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2022-12-09 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: December 8th, 2022

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 23:08 Russian troops in the Donetsk region are deliberately shelling the Points of Invincibility, said the speaker of the Donetsk OVA Tatyana Ignatchenko. According to her, the Russians have already been attacking them in Kramatorsk and near Toretsk over the past few days. But all security measures are observed, so there were no casualties as a result of the shelling.

22:26 The European Parliament is going to vote for recognizing the Holodomor as genocide next week. "The Holodomor was imposed by the Soviet Union. This is a genocide, which resulted in the death of millions of Ukrainians between 1932 and 1933," the agenda of the plenary session of the European Parliament says. Discussion and subsequent voting is scheduled for December 15th. On this day, MPs also plan to discuss Russian attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure.

22:14 Zelensky, in an evening video message, focused on one of the forms of Russian terror, which will have to be counteracted for years: "Terrorists are deliberately trying to leave behind as many deadly traps as possible. Buried landmines, stretch marks, mined buildings, cars and infrastructure ... I am sure that this will be among the charges against Russia for aggression - mine terror, which is even more cruel and vile than missile terror, because there is no such anti-mine system that could destroy at least part of the threat, as our air defense does" .

The President said that he had signed decrees on awarding state awards posthumously to police officers who died on December 7 in the Kherson region due to Russian mines. He added that now we are talking about more than 170 thousand square kilometers of dangerous territory.

21:43 The Russians launched a missile attack on the Kharkiv region, hit private homes, wounded four people. Some of the Russian missiles were shot down by air defense forces, said the head of the OVA, Oleg Sinegubov.

21:17 Shmyhal specified that the new assistance package from Slovakia will include, in particular, a demining system, as well as about 300 generators.

21:11 Slovakia plans to resume the production of 120 and 155 mm shells for Ukraine, Foreign Minister Rastislav Kacher said: "We have capacities for these calibers - partly state-owned, partly private. We need to launch these capacities. And this is the very first priority."

21:05 From December 8, the independent Russian television company Rain is forced to stop broadcasting in the Baltic countries. Revoked the license from the channel Latvia. Now Dozhd has been stripped of the right to distribute his content in the European Union, the United States and other countries. The reason is "a threat to national security and public order." About what was the impetus for such a decision - in the material Has it stopped raining?

20:27 The EU in a new package of sanctions will ban the export of laptops, hard drives, cameras and lenses to Russia, Politico writes. It also became known which Russian channels will be subject to sanctions: broadcasting licenses will be suspended for NTV / NTV Mir, Russia 1, REN TV and Channel One.

19:50 The EU Council approved a decision on the non-recognition of Russian passports issued in the occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

19:48 Zelensky met with Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Rastislav Kacher, Slovak Defense Minister Yaroslav Nagy and Slovak Economy Minister Karel Girman, who arrived on a visit to Ukraine, the presidential press service reported.

19:41 The Pentagon signed two contracts for the supply of artillery shells spent in Ukraine, Reuters reports. In particular, the US Army placed two government orders to expand the production of 155 mm artillery ammunition. New production lines will open in Texas and Ohio.

19:30 The head of the Russian delegation in Vienna on military security issues, Konstantin Gavrilov, said that NATO members "had a hand in Kiev's provocations against Russian airfields," the facts allegedly indicate this. According to him, the drone used for the "attempt to strike" at airfields was allegedly modernized with the participation of a US corporation, and GPS was used for guidance.

18:53 The Russian Federation could modify Iranian drones for use in frosty weather, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said. After that, experts believe the Russians will expand their use in Ukraine in the coming weeks to support their campaign against critical infrastructure.

18:25 In Urzuf of the Mangush community of the Mariupol region, a series of explosions occurred, after which a strong detonation was heard, said the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petr Andryushchenko.

18:16 As a result of today's shelling of Toretsk, Donetsk region, one person was killed, two were injured. The shells hit the private sector - destroyed and damaged at least 12 houses, said the head of the OVA Pavel Kirilenko.

