Ukraine claims to have thwarted an attempt to cross the Oskil River in the east, while Russia says it seized two more settlements in the past day.
Ukraine prevents Russia from crossing the river.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced on December 3 that Ukrainian troops had repelled Russian forces attempting to establish a position west of the Oskil River, north of the town of Kupiansk in Kharkiv province.
The Ukrainian army released footage of fighting that allegedly took place near the village of Novomlynsk, located about 20 km north of Kupiansk, according to The Kyiv Independent .
Russian forces intensified their efforts near Kupiansk in early September and approached the city's industrial suburbs in the northeast. Recently, Ukrainian forces repelled several Russian attempts to penetrate the town.
The bridge over the Oskil River near the village of Borova, Kharkiv province, Ukraine, in February 2023.
Thanks to their numerical advantage, Russian forces attempted to cross the Oskil River in order to establish a bridgehead on the other side, according to Ukrainian sources.
Ukrainian forces have heavily reinforced the western bank of the Oskil River to prevent Russian forces from reaching Kupiansk from the north. Reports of Russian troops successfully crossing the river near Novomlynsk emerged in late November.
The Ukrainian army said the western bank of the Oskil River was under Kyiv's control, with footage showing Ukrainian soldiers raising the flag in Novomlynsk.
Zelensky rejected the Ukrainian casualty figures.
In an interview with Kyodo News published on December 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky refuted Western media reports that up to 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the conflict with Russia.
"Recently, some newspapers, I believe American ones, reported that 80,000 Ukrainians had been killed. I want to tell you that no, (the number of deaths) is much, much less," President Zelensky said, while declining to provide detailed casualty figures.
"However, we must be honest, we don't know how many Ukrainians have died in the territories controlled by Ukraine," President Zelensky added.
President Zelensky denies reports that Ukraine has lost 80,000 soldiers.
Zelensky's comments may be a reference to The Wall Street Journal 's report published on September 17th that 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the conflict and another 400,000 wounded.
Following The Wall Street Journal 's report, Ukrainian lawmakers quickly refuted the claims, with Roman Kostenko, Secretary of the Parliamentary Defense Committee, stating that the figures were "exaggerated." The lawmaker suggested that the 50,000 soldiers killed might be an estimate, although he acknowledged that he did not have the most accurate data and that even his figure could be an overestimation.
The Wall Street Journal 's figures are essentially consistent with estimates published by The Economist on November 26, which suggested that between 60,000 and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 400,000 wounded.
In February, Zelensky admitted that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed.
Ukraine emphasizes joining NATO.
Ukraine will not accept any security guarantees beyond full membership in NATO, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on its website.
"We believe that the only real security guarantee for Ukraine is Ukraine's full membership in NATO," the statement read, marking the 30th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum under which Kyiv relinquished its nuclear arsenal.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stressed that it would reject any alternative solution.
On November 29, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha sent a letter to his NATO counterparts, urging the alliance to invite Kyiv to join instead of waiting until the conflict is resolved. The letter was sent just before the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Belgium on December 3-4. AFP reported on December 3, citing a diplomat, that many NATO countries, including the US, are indifferent to inviting Ukraine to join the alliance despite pressure from Kyiv.
Previously, NATO had emphasized that Ukraine would join the alliance and that the path to membership was irreversible, but did not give a specific deadline. NATO has a principle of not admitting members who are in conflict.
Ukraine tests domestically produced missile, Russia conducts military exercises in the Mediterranean.
Ukraine has conducted tests of a new domestically produced missile and is ramping up missile production, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on December 3. According to Reuters, Zelensky added that he had received reports from the military about the test.
"We can thank the Ukrainian missile developers. We are accelerating the production process," he said, but provided no further details.
President Zelensky said in August that Ukraine had conducted its first test of a domestically produced ballistic missile.
Ukraine is increasing domestic production to speed up arms supplies and reduce its reliance on Western aid shipments.
Russian warship launches missiles in the Mediterranean Sea.
On the same day, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian Navy escort ships equipped with new-generation hypersonic cruise missiles had conducted exercises in the eastern Mediterranean.
The crews of the warships launched Zircon (Tsirkon) hypersonic anti-ship missiles, while a Russian submarine launched Kalibr cruise missiles, a weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
On the nearby coast, a missile system conducted a launch of an Onyx anti-ship missile, Reuters reported, citing the announcement.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chien-su-ukraine-ngay-1014-kyiv-ngan-nga-vuot-song-bac-tin-mat-480000-quan-nhan-185241203115930236.htm
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