Ukraine targeted an air base and surrounding areas inside Russia on December 17 with what one regional official called "mass drone strikes" while both sides' forces reportedly exchanged gunfire outside the village of Terebreno -- also inside Russia and a short distance to the border.
A Russian Telegram channel critical of the Kremlin and the independent Astra Press news outlet posted videos of drones flying over what they said was the town of Morozovsk, where an air base hosts Russia’s 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment and where Su-24, Su-24M, and Su-34 bombers used against Ukrainian sites are based.
Vasily Golubev, the governor of Russia’s Rostov region, did not mention the air base but said that “mass drone strikes” were launched near Morozovsk and another town, adding that most of the drones were shot down.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia's Belgorod region, wrote on Telegram that "Terebreno, Krasnoyaruzsky District, is under fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” referring to the village some 5 kilometers from the border.
“There is damage to the power line in several villages. Emergency and operational services will begin to eliminate the consequences after coordination with the Russian Defense Ministry,” he added.
The Baza Telegram news channel said the battle began around 11 a.m. and was conducted by a “Ukrainian sabotage group.”
"About 200 people live in Terebreno. Residents have not been evacuated -- now people are hiding in shelters," it reported.
Ukrainian officials did not comment on the reports, and battlefield claims by both sides in the war cannot immediately be confirmed.
Separately, the Kherson region prosecutor's office reported that Russian troops shelled Ukraine’s Kherson and Sumy regions, killing two people, including an 81-year-old man and a 69-year-old homeowner. It added that six police officers were injured in the village of Daryivka.
Overnight, Ukraine launched dozens of drones at targets in southern and western Russia, while Moscow targeted sites inside Ukraine with at least one ballistic and one cruise missile, along with its own drones.
At least one person was killed in Ukraine’s coastal Odesa region overnight on December 17, the regional governor said, when debris from a downed Russian drone struck a residential building.
Overall, Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired at least one Iskander ballistic missile and one cruise missile along with 20 kamikaze drones. The Iskander missile "did not reach its target," the military said in a post on Telegram, but did not provide further details.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed in a post on Telegram that it had downed 33 Ukrainian drones over the Lipetsk, Volgograd, and Rostov regions. Damage or casualties from those attacks were not immediately clear.
With the onset of winter in Ukraine, Russia has stepped up its air campaign, using missiles and drones to attack civilian infrastructure and terrorize the Ukrainian population.
On December 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to strengthen the country’s air defenses and promised to continue his international diplomatic offensive to keep the flow of aid coming.
“We are preparing for further strengthening of air defenses,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