18:07 In Russia, against the backdrop of losses in the war with Ukraine, they are already preparing for the upcoming defeat of their troops, said Andrey Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. He also said that the mobilization in the Russian Federation does not stop, and there are signs that new, more powerful waves are being prepared, as well as forms, methods and accounting systems: "We are talking about 17-year-olds in the occupied Ukrainian territories, who are not given the possibility of avoiding mobilization by going abroad. This war will affect everyone in Russia, they must understand that it will not be possible to avoid it without overthrowing the regime and leaving the occupied territories."

17:33 Georgia has raised money for 200 generators for Ukraine. The action began on November 27 with the idea to collect 100 generators. But already in the first eight days, the planned number of generators was doubled, the organizers of the action called Share the Light said. The fundraising campaign will last until December 12, and by December 24, the generators will arrive in Ukraine.

17:28 The SBU exposed an exposed machine-building plant in the Vinnytsia region, which continued cooperation with Russia: during this year, it exported to the Russian Federation components used to repair military equipment, totaling more than 51 million hryvnias.

17:23 Medvedev said that thanks to Zelensky's refusal to negotiate, "Russia will complete all the work to the end without any questions, without exchanging for unnecessary compromises."

16:42 At the airbase in occupied Berdyansk, three powerful explosions thundered, followed by 15 more smaller ones, after which a large-scale fire broke out, said the head of the city military administration, Victoria Galitsina.

16:39 Slovakia has approved a new package of military assistance to Ukraine, which includes ammunition, including large-caliber ammunition, warm clothes for the military and other equipment, Foreign Minister Rastislav Kacher said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba in Kiev.

16:35 The city council has renamed 32 more streets, lanes and boulevards, whose names are associated with Russia and the Soviet past. In particular, Druzhby Narodov Boulevard was renamed into a boulevard named after the founder of the Ukrainian army Mykola Mikhnovsky.

16:32 Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova said that she is negotiating with her Ukrainian colleague Dmitry Lubinets on the exchange of civilians, against whom criminal cases have been initiated: "This is not an exchange, but a mutual return ... Today, there is an understanding on both sides that both there and there are people brought to criminal responsibility, for example, in Ukraine for pro-Russian sentiments. We have a long list of such people - writers, TV presenters, journalists."

15:48 In the de-occupied village of Novopetrovka, Bashtansky district, Mykolaiv region, bodies of three civilians killed by Russians with signs of torture were found, the Office of the Prosecutor General reports. Two men have gunshot wounds.

15:17 The British army compensates for the lack of Nlaw anti-tank systems, writes The Times. The government has announced a £229m deal with Saab. London has transferred about 7,000 missiles to Kyiv, about half of Britain's stock, and the new contract should replace all that was transferred. Deliveries of the Nlaw will begin in 2024, with the latest due in 2026.

15:09 SBU completed searches at the facilities of the UOC-MP

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate

in Kherson, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr and Volyn regions. Among other things, Russian passports, "passes of federal advisers of the Russian Federation" and the flag of "Novorossiya" were found. Employees of the SBU found that during the capture of Kherson, the local archimandrite - rector of the Assumption Cathedral was present in the Kremlin hall when the annexation of four Ukrainian regions was announced. A few days before the liberation of the city, the priest fled to the temporarily occupied territories of southern Ukraine.

Also on the territory of the cathedral was found a collection of icons stolen by the Russians from the building of the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania during the occupation of Kherson. In addition, former criminals were found on the territory of the monastery of the Ovruch-Korosten diocese and Skeet in the Zhytomyr region, maintaining contact with subscribers of the Russian Federation. In another monastery in the Zhytomyr region, a person was found who, since 2020, has been on the national wanted list as missing.

14:58 Putin said that the West does not notice "Ukraine's actions against Russia", but at the same time, Moscow's "retaliatory steps" cause a wave of informational noise: "Now there is a lot of noise about our attacks on the energy infrastructure of a neighboring country. Yes, we are doing it. But who started? Who hit the Crimean bridge, who blew up the power line from the Kursk nuclear power plant, who did not bring water to Donetsk? As soon as we move to do something in response - noise, din, crackling all over the universe. This will not prevent us from fulfilling combat missions.”

