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Russo-Ukrainian War. Day 313: Russia targets Ukraine’s residential areas, not civilian infrastructure on New Year’s Eve

Article by: Zarina Zabrisky

Russia targets Ukraine’s residential areas, not civilian infrastructure on New Year’s Eve. Ukraine downs all 45 drones from Russia’s New Year attack with NASAMS. Nearly 90% of Ukrainians optimistic about 2023, 97% believe Ukraine can beat Russia.

Daily overview — Summary report, January 2, 2023

The General Staff’s operational update regarding the Russian invasion as of 18.00 pm, January 2, 2023 is in the dropdown menu below:

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The three-hundred-thirteenth (313) day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to a russian military large-scale invasion continues.
Over the past day, the enemy carried out 51 airstrikes, including 44 Shahed-136 UAVs. All of them were shot down by units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Information about the night attack on the capital will be announced a little later. The enemy also fired 55 MLRS attacks, including at the children’s hospital in the city of Kherson.
The threat of enemy air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure remains throughout Ukraine.
The enemy continues to focus its efforts on conducting offensive actions in the Bakhmut direction. It is trying to improve the tactical position of the units of his troops in the Kupiansk, Lyman and Avdiivka directions.
In the Novopavlivsk and Zaporizhzhia directions, it leads the defense of previously occupied lines. On Kherson – carries out the regrouping of troops, conducts defense and shelling of the positions of our troops and civilian objects along the contact line.
Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces have repelled attacks by occupiers in the areas of the settlements of Stelmakhivka and Bilohorivka in Luhansk oblast and Rozdolivka, Bilohorivka, Soledar, Krasna Hora, Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Ozeryanivka, Opytne and Krasnohorivka in Donetsk oblast.
No signs of the formation of offensive groups of the enemy were detected in the Volyn, Polissya, Siversk and Slobozhanskyi directions.
On the Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi directions, the areas of Leonivka settlements of Chernihiv oblast were subjected to mortar and artillery shelling; Vilna Sloboda, Esman, Katerynivka and Shalyhine – Sumy oblast and Ohirtseve, Vovchansk and Novomlynsk in Kharkiv oblast.
In the Kupiansk direction, the enemy shelled the areas of more than 15 settlements. Among them are Andriivka, Kupiansk, Kucherivka, Lyman Pershiy, Vilshana, Orlyanske, Kislivka and Kotlyarivka in the Kharkiv oblast, and Novoselivka and Myasozharivka in the Luhansk oblast.
In the Lyman direction, enemy fire was recorded near Novoyehorivka, Ploshchanka, Nevske, Chervonopopivka of the Luhansk oblast, and Terny and Dibrova of the Donetsk oblast.
More than 15 settlements were shelled in the Bakhmut direction. In particular, these are Berestove, Bilohorivka, Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Kurdyumivka, Stupochky, Bila Hora, Kostyantynivka and Diliivka in Donetsk oblast. The enemy also carried out an airstrike near Bilohorivka.
Vodyane, Heorhiyivka, Mariinka and Novomykhailivka of the Donetsk oblast came under the influence of fire in the Avdiivka region.
Neskuchne, Vremivka, Velyka Novosilka and Vuhledar in the Donetsk oblast were damaged by fire in the Novopavlivka direction.
In the Zaporizhzhia direction, shelling from tanks, mortars and barrel artillery was recorded in the areas of Novosilka and Novopil settlements of Donetsk oblast and Olhivske, Zaliznychne, Orikhiv, Novoandriivka, Shcherbaki, Stepove and Musiivka in Zaporizhzhia.
In the Kherson direction, the civilian infrastructure of Tyahynka, Novotyahinka, Ponyativka, Dar’ivka, Sadove, Stanislav and Kherson suffered from enemy shelling.
On December 31, it was confirmed that the areas of concentration of manpower and equipment of the occupiers in the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia oblast were damaged by fire. In the areas of Tarasivka, Basan, Polohy, Berdiansk, Tokmak, the enemy lost more than 175 wounded servicemen, 12 units of weapons and military equipment of various types and the enemy’s ammunition depot were destroyed.
Information on liquidated occupiers is being clarified.
Aviation of the Defense Forces carried out 13 strikes on areas where the invaders were concentrated. Units of missile troops and artillery in turn hit 5 areas of concentration of enemy manpower and military equipment in a day.

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Military Updates

Shelling by Russian Troops. Icelandic Data Analyst.

Russia has a missile stockpile only for two more massive attacks; needs two months to produce missiles for one attack — Ukraine’s spy chief. The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov Russian Federation has missiles left for 2 massive strikes on Ukraine. Russia is reducing the number of missiles fired in one attack to keep simulating the intensity of these attacks. He said this during a TV interview.

Ukraine downs all 45 drones from Russia’s New Year attack with NASAMS. Ukrainians had a restless New Year: in the day of New Year’s Eve, Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukrainian civilian objects, killing one person and injuring over 20, and in the night, Russia continued the war on civilians with dozens of Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drones.

