Latest Developments in Ukraine: Dec. 26

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in Russia’s war on Ukraine. All times EST. 3:15 a.m.: Reuters reported that Russia's Gazprom said it would ship 42.4 million cubic meters of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Monday, a volume in line with recent days.  2:50 a.m.: 2:25 a.m.: Russia's long-range air forces are to be refitted with new wing-borne hypersonic missiles, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing the force's commanding officer, according to Reuters. "In the interests of long-range aviation, the development and supply of the entire range of aviation weapons, including new cruise hypersonic missiles, is being carried out," Interfax cited the commander, Sergei Kobylash, as saying in an interview with the Russian defense ministry's newspaper. Russia's fleet of long-range bombers are part of its nuclear triad and are capable of launching both nuclear and conventional missiles. 1:55 a.m.: Reuters reported that Russians troops are working "round-the-clock" at new anti-aircraft missile system positions to defend against missile and air strikes by Ukraine, according to the Russian Interfax late on Sunday, citing the defense ministry. Crews of the S-300V systems were "mastering new position areas" of the Russian long range surface-to-air missile systems, the news agency reported, citing a ministry statement. "The air defense units of the Western Military District continue to serve in the new position areas on combat duty around the clock," the agency cited the ministry as saying. The Western Military District, one of Russia's five military districts, incorporates regions bordering Ukraine, including the Belgorod and Bryansk regions. It also covers the Kaliningrad exclave. Citing a military commander, Interfax reported that the S-300V battery is capable of tracking a target at a distance of up to 204 km (127 miles) and at an altitude of up to 30 km (18.6 miles). 1:15 a.m.: The Iskander tactical missile systems and the S-400 air defense systems that Russia has deployed to Belarus are fully prepared to perform their intended tasks, a senior Belarusian defense ministry official said on Sunday, according to Reuters. "Our servicemen, crews have fully completed their training in the joint combat training centers of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus," Leonid Kasinsky, head of the Main Directorate of Ideology at the ministry, said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app. "These types of weapons (Iskander and S-400 systems) are on combat duty today and they are fully prepared to perform tasks for their intended purpose." It is not clear how many of the Iskander systems - which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons - have been deployed to Belarus after Russian President Vladimir Putin said in June that Moscow would supply Minsk with them and the air defense systems. 12:30 a.m.: According to Reuters, three military personnel were killed as a result of wreckage from a Ukrainian drone falling on a military base in Russia's Saratov region, Russian agencies reported citing the country's defense ministry. "On December 26, at about 01:35 Moscow time, a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region," the Russian Defense Ministry said. "As a result of the fall of the wreckage of the drone, three Russian servicemen of the technical staff who were at the airfield were fatally wounded." The ministry added that aviation equipment was not damaged. 12:05 a.m.: An incident at the Engels air base in Russia's Saratov region was being investigated but there was no damage to civilian infrastructure, a local governor said, after media reports of blasts at the base earlier on Monday, according to Reuters. Ukrainian and Russian media outlets reported that blasts were heard after midnight at the Engels air base, hundreds of kilometers (miles) from the frontlines in Ukraine. "There were no emergencies in residential areas of the (Engels) city," Roman Busargin, the governor of the region, said on the Telegram messaging app. "There is absolutely no threat to residents ... Civil infrastructure facilities were not damaged. Information about the incident at a military facility is being checked by law enforcement agencies. The RBC-Ukraine news agency reported that two explosions took place. The Russian news outlet Baza reported, citing local residents, that air raid sirens were wailing and an explosion was heard. The air base, near the city of Saratov, about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow, was hit on December 5 in what Russia said was Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian air bases that day. The twin strikes dealt Moscow a major reputational blow and raised questions about why its defenses failed, analysts said, as attention turned to the use of drones in the war between neighbors. Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia, but has said, however, that such incidents are "karma" for Russia's invasion. Some information for this report came from Reuters.

Full "Voice of America:News" article