14:25 Podolyak predicted Putin's behavior this winter: "Putin's classic triad, or the Kremlin's stakes for this winter: 1. Genocidal attacks on the energy sector to leave millions without electricity and provoke a flow of refugees. 2. Information campaign about the need for a ceasefire in order to stop suffering. 3. Nuclear intimidation if you lose."

14:06 Head of the Bundestag Defense Committee Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann confirmed media reports that the United States will support the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks by Germany to Ukraine: "This was also confirmed during my visit to Washington during all the discussions in the State Department, Congress, Senate. Our partners expect Germany to fulfill its obligations. We must not abandon Ukraine. You need tanks."

13:29 The occupiers are preparing another provocation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and have already brought several Grad multiple launch rocket systems to the plant, Energoatom said. The MLRS was placed near power unit No. 6, next to the territory of the station's dry storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, where some "protective structures" were previously built in secret mode.

The most likely upcoming provocation is the shelling of the opposite bank of the Dnieper, in particular the cities of Nikopol and Marganets, directly from the ZNPP site, using the "cover" of power units and storage of spent nuclear fuel.

13:26 The SBU is conducting counterintelligence activities at three facilities of the UOC (MP) in the Korostensky district of the Zhytomyr region.

13:20 Reznikov said that he had signed an order to adopt the automated system of the Operational Control Center Dzvin-AS. According to him, this system successfully passed departmental tests in the spring of 2022, and subsequently - state ones. At present, all formal procedures have been completed, the ACS of the strategic level has officially joined the ranks and will work in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

13:16 Over the past month, seven samples of Ukrainian-made UAVs have been approved for operation in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Previously, the army took into operation 1-2 UAVs per year, Reznikov said. Currently, 19 more applications for admission to operation of Ukrainian-made UAVs are under consideration, a decision on them is planned to be made before the end of the year. Official approval for operation means that the Ministry of Defense can purchase products, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine can put them on the staff. Previously, this procedure took 1.5-2 years, today it is very fast, the minister noted.

13:10 SBU detained a married couple in Odesa - GRU agents who were preparing a missile attack on air defense forces and artillery depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Both detainees - husband and wife - are citizens of the Russian Federation. They were sent to Ukraine in advance in 2018 and received a residence permit. Thus, the Russian military intelligence planned to create its own intelligence apparatus in the south of Ukraine.

12:38 The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, said that the strategic initiative at the front is moving to the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “There is still a lot of fighting ahead. But at this moment the situation on the ground is such that the lines are stabilizing, and with the onset of winter everything will slow down a bit. Then there will be a potential offensive opportunity. Let's see what happens in this regard."

12:33 Hungary at a meeting of EU ambassadors opposed a new package of anti-Russian sanctions, writes the Financial Times, citing sources.

12:20 British intelligence reports that the Russian Federation has completed the arrangement of an almost continuous system of trenches with a length of 60 km between Svatovo, Luhansk region, and the Russian border. Units of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the Russian Federation are deployed along the defense line in the Svatovo area. This army suffered heavy losses at the beginning of the war, including during the retreat from the Kharkiv region in September 2022. At present, it is probably partly reinforced by mobilized reservists, although its strength remains well below the declared one.

12:12 President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljarich-Egger announced that she had arrived in Ukraine on a visit: "I arrived in Ukraine on a four-day visit: here, civilians pay a huge price in deadly hostilities." She noted that today she would meet people in Nikolaev and the Kherson region, "who are experiencing a terrible winter." She will also get acquainted with the teams of the ICRC in Ukraine and the Red Cross Society of Ukraine.

11:59 Peskov said that there is no talk of joining new Ukrainian territories, but there is a lot of work to be done to "liberate territories", since "in a number of new regions of Russia there are occupied territories" that have to be "liberated".

"One of the main goals of the special military operation, as announced by the president on February 24, was to protect the people who live in the southeast of Ukraine, who live in the Donbas. As part of the protection of these people, these territories were formed, which were annexed as a result referendums held there," Peskov said.

