Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:29 The Russians fired at a section of the road in the Pokrovsky district of the Donetsk region - a car in which there were volunteers of one of the charitable organizations came under fire. Two men suffered shell shock, prosecutors said. In addition, a photographer received a shrapnel wound near the village. Novoselovki of the First Ocheretinskaya settlement community. The purpose of her trip was to document the consequences of Russian aggression.
21:48 In connection with disagreements over the provision of assistance to Kiev, European countries began to consider the consequences of a possible defeat of Ukraine in the war with Russia. Read more in the article What if the Russian Federation wins?
21:36 The SBU and the Ministry of Defense exposed an attempt to steal 1.5 billion hryvnia from the purchase of artillery shells for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In Kyiv, they detained the head of one of the main departments of the Ministry of Defense, involved in the scheme.
20:24 Zelensky said in an evening video message that he held a meeting with the Minister of Defense and the team: “We are preparing solutions to the issues that are being raised in our units, in combat brigades. Issues of motivation, issues of certainty of service life, issues of replenishment. The defense forces are based on people "And people are spirit and weapons. We must provide both components."
19:32 The Cabinet of Ministers extended the exemption from VAT and duties on military goods until January 1, 2025. This applies to UAVs, optical sights, night vision devices, anti-drone guns, etc.
19:21 Germany transferred another batch of military aid to Ukraine, including three Gepard anti-aircraft guns and 30,240 ammunition for them, the German government reported. The package also included ten Vector UAVs; ammunition for Leopard 2A6; two WiSENT 1 MC mine clearance vehicles; 2500 155 mm shells; 25536 40 mm shells for automatic grenade launchers, etc.
18:55 The Russians dropped air bombs on residential areas in Toretsk, Donetsk region - four people were wounded. In addition, the enemy dropped an aerial bomb on the village. Ekaterinivka, Kramatorsk district - one person died. Two more people were wounded as a result of artillery strikes on the town of Kurakhovo and the village. Antonovka, Pokrovsky district, the prosecutor's office reported.
18:42 Zelensky said that he met in Kiev with the recently appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radoslaw Sikorski, they discussed further cooperation in the defense sector and the creation of joint production.
17:41 The death of Yevgeny Prigozhin remains one of the main mysteries of recent months. The Wall Street Journal, citing representatives of Western intelligence services and a former Russian intelligence officer, claims that the death of the founder of the Wagner PMC in a plane crash was a murder, which was ordered to be organized by the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev. Read more in the article How Prigozhin was killed .
17:19 The Russians attacked from a drone in Novoberyslav, Kherson region, one person was wounded, the OVA reported. Another person was injured in the morning as a result of artillery shelling of Kherson. Over the previous 24 hours in the region, one person was killed and two were injured as a result of Russian shelling.
16:58 As of today, 3,800 Ukrainian civilians are officially known to have been tortured by the Russians, said Prosecutor General Andrei Kostin. At the same time, he emphasized that the real numbers could be much higher. Currently, more than 1,100 criminal proceedings on facts of torture are being investigated, suspicion has been reported to more than 80 people, of whom 18 have already been convicted.
16:23 Biden signed a decree expanding the possibilities for imposing sanctions against Russia. The White House will be able to impose secondary sanctions against financial institutions for assisting Russia and prohibit the import of products originating from the Russian Federation, but processed outside its borders.
16:02 Switzerland joined the 12th package of EU sanctions against Russia, adopted on December 18. In particular, the Federal Department of Economics, Education and Research (EAER) added 61 more individuals and 86 legal entities to the sanctions lists.
15:39 Ukraine has returned the bodies of 66 dead soldiers, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported.
15:05 The Netherlands decided to begin preparing the first 18 F-16 fighters for transfer to Ukraine , Zelensky said following a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Mark Rutte. During the conversation, the parties also discussed developments at the front, the situation in the Black Sea and the current military needs of Ukraine, including artillery, drones and air defense systems. In addition, we agreed to continue working together on security guarantees in accordance with the G7 Vilnius Declaration.
14:54 A drone was flying towards Moscow, it was shot down in the urban district of Podolsk, said the mayor of the capital Sergei Sobyanin. According to him, there was no destruction or casualties. Moscow Domodedovo Airport introduced partial restrictions on aircraft departures, but has now returned to normal operation. At Kaluga airport, the Carpet plan has also been removed, all planes are returning to flights.
