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Here is the situation on Friday, December 6:

Fighting

• The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 53 drones against the country overnight, adding that it shot down 32 of those and “lost track” of 16. Two drones left Ukraine-controlled airspace and headed to Belarus, according to the Air Force statement.
• Ukraine plans to supply its armed forces with more than 30,000 long-range attack drones next year, its Ministry of Defence said. These next-generation drones can operate autonomously over long distances and strike enemy targets with high precision.
• Russia is continuing to suffer significant manpower losses to make tactical advances in Ukraine’s western Donetsk region, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at the 31st Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council in Ta’Qali, Malta [Florion Goga/Reuters]

Politics and diplomacy

• White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, discussed improving Kyiv’s position in its war with Russia and ensuring it enters any future negotiations from a position of strength, a White House spokesperson said.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov clashed indirectly with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at an annual security meeting in Malta, accusing the West of reviving the Cold War and provoking a direct conflict with Russia.
• Separately, Lavrov told US journalist Tucker Carlson in an interview that Russia would use everything it had at its disposal to ward off a defeat in the war against Ukraine.
• The German lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, is expected to hold a debate on whether to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, despite resistance from Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
• Canada said it is outlawing 324 firearm varieties, which the public safety minister said belong on the battlefield. Ottawa also said it was working with the government of Ukraine to see how the guns could be donated to support the fight against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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