On the night of December 28, airstrikes involving drones occurred in the Voronezh and Belgorod regions of Russia. As a result of the drone attack in Voronezh, railway infrastructure was damaged, while in Belgorod, a settlement was left without electricity, according to the governors of Voronezh and Belgorod regions, Alexander Gusev and Vyacheslav Gladkov.

Voronezh region

According to a local official, in one of the districts of the region, during the fall of drone debris, the railway’s contact network was severed, causing train delays.

“Currently, one train is delayed, and additional delays are expected for other trains,” the governor wrote on his Telegram channel.

The Russian official claims that over 10 drones were allegedly destroyed in the suburbs of Voronezh and several areas of the region.

“According to preliminary information, there are no casualties. A special headquarters has been set up by the South-Eastern Railway to expedite the recovery efforts… The threat of drone attacks in the Voronezh region remains,” the head of the Voronezh region stated.

Belgorod region

Meanwhile, the governor of Belgorod region shared on his Telegram channel that the Krasnoyaruzhsky district was targeted in a drone attack. The official holds Ukraine responsible for this airstrike.

According to him, one of the drones struck the village of Verkhososna, damaging a power line, and leaving the village temporarily without electricity. The governor added that emergency crews are working to restore power.

Furthermore, the Russian official reported that in the village of Palatovo, due to the detonation of a drone, two people were injured and hospitalized.

“In the village, windows were broken and facades were damaged in three residential houses,” said Gladkov.

It should be noted that earlier reports indicated that on December 25, drones attacked the military airfield Baltimor in Voronezh.

On December 19, explosions in the Voronezh region were also reported following a drone strike.

Additionally, on the evening of October 27, a drone attack once again targeted the Ethanol Spirit distillery in Novokhopyorsk, Voronezh region. This facility, which is also used in Russia for producing fuel for military purposes and explosives, had previously been targeted in drone strikes that same month.

The construction process has begun for a railway that will connect China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, bypassing Russia. The new railway will facilitate the transportation of goods from China through Central Asia to European Union countries, reports the Tazabek.

On December 27, during the ceremony marking the start of the railway construction in Kyrgyzstan, President Sadyr Japarov stated that the new railway would not only be a strategic project but also a vital link between the West and the East.

“The new China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway corridor will be a branch of the southern bridge of the Eurasian continent and will open access to the markets of Western Asia and the Middle East. This route will allow goods to be transported from China to Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, and from there to Turkey and onwards to the European Union,” Japarov said.

He also added that the project would strengthen regional ties and diversify transport routes, increasing the region’s competitiveness as a transit hub.

Features of the project

The railway will run from the city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, passing through Torugart, Makmal, and Jalal-Abad in Kyrgyzstan, to Andijan in Uzbekistan.

In the future, the railway is planned to be connected with other Central Asian countries. From there, goods will be transported to the Caspian Sea, Türkiye, and Europe.

The total cost of the project is $4.7 billion. The investment agreement was signed on December 20 in Bishkek between the governments of Kyrgyzstan and the railway company China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan. In the joint venture, Beijing holds a 51% stake, while Bishkek and Tashkent each hold 24.5%.

The planned transport volume is set at 15 million tons. It is expected that the railway will reduce delivery times for goods from China to Europe by seven days.

Projects of the Chinese Silk Road

In 2013, China launched an ambitious infrastructure initiative called the Belt and Road (BRI), also known as One Belt, One Road.

It envisions the functioning of the economic Silk Road belt: a land route that traverses Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, as well as the maritime Silk Road of the 21st century: a sea route connecting China with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Europe.

In June this year, Polish President Andrzej Duda visited Beijing, where he discussed with President Xi Jinping the development of the infrastructure network connecting China, Central Asian countries, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

The American THAAD missile defense system intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward Israel from Yemen. This marks the first use of such a system by the Israeli military, according to Reuters and The Times of Israel.

The system was used in an attempt to intercept a missile from Yemen in the past 24 hours, and an analysis will determine its success. This marks the first use of the THAAD system, which was deployed in Israel in October of this year.

Footage shared on social media shows the system launching an interceptor during the attack by Houthi forces.

“18 years I’ve been waiting for this,” says an American soldier in the video.

מערכת ה- THAAD האמריקנית לקחה חלק ביירוט הטיל הבליסטי ששוגר אמש מתימן. אפשר לשמוע את אחד החיילים האמריקניים מתרגש “18 שנים חיכיתי לזה” pic.twitter.com/s4VoMfMhaF

— איתי בלומנטל Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) December 27, 2024

The Israeli Defense Forces stated that the Houthi missile was intercepted by air defense systems, without specifying whether it was the Israeli or American system.

THAAD missile defense system

THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) is a mobile ground-based missile defense system designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles or enemy aircraft at high altitudes outside the atmosphere. It is produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space.

The system does not have a dedicated warhead; instead, it uses a kinetic interception concept, where the target is destroyed by the kinetic energy of the interceptor. This makes the THAAD system far more effective against high-speed aerial targets than the Patriot missile systems (PAC-1 and PAC-2).

The THAAD interceptor has a launch mass of 900 kg and a length of 6.17 meters. It can intercept fast-moving targets above the stratosphere at altitudes of 150-200 kilometers, with a range of up to 200 kilometers.

The interceptor’s speed is between 2700-2800 meters per second, with a maximum speed of no less than 8 Mach. The speed of the target is estimated to be between 3.5 and 4.8 km/s.

Use of THAAD

The US military deployed the first THAAD battery in Israel following a massive missile attack from Iran on October 1.

Subsequently, the Israeli government requested a second THAAD battery due to growing threats from Iran.

Additionally, after a ballistic missile strike on Dnipro by Russian forces on November 21, the Ukrainian government also requested the THAAD system from the US for enhanced missile defense.