**Russian An-72 Plane Blows Up Near Moscow**
A Russian military transport plane, an Antonov An-72, suffered a major malfunction last week. The plane’s main power unit exploded at the Ostafyevo airfield in Moscow Oblast on December 12.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) shared footage of the explosion without claiming responsibility for the incident. The An-72 is a Soviet-era transport aircraft used mainly by the military. It’s estimated to be worth around $4.5 million.
**Recent Ukraine-Russia Conflict**
The HUR has previously claimed responsibility for several aircraft sabotage operations inside Russia. In July, they coordinated an operation that damaged three helicopters on the territory of the Moscow-based National Center of Helicopter Construction.
Another operation in July reportedly led to the destruction of a Mi-8 helicopter at the Samara Kryazh military airfield in Samara Oblast. Russia has been attacking Ukraine with ballistic missiles, which were shot down by Ukrainian forces. The attacks have killed seven people and injured 34 others over the past day.
**Other Developments**
The Khortytsia group of forces said that Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi decided to withdraw Defense Forces units from a certain area to avoid encirclement. Russian troops were carrying out assaults in Ukraine’s southern region, Kherson Oblast, to gain a foothold on islands in the Dnipro River delta.
A large-scale cyberattack targeted several government services, including state registers overseen by the Ministry of Justice. Russia has regularly targeted Ukrainian companies and government institutions with cyberattacks since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
**International Reaction**
The U.K.’s latest estimate suggests that Russian forces have suffered over 768,000 casualties since the start of the war. The figure includes dead, wounded, missing, and captured personnel. A Russian missile struck a residential building in Kryvyi Rih overnight, injuring six people, including a child.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about prospects for a potential ceasefire in Ukraine during an interview with MSNBC on December 19. European leaders are discussing lowering the current cap on Russian oil supplies or implementing a complete ban.
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