14:43 Ukrainian spies are strengthening reconnaissance operations and next year they plan to carry out sabotage attacks deep behind Russian lines. The main task for Kyiv is to bring the war as close as possible to the Kremlin, SBU head Vasily Malyuk told Politico. The most interesting of his interviews is in the material A Needle in the Heart .
14:20 Japan has lifted the ban on arms exports and is preparing to send missiles for Patriot air defense systems to the United States. This will help the Pentagon extend supplies to Ukraine by replacing stocks, writes Reuters. In addition, Tokyo is considering the possibility of exporting 155 mm artillery shells to the UK.
13:42 At Kaluga airport, due to a drone attack, the Carpet plan was introduced, departures and arrivals of aircraft were delayed, Russian media report. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced three downed drones in the region.
13:33 Today Biden intends to sign a decree aimed at strengthening sanctions against Russia in the financial sector, the White House reported. Washington also threatened to disconnect banking organizations around the world from its financial system if they violate anti-Russian sanctions.
13:12 Defense forces in the southern direction today destroyed three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers, said Air Force Commander Nikolai Oleshchuk.
13:09 The situation around Avdeevka in the Donetsk region is complex, Russian troops have changed tactics again, said the head of the Avdeevka GVA Vitaly Barabash. In particular, according to him, the enemy is now trying to pinpoint the Ukrainian defense: “They have taken priorities for themselves, so to speak, three directions, and they are mainly sending both equipment and a large number of infantry there. It’s really difficult, very hot. The enemy will try to realize the assigned tasks of taking the city."
12:48 They managed to return a 12-year-old child to Ukraine, said Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets. On the eve of the Russian invasion, the boy came to his father in the Lugansk region for three days, but due to the Russian invasion, he remained under occupation for about 18 months, after which another four months - on Russian territory. The mother could not pick up her son on her own due to the fact that she is a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, so she contacted the Ombudsman’s Office.
12:21 In occupied Tokmak, Zaporozhye region, buildings of the occupation police, administration and service vehicles were damaged as a result of shelling. An investigator from the Ministry of Emergency Situations and a civilian were killed, and an employee of the occupation administration was wounded, the Russian opposition publication Astra reports, citing sources. Russian “authorities” reported the massive shelling of Tokmak on December 21. According to them, two civilians were allegedly injured.
11:43 In the occupied territory of the Kakhovsky district of the Kherson region, the Russian military killed a minor boy, the Prosecutor General’s Office began an investigation. The head of the Kherson Regional Police Department, Alexander Prokudin, said that the tragedy occurred on December 20. A guy who was in the 8th grade was shot in front of his family because he allegedly took a photograph of something. “After the murder of her son, his mother tried to commit suicide. The director of the school where the guy studied will write a statement to the police,” Prokudin said.
11:36 The Joint Declaration of the leaders of the G7 and Ukraine on providing security guarantees to Ukraine, adopted in Vilnius on July 12, was joined by 31 states, the Presidential Office reported. In particular, bilateral consultations on agreements on providing security guarantees to Ukraine have begun with all G7 countries, the Netherlands and the European Union. France, Italy, Germany and Great Britain submitted draft agreements. Fifteen states expressed their readiness to begin consultations on concluding bilateral agreements on providing Ukraine with security guarantees.
The OP emphasized that Ukraine is ready to move from consultations to bilateral negotiations with countries to conclude agreements on security guarantees. An important part of bilateral agreements will be provisions on joint defense production.
11:27 The defense forces received all 10 thousand FPV drones as part of Operation Ednist, for which the Ukrainians collected 235 million hryvnia in three days in August, said the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Mikhail Fedorov. The drones were received by 53 military units - in particular, units of the Marine Corps, ground and air assault forces, Special Operations Forces and Terror Defense, the National Guard brigade Charter and Azov, units of the National Police, as well as soldiers of the Central Security Service "A" of the Security Service of Ukraine.
10:55 The US Congress may approve new aid to Ukraine any day after January 9, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said. According to him, the Senate comes out of recess on January 8, and the House of Representatives comes out on January 9, “and without exaggeration, a decision can be made on any next day.”
The Foreign Minister expressed confidence that both Democrats and Republicans want to provide assistance to Ukraine, and the dispute concerns only the border with Mexico. Negotiations will continue during the holidays, “and there is progress in these negotiations,” Kuleba added.
10:39 The new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski, arrived in Kiev. He said that this was his first visit abroad since his appointment.