Speaking about the timing of the end of the conflict in Ukraine, Peskov noted: "Zelensky knows when it can end, it can be tomorrow."

11:23 Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the United States, based on documents for the supply of weapons, "plans to stir up hostilities" in Ukraine at least until the end of 2025.

11:19 The governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov announced the shelling of the village of Yakovlevo. According to him, the fragments of the projectile damaged the power line.

11:17 As of 11:00, a significant shortage of electricity remains in the Ukrainian energy system. Already in the morning, consumption limits were exceeded in several regions and emergency shutdowns were applied, Ukrenergo reported. The situation is complicated by weather conditions: in many regions in the west of the country, frost, rain with snow and strong gusts of wind lead to icing of the wires and their damage.

The most difficult situation remains in the eastern region - in the evening the enemy again subjected several areas to massive artillery fire. After receiving permission from the military, repair work will begin. Emergency recovery work continues around the clock in the Kyiv and Odessa regions. In Odessa, the process of connecting household consumers according to backup schemes is underway.

11:13 The head of the Nikolaev OVA, Vitaly Kim, said that the authorities, together with the military, are preparing "a separate package of countermeasures, based on what the Russians have done." He recalled that there had been no shelling of Nikolaev for almost a month, and that night the invaders specially went to the front line, to the firing range, in order to shell Nikolaev without any military task.

10:40 Putin became the loser of the year according to Politico: "Vladimir Putin's dream of a great Russia is unlikely to come true. His full-scale offensive into Ukraine began to fall apart almost as quickly as it began ... The troops that briefly threatened Kiev are barely holding on in the east of the country "His decision to call on hundreds of thousands of new soldiers forced men of military age to leave the country."

10:37 The International Committee of the Red Cross reported that last week its representatives conducted a two-day visit to Ukrainian prisoners of war, and another visit is taking place this week. At the same time, visits to Russian prisoners of war took place, the next one is scheduled for the end of the month, the ICRC said, without specifying any details.

09:45 The House Foreign Relations Committee voted 26 to 22 to reject a bill filed by Republican Marjorie Taylor Green on a large-scale test of US aid to Ukraine, writes The Washington Post. "Now is not the time for us to be divided. We stuck together with NATO and the EU. Let's not fall into this trap," said Gregory Meeks, member of the House of Representatives from New York.

09:41 The head of the Lugansk OVA, Sergei Gaidai, said that the Russians would soon have to say goodbye to Svatovo and Kremennaya. According to him, they understand this, so they are preparing for the next defense in Starobelsk.

09:39 In Sevastopol in the morning, the duty ship of the Black Sea Fleet shot down a UAV over the sea, said "governor" Mikhail Razvozhaev.

09:37 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, nine civilians were killed - six in Kurakhovo, one each in Krasnohorivka, Ivanovka and Bakhmut. Another 15 people were injured in the region, Pavel Kirilenko, head of the OVA, said.

09:34 At night Russians hit on transport base in Nikolaev therefore buses caught fire. There is no information about the victims, the OP reported.

09:28 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy on the morning of December 8.

personnel - about 93,080 (+340) people liquidated,

tanks - 2937 (+2),

armored combat vehicles - 5911 (+2),

artillery systems - 1925 (+2),

MLRS - 395 (+0),

air defense systems - 211 (+0),

aircraft - 281 (+0),

helicopters - 264 (+0),

UAV operational-tactical level - 1603 (+2),

cruise missiles - 592 (+0),

ships/boats - 16 (+0),

automotive equipment and tankers - 4528 (+2),

special equipment - 164 (+1).

09:17 The Biden administration is considering the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine, writes CNN. The White House has been considering Ukraine's request for their supply for several months and has not yet rejected it. The United States considers this option as an emergency. The Ukrainian side asks for cluster shells for HIMARS and 155mm howitzers. The United States has a large stockpile of such munitions, since they have been decommissioned in the country since 2016.