According to British Defence Intelligence, (last 48 hours): 

  • Over the last five days, Russian and Ukrainian forces have probably been fighting for control of the P66 highway, north of the Russian-held Luhansk Oblast town of Kremina.

 

  • The P66 is a key supply route for the northern section of Russia’s Donbas front from the Belgorod region of Russia. Its use has been disrupted by Ukrainian artillery since October, but if Ukraine were able to secure the route, if would highly likely further undermine Russia’s defence of Kremina.

Losses of the Russian army 

Losses of the Russian Army. Source General Staff of Ukraine. Sources: Ukrinform.

Humanitarian 

Ukraine returns 140 POWs from Russian captivity. On New Year’s Day, Ukraine repels Russian missile attacks and brings its soldiers home. On 31 December, the Head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak announced that 140 of the country’s warriors were freed from Russian captivity, including defenders of Mariupol and the Zmiinyi Island and members of the Territorial Defense Forces.

Russia targets Ukraine’s residential areas, not civilian infrastructure on New Year’s Eve – foreign minister. On New Year’s Eve, on 31 December, Russia launched another massive missile strike on Ukraine. “This time, Russia’s mass missile attack is deliberately targeting residential areas, not even our energy infrastructure. War criminal Putin “celebrates” New Year by killing people,” Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter. He also called on the UN Security Council to expel Russia from the organization.

Environmental

Ukraine’s police calls to inform on points of sale of fireworks: pyrotechnics is banned since August in Ukraine. The Kyiv City Council banned the sale and launching of fireworks during the war on 23 July. In August,the Ukrainian Parliament banned the use of fireworks and firecrackers all across the country, the authors of the bill explained the expediency of the ban with the negative consequences of war as explosions harm the psychological state of people.

As a result of the drone attack, the energy infrastructure was damaged, but the situation is under control – Ukrenergo. Consumption limits have been brought to the regions, it is likely that planned shutdown schedules will be applied in the regions. The most difficult situation is in Kyiv, emergency shutdowns have been introduced in the capital.

SBU announced suspicion to the head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation Elvira Nabiullina, for the introduction of the “ruble zone” in the temporarily occupied territories. According to the materials of the SBU, Nabiullina shines up to 15 years under Art. 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine). The issue of putting her on the international wanted list is being considered.

Russian FSB uses total isolation to torture and try to break an abducted Kherson woman. It is well over seven months since Russian soldiers abducted Iryna Horobtsova from her home in Kherson.  She is believed to have been taken to occupied Crimea, but her lawyer, Emil Kurbedinov, has not been allowed to see her once.  He is convinced that the Russian FSB are deliberately holding Horobtsova in total isolation, to try to break her and make her agree to whatever preposterous charges they propose.

One killed, 24 injured in Russia’s New Year’s Eve missile strike on Ukraine. On 31 December, Russia launched another massive missile strike at Ukraine, two days after the last one which targeted power infrastructure.

Support

“Beyond belief. Russia coldly and cowardly attacked Ukraine in the early hours of the new year. But Putin still does not seem to understand that Ukrainians are made of iron. America is absolutely confident Ukraine will prevail in 2023. Slava Ukraini!” wrote UK Ambassador Bridget Brink.

New Developments 

Nearly 90% of Ukrainians optimistic about 2023, 97% believe Ukraine can beat Russia. 97% of Ukrainians believe Ukraine can beat off the Russian attack, a poll by Sociological Group Rating has found. This number is steadily high since the start of the Russian invasion and reflects Putin’s inability to break Ukrainian morale.

Assessment 

  1. On the war. 

The Institute for the Study of War has made the following report as of  January 1, 2023. Note: ISW and CTP will not publish a campaign assessment (or maps) tomorrow, January 1, in observance of the New Year’s Holiday.

Russian forces are likely depleting their stocks of artillery ammunition and will struggle to support their current pace of operations in certain sectors of the frontline in Ukraine as a result.

Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Chief Kyrylo Budanov reported on December 31 that Russian forces in Ukraine are experiencing significant issues with artillery ammunition that will become more pronounced by March of 2023. Budanov stated that Russian forces had previously used 60,000 artillery shells per day (as of some unspecified date) and now only use 19,000 to 20,000 shells.

Budanov stated that Russian forces have also removed all remaining artillery ammunition from Belarusian military warehouses to support their operations in Ukraine.
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense reported on December 24 that Russian forces currently lack the necessary stockpile of artillery munitions to support large-scale offensive operations and that sustaining defensive operations along the lengthy frontline in Ukraine requires the Russian military to expend a significant number of shells and rockets daily.
The Institute of Study of War assesses the constraints on munitions will likely in part prevent Russian forces from maintaining a high pace of operations in the Bakhmut area in the near term. The depletion of the Russian military’s artillery ammunition stocks will likely impact their ability to conduct a high pace of operations elsewhere in Ukraine as well.

This Ukrainian report that the Russians have already depleted ammunition stockpiles in Belarus is a further indicator that a renewed large-scale Russian offensive from Belarus in the coming months is unlikely

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