10:23 Russians in Mariupol are preparing a provocation for the New Year holidays, said advisor to the mayor of the city Pyotr Andryushchenko, citing an analysis of information received from the occupation administration, correspondence and private conversations with the information resistance team. In particular, the Russians, under the leadership of the FSB, intend to organize a terrorist attack with a large number of civilian casualties.
This is being done to ensure an increase in the level of denunciations, speed up the identification of members of the Ukrainian resistance and pro-Ukrainian activists in the city, prevent adjustments to the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ strikes and reduce the growing support for Ukrainian forces in the occupied territories. Andryushchenko calls on Mariupol residents to refrain from attending mass events for the New Year or Russian Christmas.
10:14 Speaker of the Ministry of Defense Illarion Pavlyuk said that in Ukraine, in any case, the “necessary” number of people will be recruited into the army - voluntarily or forcibly: “We, of course, are interested in recruiting as many people as possible through recruiting mechanisms. But since there is a need to protect the state, "We will still get the number of people needed to protect Ukraine. Through recruitment mechanisms or mobilization mechanisms, we will still have to get it."
09:35 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns that stopping Western aid could lead to Ukraine losing its ability to deter the Russian army. According to analysts, the current trench war in Ukraine is not a stable stalemate, as the balance could easily tip either way due to decisions made in the West.
08:59 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of December 22:
- personnel - about 351,350 (+1080) people,
- tanks - 5837 (+9),
- armored combat vehicles - 10,843 (+18),
- artillery systems - 8250 (+24),
- MLRS - 932 (+0),
- air defense systems - 611 (+0),
- aircraft - 324 (+0),
- helicopters - 324 (+0),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 6365 (+23),
- cruise missiles - 1613 (+0),
- ships/boats - 22 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 10,944 (+25),
- special equipment - 1217 (+9).
08:45 Over the past 24 hours, 95 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In the Kupyansk direction, the Defense Forces repelled 19 enemy attacks in the Sinkovka areas of the Kharkov region and Stelmakhovka, Lugansk region. In the Avdeevsky direction, 22 enemy attacks were repelled east of Novokalinovo, Novobakhmutovka and Avdeevka, as well as 13 attacks in the Pervomaisky districts of the Donetsk region. Another 15 attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were repelled in the Maryinsky direction - in the Marinka and Novomikhailovka areas of the Donetsk region.
In addition, in the Liman direction, the Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks near Ternov, Donetsk region; on Bakhmutsky - near Bogdanovka, Kleshcheevka and Andreevka, Donetsk region; on Zaporozhye - west of Verbovoy and south of Rabotino, Zaporozhye region. In the Kherson direction, the Defense Forces continue to expand the bridgehead, meanwhile the enemy carried out 12 unsuccessful assault operations and retreated with losses.
08:23 During a night attack, as a result of a drone hit in the Nikolaev region, a fire broke out at one of the infrastructure facilities in the Voznesensky district, which has already been extinguished, no people were injured. In the Odessa region, the enemy tried to attack the port infrastructure; a grain storage facility was damaged by debris from a downed UAV. A fire broke out, which was quickly extinguished by the company's employees, and there were no casualties, the Southern Defense Forces reported.
08:14 Air defense at night destroyed 24 of 28 Shahed drones , which Russia attacked from the areas of Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk and the Crimean Cape Chauda, the Air Force command reported. UAVs were destroyed within the Kyiv, Odessa, Nikolaev, Kherson, Zhytomyr, Rivne and Khmelnytsky regions.
05:31 During the night attack with Shahed drones, the Russians again tried to hit the infrastructure of Kiev and residential buildings, said the head of the KGVA Sergei Popko. In the Solomensky district, in a multi-storey residential building, a fire broke out on the upper floors, in three apartments the walls were partially destroyed and in another three windows were broken. According to preliminary data, two people were injured.
In the Darnitsky district, as a result of falling debris, a fire broke out in a two-story private house, without injuries. In the Goloseevsky district, the fall of debris did not cause damage or injuries.
00:29 Russia attacked Kiev with drones, debris from an enemy UAV hit a high-rise building in the Solomensky district, and a fire occurred on the upper floors, KGVA reports. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said that in the Solomensky district one victim was hospitalized. It is also known that debris hit other areas of the capital - Goloseevsky and Darnitsky. The Presidential Office announced that a residential building in Kyiv had been hit.