RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian troops have received a fresh batch of ‘Penicillin’ advanced reconnaissance systems, RIA Novosti news agency reported on Saturday, citing a source. The hardware is expected to be deployed in Ukraine.

According to RIA, the Russian Defense Ministry “received another batch of the advanced 1B76 Penicillin acoustic and infrared reconnaissance systems,” adding that the device “effectively detects the positions of the Ukrainian artillery and transmits coordinates for their prompt destruction.”

Another source earlier told the agency that Penicillin artillery trackers had proved their worth in the Ukraine conflict, as they are able to target, among other things, NATO-grade artillery.

The reconnaissance system can also detect rocket and air defense systems, and register acoustic and infrared waves. This provides the operator with precise coordinates to pinpoint the adversary’s firing positions. Time needed to locate a single target does not exceed five seconds.

Another major advantage of ‘Penicillin’ is that it does not rely on radio waves, making it immune to electromagnetic warfare and impossible to detect by radio-technical means. The hardware was developed and produced by the R&D enterprise ‘Vektor,’ which is part of the Russian state-owned holding company Ruseletronics.

The new delivery comes as Moscow boosts its efforts to supply its military with all necessary equipment for the Ukraine conflict. On Friday, Andrey Vetluzhskykh, head of the Trade Union Federation in the Sverdlovsk Region of Russia’s Urals, said defense enterprises had switched to a six-day working week.

Last week, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, claimed that Russia was “increasing the production of the most powerful weapons and munitions,” including those based on “new principles,” to deter countries which are supporting Ukraine in its fight with Russia.

** At least ten explosions rocked downtown Donetsk on Saturday morning, a TASS correspondent reported.

The Donetsk People’s Republic’s (DPR) mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired ten Grad rockets at the Voroshilovsky and Kievsky districts of Donetsk.

** The Western nations should never walk out of talks with Moscow, regardless of how big the "differences" between the two sides are, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Germany’s SZ newspaper in an interview published on Friday. Dropping out of any talks with Moscow would only make the task of ending the ongoing conflict in Ukraine harder, the chancellor believes.

"What is important is that, despite major differences in [our] positions, we do not let the thread of talks with Russia be broken," Scholz said, adding that "if we do not talk, Russia would be even less likely to end the war."

The chancellor still blames Moscow for its ongoing conflict with Kiev and maintains it is Russia that should be proactive in halting military action. Yet, the chancellor also advocates a negotiated solution rather than a military one. "For this, it will be necessary to talk," he told SZ.

When asked about when there could be a "window for negotiations," Scholz said that "the time has actually long since come." The chancellor also expressed his hope that "once this war is over and we are dealing with a different Russia … capable of making peace, we may be able to live together again." He did not elaborate on what he meant by "a different Russia."

Scholz also and once again outlined Berlin’s position on arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying that Germany would send "modern weapons" to Kiev but would also seek to prevent a "direct confrontation between NATO and Russia" and would not take any steps in the field of military aid alone.

The German chancellor has repeatedly called for continued dialogue with Moscow, arguing that it was the only viable option for ending the fighting in Ukraine. Earlier in December, he defended his decision to "keep talking" to Russian President Vladimir Putin by saying he wants to live to see the moment when it would be possible "to get out of this situation."

Scholz and Putin talked by phone on December 2. According to the Kremlin, the two discussed "different aspects of the situation in Ukraine." Scholz then said he "condemned the Russian airstrikes" against what he called "civilian infrastructure in Ukraine." In the Saturday interview with SZ, he also referred to these airstrikes as a "clear violation of international law."

Russian forces have been targeting some of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure facilities since October. The Russian Defense Ministry believes these to be crucial for Kiev’s military capability.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Basic services were being restored in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Saturday after the latest wave of Russian air strikes on critical infrastructure, as residents navigated a city gripped by fog and girded for a holiday season marked by uncertainty.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a quarter of Kyiv remained without heating but that the metro system was back in service and all residents had been reconnected to water supply by early morning.

Only around one-third of the city remained without electricity, he said, but emergency outages would still be implemented to save power. "Because the deficit of electricity is significant," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukrainian officials said Russia fired more than 70 missiles on Friday in one of its heaviest barrages since the Kremlin's Feb. 24 invasion, forcing emergency blackouts nationwide.

Ukraine has managed to restore power to almost 6 million people in the last 24 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address.

"Repair work continues without a break after yesterday's terrorist attack. ... Of course, there is still a lot of work to do to stabilize the system," he said.

"There are problems with the heat supplies. There are big problems with water supplies," Zelenskiy added, saying Kyiv as well as Vinnytsia and Lviv further to the west were experiencing the most difficulty.

Earlier this month, Kyiv Mayor Klitschko had warned of an "apocalypse" scenario for the capital if Russian air strikes on infrastructure continued, though he also said there was no need yet for people to evacuate.

"We are fighting and doing everything we can to make sure that this does not happen," he told Reuters on Dec. 7.

In a gloomy winter haze on Saturday, officials reopened a popular pedestrian bridge that had been damaged during an earlier air strike and were setting up a smaller-than-usual Christmas tree in a central square.

The vast space in front of the centuries-old St. Sophia Cathedral is traditionally anchored by a hulking evergreen at Christmas. But officials this year opted for a 12-metre (40-foot) artificial tree festooned with energy-saving lights powered by a generator.

Orthodox Christians make up the majority of Ukraine's 43 million people.

Klitschko said the tree was funded by donors and businesses, and that no public celebrations would take place.

"I doubt this will be a true holiday," said Kyiv resident Iryna Soloychuk, who arrived with her daughter to see the tree just hours after another round of air-raid alerts wailed across the country.

"But we should understand that we're all together, that we should help one another."

RT/TASS/Reuters