For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.
The latest developments in Russia’s war on Ukraine. All times EST.
5:19 a.m.: The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, said in its latest Ukraine assessment that Russian forces reportedly continue to deplete their missile arsenal and stock of Iranian-made drones but will likely continue to threaten Ukrainian infrastructure at scale in the near term.
Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations near Svatove and Kreminna.
4:20 a.m.: A large explosion was reported on a section of a gas pipeline in Lutuhyny in the occupied Luhansk region, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said, citing media reports.
The RIA Novosti news agency said the explosion late Saturday resulted in a cutoff of gas service to more than 13,000 customers. Workers have been sent to the site to restore the gas pipeline, said Luhanskgaz, a regional Ukraine gas company.
The explosion follows another explosion and fire on December 20 on a pipeline transporting Russian natural gas to Europe that killed three workers. A day earlier, a fire hit a natural gas field in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, injuring seven people.
3:15 a.m.: The latest intelligence update from the U.K. defense ministry said Russia’s recent bolstering of fortifications in southern Ukraine seems to indicate Russia believes Ukrainian troops will strike in either in northern Luhansk Oblast, or in Zaporizhzhia.
2:07 a.m.: Ukraine has imposed sanctions on more than 100 Russian actors, musicians, and television personalities who Kyiv says are “propagandists of death” for supporting the war in Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.
Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that the Russians had been blacklisted for supporting Russia’s armed aggression in Ukraine.
The decree imposing the sanctions was signed by Zelenskyy and published on the president’s website.
1:23 a.m.: Russian forces launched a missile attack on the community of Merefa near Kharkiv on Saturday evening, wounding one person, The Kyiv Independent reported, citing Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Emergency responders are on the scene, Syniehubov said.
Russian forces also attacked the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia, acting mayor Anatolii Kurtiev reported.
The attacks took place amid the Kremlin’s Christmas truce, which it said would last from Friday to Saturday.
Russian troops shelled the southern city of Kherson, killing one firefighter and injuring four more, according to Kherson Oblast Governor Yaroslav Yanushevysh.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported Saturday evening that Russian forces continued to shell Ukrainian military positions with mortars, artillery, and tanks, despite the supposed cease-fire, which expired at midnight.
Russia also conducted an airstrike and attacked Ukrainian settlements with multiple launch rocket systems seven times over the past 24 hours, according to the general staff.
12:02 a.m.: A Belarusian opposition leader says Belarusian authorities may soon begin a mobilization to provide military assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
Pavel Latushka, who is based in Warsaw, was quoted Saturday as saying almost everything is ready for mobilization. Citing sources in Minsk, Latushka claimed in an interview with German media that most of the employees of the internal affairs organizations have been forced to surrender their passports, barring them from leaving the country in the event of a mobilization. Latushka also noted on Twitter the increase in Russian military personnel and equipment in Belarus. Read the original story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service.