tweet)

It also now seems as though the explosion in #Alchevsk was a separate incident.

#Luhansk #RussiansGoHome #SlavaUkraini

One Democrat and One Republican have put down a resolution to remove #Russia from the UN Security Council.

Democrat Steve Cohen and Republican Joe Wilson say Russia’s presence on the UNSC “violates the purposes and principles of the United Nations.”

cohen.house.gov/media-center/p…

The #UK assesses there's no real threat of a new invasion of #Ukraine from the north.

#StopRussia #SaveUkraine

A former Head of Police in occupied #Melitopol may have been murdered.

A corpse was found inside this burned out car, which had been used by Colonel Volodymyr Bondarenko. He was last seen at the end of September.

#RussiansGoHome

Almost 600 more dead Russian soldiers in the last 24 hours according to #Ukraine.

But as I've said in these threads many times, and as the President's Office confirmed yesterday evening, these figures don't include mercenaries used by #Russia. So they say the real total is >100k

Puppet "head" of the illegal '#Donetsk People's Republic' says "#Marinka is 80% taken" by #Russia's forces.
Of course this cannot be verified.

#StandWithUkraine #StopRussia

1/2
A couple of videos of morning attacks in #Donetsk

Occupying officials say one person died in this apartment block, and 10 have been injured after multiple rockets landed in the city centre.

#Russia of course blames #Ukraine, which denies being responsible

#RussiansGoHome

2/2
#Russia's occupiers say shelling of #Donetsk saw a nursery and here a hospital hit by #Ukraine's strikes.

Many independent observers concur there is no proof Ukraine is responsible for these and similar attacks. Russia may be trying to stoke hatred to introduce conscription.

At just before 2am this morning I wrote about the explosion and fire at a refinery in #Russia.

It's the largest such field in Siberia.
Here's a video of the fire earlier, but management say the blaze has now been extinguished.

#RussiaOnFire #StopRussia

#Kherson city centre is attacked again, with #Russia hitting a medical help point.

Unconfirmed: a 31 year old medic and a 70 year old man died in the latest missile attack, just 100 metres from the regional government building which was hit yesterday.

#RussiaIsATerroristState

#Ukraine's Armed Forces claim they've advanced 1.5km in #Donbas.

Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov, briefed the media with the good news, saying they've made significant ground towards the settlement of Dibrova."

However it's likely largely uncontested terrain.

#Poland blocks EU aid for #Ukraine.

EU Diplomat says "It’s like an abusive relationship: they keep promising it will be different next time, but deep down we know we will get hurt over and over again"

politico.eu/article/poland…

Good evening or good night to my Australian friends and followers.
A massive thank you to Aly in particular for just gifting me "some food and a beverage"
💙💛💙💛

The European Parliament has now officially recognised the #Holodomor as genocide of the people of #Ukraine. Deliberate starvation by the regime in #Moscow.

#StandWithUkraine

Other news in brief:

#Kherson remains completely "de-energised" after the latest attacks by #Russia

#Belarus says troops at the border with #Ukraine are returning to base.

#Ukraine's Armed Forces chiefs say there is no possibility of a New Year ceasefire "until Russia leaves"

#Kharkiv (RU: #Kharkov) may be facing power outages after more shelling this afternoon.

Mayor of the city Ihor Terekhov confirmed hits on the city's infrastructure.

Early reports are S-300s landed in the Kholodnohirsky district - no known casualties.

#RussiaIsATerroristState

Some are reporting that the first missile landed in #Kharkiv before air raid sirens were heard.

Looks like quite a big hit in the city in the east of #Ukraine.

#StandWithUkraine #StopRussia

This is probably another hit on #Russia's officers and even FSB, according to locals in the occupied part of #Kherson.

The Salimar hotel in Zaliznyi Port, was visited by some missiles. The town is a popular Black Sea resort, about 70km south from Kherson city.
#SlavaUkraini

An accredited journalist has been arrested in #Dnipro after reportedly getting drunk and firing a pistol in to the air.

The incident happened on vul. Shinna in the city yesterday evening.
His identity has not been made public.

Blood on the streets of #Kherson again today after #Russia's shelling, as this video from the local government shows.

People describe where and how the damage was caused and an old man being treated for light shrapnel wounds says he's lucky it wasn't worse.

#StandWithUkraine

A few minutes ago I heard about the hit on an hotel in southern #Kherson oblast, and now it looks like another one a few miles away in the occupied part of the region.

This unverified photo is said to be from #Skadovsk, about 60km from #Crimea as the crow flies, 90km by road.

A crazy story from #Poland where the Commander in Chief of Police was injured when a grenade launcher, gifted by #Ukraine, was accidentally set off in the police HQ.

Ceilings were damaged and some say Gen. Jarosław Szymczyk himself fired the device.

rmf24.pl/polityka/news-…

Also in #Poland, some better news this afternoon...

The country has now stopped its objection, which can allow financial aid for #Ukraine to be unlocked.

The #USA has today sanctioned the person believed to be #Russia's second richest man.

Somehow Vladimir Potanin has previously avoided being put on the "naughty list", not he and his Rosbank are sanctioned.

17 subsidiaries of VTB (bank) are also listed.

home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…

#Ukraine says it will protect its power plants with new sensors to detect missiles and drone attacks.

"We are working on installing cameras and sound sensors that will detect objects and notify air defence" said Andriy Nebytov, Head of Kyiv police.

korrespondent.net/ukraine/454463…

Unconfirmed: another huge blast at a #Russia base in #Luhansk. It seems #Ukraine has got some very good intel in recent days.

This is reportedly from #Irmino, about 20km east of #Bakhmut, which is in neighbouring #Donetsk region.

#SlavaUkraini #RussiansGoHome

Here's an alternative view of the big explosion in #Irmino

It does look increasingly like a new attack by #Ukraine's armed forces on a weapons/ammo dump in the Luhansk region.

#StopRussia #StandWithUkraine