Cluster munitions are prohibited by the 2008 convention. It was signed by about 100 countries, but Ukraine, the United States and Russia did not join it. Russia actively uses such ammunition in Ukraine.

09:12 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes that Putin is creating the conditions for a protracted war in Ukraine. Analysts refer to his speech yesterday, where Putin said that a “special operation” in Ukraine could be a “long process”, that the seizure of new territories is an important result for Russia, and that Russia now controls the Sea of Azov, which Peter I fought for.

ISW experts noted that the reference to Russian imperial history delineates Putin's current goals in Ukraine as overtly imperialist and still maximalist. Putin is setting up Russian domestic audiences for a protracted, grueling war in Ukraine aimed at conquering new Ukrainian territories, analysts say. At the same time, the Russian information space reacted positively to Putin's imperialist statements.

Also, ISW analysts believe that an operational pause on the battlefield will benefit Russia. An operational pause in the winter would bring Ukraine's counter-offensives to a premature end, increase the likelihood that Ukraine would lose the initiative, and give degraded Russian troops a valuable 3-4 month respite to rebuild and prepare.

However, Putin still does not want to stop hostilities, and the Russian military continues offensive operations around Bakhmut. Therefore, Putin's fixation on continuing offensive operations around Bakhmut and elsewhere helps Ukraine maintain military initiative in other areas of hostilities. Ukraine's continued operational success will depend on the Ukrainian Armed Forces' ability to continuously continue sequential operations throughout the winter, analysts say.

08:56 The US Senate Committee approved a resolution that recognizes the actions of the Russian Federation against the Ukrainian people as genocide. The document condemns the active genocide against the Ukrainian people, calls on the US government to work with allies to prevent future acts of genocide. The document is now submitted to a popular vote in the Senate.

08:53 Scholz believes that the risk of Putin using nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine has decreased in response to international pressure.

08:30 Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces repelled the attacks of Russian invaders in the areas of the settlements of Ternovaya, Kharkiv region; Stelmakhovka, Ploschanka, Krasnopopovka and Belogorovka in the Lugansk region and Belogorovka, Berestovo, Yakovlevka, Bakhmutskoe, Bakhmut, Experienced, Kurdyumovka, Mayorsk, Maryinka and Novomikhailovka in the Donetsk region, the General Staff said in the morning report .

In the occupied Yasinovataya Donetsk region, during the transport of one of the units of the Russian troops, about 20 people with weapons from among the earlier prisoners fled to combat positions. The three that were found were destroyed, the rest are being sought. In the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporozhye region, the Russians plan to mobilize local residents. In particular, in Melitopol, summons are issued to men of military age with a demand to arrive at the military commissariat in the near future.

06:33 The UN published a report on the massacres of civilians in Ukraine by Russian invaders. The Monitoring Mission report details how Russian troops killed civilians in Ukrainian towns and villages in the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions of Ukraine between February 24 and April 6, 2022.

06:11 Zelensky is convinced that in 2023 the war in Ukraine will end and peacetime will come, writes Politico. During a conversation with the president, journalists pointed out that he was recognized by the publication as the most influential politician in Europe. "Ukrainians will also be the most influential next year, but already in peacetime," Zelensky said.

05:48 Washington was not aware of who attacked Russian territory, since the Pentagon does not coordinate with Ukraine all attacks carried out by Ukrainian defenders, said Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.

“They make decisions on the ground about the targets, about when they will carry out the operation. We provide military assistance. So it is not necessary that we were informed or aware of any strikes on Russian territory. We have seen reports of this. But to me nothing to add," she said.

04:58 The Czech Republic will give Ukraine another tranche of assistance in the amount of 2 million euros - the money will go to the medical sector and housing for migrants, the country's Foreign Ministry said.

03:42 Zelensky became the most influential person in Europe in 2022 according to Politico.

01:14 Russia would not want a break in diplomatic relations with the United States - this would be a signal that there is no more political resource, only power remains, said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. The United States, according to him, "so far does not have such urges" either, they need dialogue and channels of communication.

00:03 In the event of a blackout, radio, telethon and mobile communications must last at least three days, the State Service for Communications reported.

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