Armed Forces of Ukraine go to Melitopol to shell the Crimean bridge, Kherson under daily artillery fire, and the US is preparing a new package of assistance to Ukraine: military news 3 December

Today is the 283th day of the war. What they say at the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

• Over the course of a day, units of the Defense Forces repelled attacks in the Chervonopopovka area of ​​the Luhansk region and near Svatovo, Nevelskoye, Krasnohorivka, Maryinka (Donetsk region);
• The enemy launched 5 missile, 27 air strikes and made 44 shelling from the MLRS on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; 
• Near Bakhmut and Avdiivka, the enemy is concentrating his efforts on the offensive. 

Is the liberation of Melitopol a collapse for the Russian army?

Major General of the Armed Forces Sergey Savchenko on the air of the telethon, he noted that the offensive of the Ukrainian army in the direction of Tokmak and Melitopol would become key for Ukraine and critical for the Russian army.
In his opinion, if Melitopol is liberated, the Russian army will be split in two, and besides, the road to the Crimea will be opened. The exit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the coast of the Black and Azov Seas will also open up the Crimean Bridge, ferry crossings across the Kerch Strait and provide a springboard for strikes against the fleet in the Crimea and Novorossiysk. 

"The criticality of the situation in which the aggressor will find himself in the event that we liberate Melitopol is difficult to exaggerate. It is not worth describing the understandable further development of events with the entry of our troops to the Crimean isthmuses, the liberation of Crimea, the further defeat of the aggressor's troops in the east," Savchenko noted.

APU will start moving to Azov?

military expert Roman Svitan reported that the Russian group on the left bank of the Dnieper near Kherson was almost surrounded. It can completely fall into the ring if the Armed Forces of Ukraine go towards the Sea of ​​\uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbAzov. 

"The Zaporozhye front now has a width of 250-270 km, and a depth of about 100 km to the coast of the Sea of ​​​​Azov. The density of Russian troops in this sector is perhaps the smallest among all other sectors of the front, so they feel very insecure. Those Ukrainian reserves, that they were transferred from the right to the left bank of the Dnieper River, they also strengthen the Zaporozhye Front, where there are three promising directions for a future attack by Ukrainian troops: from Orekhov to Tokmak and Melitopol, from Gulyaipol to Pologi and Berdyansk, from Ugledar to Volnovakha and further to Mariupol, " - Swithan stated for "Espresso".

According to Svitan, such an offensive is a matter of two or three weeks. 

US prepares another aid package for Ukraine

Senators will gather for a secret briefing in order to allocate another $ 37 billion to Kyiv, reports CNN.

The money will be divided as follows:

• $21,7 billion for the Department of Defense “for equipment, resupply and military support”;
• $14,5 billion for the State Department for "direct budgetary support and important investments during the war";
• 626 million dollars for the Ministry of Energy "to maintain the nuclear security of Ukraine and to modernize the strategic oil reserve";
• $900 million for the Ministry of Health to provide medical care, including those on parole. 

Is a power engineer directing the shelling?

The shelling of Ukraine's infrastructure is managed by a professional power engineer who understands exactly where and what should be struck in order to cause maximum damage to Ukraine. This was stated by the ex-head of Ukrenergo on the air of the telethon. Yuri Kasich. 

The situation in the regions

Kherson. On the evening of December 2, Kherson was again left without electricity due to heavy shelling. 

"Russian invaders shelled Kherson - the power grid was damaged. The city was again left without electricitya," he said in Telegram Chairman of the Kherson Regional Military Administration Yaroslav Yanushevich.

Dnepropetrovsk region. RRussian invaders delivered 9 attacks on the Nikopol region from "Gradov" and heavy artillery. Как сообщил head of the Dnepropetrovsk OVA Valentin Reznichenko, the Russians shelled the Nikopol region all night, but the regional center got the most. More than 30 enemy shells flew into Nikopol, but, fortunately, no people were injured. 

"Two dozen private houses, outbuildings, power grids and gas pipelines were damaged. 50 solar panels were broken," he said. 

Kharkov region. In the Kharkiv region, a car was blown up by a mine, in which bread was being transported. A 59-year-old and a 44-year-old man died, according to the National Police of the region. The tragedy occurred near Izyum - the car ran into an unknown explosive device. 

Dnieper. In the afternoon, everyone was frightened by a large-scale fire in the city center. At the same time, there were no air raids and “arrivals”. According to preliminary information, garbage was burning, but it frightened everyone in earnest. 

Donetsk. Donetsk has been under fire for two days already, today there were arrivals in the village of Snezhnoye (region) and in the Kirovsky district. Fortunately, no casualties. 

Earlier we reported that the European Union is still set a ceiling on Russian oil prices.