Ukrainian Marines Mop Up Russian Stragglers In Ivanivka

Ukrainian Marines mopping up Ivanivka in a follow up to clearing it last month discovered a stranded Russian squad. 

The Ukrainians killed five of the Russians in a firefight after which the remaining ten Russians surrendered. The significance of this action is best understood in the context of recent Ukrainian successes at Kupiansk and Pokrovsk where, rather than appearing stronger as Kremlin propaganda would suggest, more Russian soldiers appear to be surrendering when they have the chance. JL

Sania Kozatzkyi reports in Militarnyi:

The 2nd Battalion of the 37th Separate Marine Brigade captured 10 Russians during the mopping up of Ivanivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Five more were killed in a firefight. All those captured served in the 228th Assault Regiment of the 90th Tank Division of the Russian Army. In late November, the brigade partially retook Ivanivka and captured 19 Russians. Another 53 invaders were eliminated during that fighting. As of December 10, the settlement was controlled by Ukrainian Defense Forces. At the same time, the approaches to it and the surrounding area are under Ukrainian fire control.

Russians Cut Off, Much of Kupiansk Retaken As Zelensky Speaks From City

Putting an emphatic exclamation point on Ukraine's Kupiansk counteroffensive, President Zelensky visited troops inside the city where fighting is still going on and thanked those units who have retaken much of the city, contradicting the Kremlin's claims of having occupied it. Putin has never been seen anywhere near this or any active combat zone.

Ukrainian forces have completely encircled the Russian units still hiding inside Kupiansk as they have taken parts of the city and much of the surrounding countryside. JL

Jared Goyette reports in the Kyiv Independent and Vlad Litnarovych reports in United 24:

Ukrainian President Zelensky on Dec 12 recorded a video from Kupiansk as the 2nd Khartia Corps carried out a successful counteroffensive, encircling Russian forces inside the city. Numerous units including the 475th Assault Regiment and the 92nd Assault Brigade, liberated Kindrashivka, its outskirts, and surrounding forest areas. At the same time, the 13th Khartiia Brigade cleared Radkivka and nearby terrain and forced Russian troops out of dozens of buildings in northern Kupiansk. "The reality speaks for itself. I visited our troops," Zelensky said in a message, in which he stands in front of the bullet riddled sign marking the entrance to the city,

2 Russian Airborne Battalions "Destroyed" In Failed Pokrovsk Armor Attack

As reported yesterday, Russian forces attempted a 'massive' armor attack on Pokrovsk, hoping once and for all to deliver the prize Putin has been yearning for, then prematurely claiming but actually failing to take.

As more information emerges today, not only did Ukrainian drone units and the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps decisively defeat the attack, they destroyed two battalions worth of elite paratroopers who led the assault. So not only was the threat beaten back but the Ukrainians once again inflicted significant casualties on Russian military. So much for inevitability. JL 

Yuri Zoria reports in Euromaidan Press:

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces destroyed two Russian infantry battalions in just two days at Pokrovsk. Russia's 76th Guards Air Assault Division suffered the heaviest losses (while) attempting a mechanized assault near Pokrovsk. The attack began in the morning, with Russian troops attempting to exploit poor weather conditions to advance toward Pokrovsk. The mechanized columns advanced from the south toward the northern outskirts of the city, where Ukrainian troops destroyed most of the Russian equipment and troops.

US Investors Are Flocking To Make Money Funding Chinese AI

There may be 'tensions' between the US and China, but when it comes to making money, especially in AI, the market is global.

Data indicate that US investors are rushing to deploy capital into Chinese AI because it's clearly competitive and may become dominant, because there are only two real sources of AI development - with the US probably overvalued - and because it makes sense to diversify both risk and opportunity. JL

Rory Jones and Tracy Qu report in the Wall Street Journal:

US investors are plowing money into Chinese companies involved in AI, driving up share prices of Chinese tech companies developing AI models. Venture-capital firms based in China are raising U.S. dollar-denominated funds to deploy in AI investments. Capital flows into funds that track the broader tech sector in China were outpacing the U.S. this year, with U.S. investors making up 15% of the money moving into China tech ETFs. Investors are increasingly drawn to the opportunity in China, after Chinese AI models—led by DeepSeek—have shown they can compete with U.S. peers. U.S. investors face no limitations in buying public shares of Chinese companies in AI.  Morgan Stanley said 90% of investors in meetings wanted to increase exposure to China—the highest interest in four years—because of Chinese companies in AI and biotech.

How A Ukraine Ground Drone Ambushed, "Wiped Out" Russian APC

The most interesting aspect of this operation was, first, that the Ukrainian 5th Assault Brigade placed the ground drone that they believed from intelligence would be a route Russian armor would be likely to take, increasing the odds of contact and allowing them to choose their terrain.

Secondly, the ground drone wiped out the Russian armored personnel carrier's crew and infantry squad passengers, penetrating the APC's armor and destroying its operating system. JL

Matthew Loh reports in Business Insider:

The 5th Assault Brigade said Wednesday it deployed a a remotely operated tracked system developed by a Ukrainian company on a road likely to be a route for advancing Russian troops. Thermal footage shows it opening fire on the vehicle. The Droid TW 12.7 is equipped with an M2 Browning machine gun that fires .50 caliber rounds, which (can) pierce an MT-LB's armor. "The 12.7 mm bullets punch through the MT-LB's side, striking the crew and onboard systems." The UGV then fires on the rear of the MT-LB, "killing the infantry in the troop compartment." The 5th Brigade found in the morning that the MT-LB crew and their passengers were "completely wiped out," 

5 Russian Refineries, 4 Airfields, Offshore Rig Hit In Massive Drone/Missile Blitz

A massive overnight Ukrainian drone and missile attack on Russia - perhaps the largest of the war - set five oil refineries, storage depots and an offshore oil production facility on fire, damaged four military airfields and, in an exceedingly rare event, caused Moscow officials to warn residents to take shelter in air raid shelters. All Moscow airports were shut, some for as long as seven hours.

 So much for 'not having any cards.' JL

Stefan Korshak reports in the Kyiv Post:

On December 11, overnight, 300 drones of various types, along with cruise missiles, struck targets across western and central Russia – a stretch of some 2,000 km (1,243 miles) including Moscow. The Ukrainian main effort for the night focused primarily on five Russian energy production facilities, igniting fires at all of them. Secondary attacks hit four military airfields. One-fifth of the Ukrainian kamikaze aircraft, in a distraction tactic, flew to Moscow and circled above the Russian capital, triggering a night-long,  rare general warning to Moscow residents to take to air raid shelters, and ordered a lockdown of the city’s four airports, stranding thousands of air travelers.

Entire Russian Armored Column Destroyed Trying To Attack Pokrovsk

Russian forces attempting to attack the Ukrainian held northern sector of Pokrovsk with an armored column were largely destroyed by Ukrainian artillery and drones. 

This appears to be the latest concerted attack by Russia in order to realize Putin's premature claim that the city was taken, but this effort also seems to have failed. JL

Valentyna Romanenko reports in Ukraine Pravda and Censor.net reports:

Ukrainian artillery destroyed a column of enemy equipment with infantry attempting to advance on Pokrovsk. The 68th Ranger Brigade destroyed the first Russian armoured vehicle. After this, other units, including artillery, began striking Russian equipment and personnel. Videos show Russian equipment standing on the road and Russian infantry wandering on the side of the road. A moment later, the Russians are attacked with cluster munitions. The attack continues with a series of explosions, and then a Ukrainian drone flies over the battlefield and captures about a dozen burning enemy vehicles. "The destruction of enemy equipment and manpower is ongoing."