Bob Homans December 26
20221227
Ukraine – 12/26 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
December 26, 2022
No Boxing Day for us.
Russian Commentators Compare Russians to Native Americans
Anyone who hasn’t tuned into Russian political talk shows are missing why the Russian public, who get most of their news from Russian TV news, are still overwhelmingly support the war in Ukraine. One good place is the YouTube Channel of Rossiya 1, the State TV channel. Another is the Twitter feed of Julia Davis News.
A friend of mine is married to a Russian. According to him, his used to regularly go to Russia to take care of her ailing mother, and according to my friend stay there for a couple of months at a time. He once told me that after 2 months of watching Rossiya 1 that he had to de-program his wife after her return home.
The latest allegation by commentators on Rossiya 1 is that Russians are now experiencing what Native Americans experienced 150 years ago. According to them, today Russians are being hunted down and persecuted by latter-day American Generals like Phil Sheridan, George Crook, or as the Apaches referred to him as “Grey Wolf,” and George Armstrong Custer.
Given how ethnic minorities inside the Russian Federation have been treated by the Romanovs, the Soviets and, most lately, the Russian Federation, Alaska natives should be thankful that the United States paid $7.2 million to purchase Alaska from the Russian Empire. Anyone interested in finding out more about how ethnic minorities were (are) treated in the Russian Federation should read Anna Reid’s fine book, “The Shaman’s Coat.”
It is also worth mentioning that Russia relies heavily on ethnic minorities to fight its war in Ukraine, supposedly a war one objective of which is to save the Slavic Race.
Where’s the Frost?
Those who are long-time fans of the San Francisco 49ers professional football team (like me) will no doubt remember their long-time commentator, Lon Simmons. Before every commercial break, Lon Simmons would say, “A look at the scoreboard shows,” and then he’d give the time left and the score of the game. To paraphrase Lon Simmons, a look at the weather in Kharkiv shows 35 degrees (+2 Celsius), rising to 44 degrees later this week. A look at the weather in Kherson, in Southern Ukraine shows 49 degrees (+9 Celsius) tomorrow, rising to over 50 degrees (+10 Celsius) later this week. There may have been periods of hard ground in Luhansk Oblast, but it is unlikely to last. The pundits carrying on about the need for Ukraine to have hard ground in order to operate might want to consider revising their copy.
If the news including in the 2 latest editions of “Reporting From Ukraine” is any indication, Ukraine isn’t waiting for continued hard ground, in either Luhansk or even round Bakhmut. Based on my experience, I doubt that the ground in Southern Ukraine will ever freeze. I predict that the Ukrainian Army will perform in the mud this Winter in the same way the 49ers performed in the mud on December 10, 1970, with Lon Simmons at the microphone. As was the case with Russia on February 24, 2022, the Oakland Raiders were big favorites in this game.
News From the Battlefield
Taken together, the last 2 editions of “Reporting From Ukraine” seems to indicate that something positive for Ukraine is going on, in Luhansk Oblast (Dec. 24th), where Ukrainians are getting close to taking Kremina, a town that sits astride a major Russian supply route going south to Bakhmut, and around Bakhmut itself (Dec. 25th). In Bakhmut, the Dec. 25th Report states that the Russians are running low on ammunition, partly due to Ukrainian strikes on Russian supply depots. Cutting off the supply route through Kremina could further complicate the Russian supply situation for its forces around Bakhmut.
The Dec. 24th report states that the Ukrainians had been waiting for the ground to harden, to attack Kremina. If so, we’ll see what impact warmer weather over the next several days might have on Ukrainian plans.
Even with Ukrainian activity in northeast Ukraine, in Luhansk along the Svatove – Kremina Road, and in Bakhumt, the Russians are still expecting an attack in southern Ukraine, toward Melitopol. According to reports, Russians are busy building defense lines around Melitopol, Berdyansk, and even in Crimea near where it joins Ukraine. Ukrainians are also reportedly hitting troop concentrations in and around Melitopol, causing a significant number of casualties. If nothing else, Ukrainian activity in the south may tie down Russian troops and prevent them from coming to the aid of Russians in the northeast.
12/26 Strep
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon December 25 to 12:00 noon December 25, 2022
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration SBU = Security Service of Ukraine
INTERNATIONAL
December 26
11:52 Daily Mail: 47 Chinese planes crossed Taiwan's air defense zone as part of the exercise.
· Taipei's Defense Ministry said Beijing used 71 warplanes during military exercises around the island, including dozens of fighter jets.
11:15 Yonhap: South Korea fired warning shots at a North Korean UAV invaded the country's airspace.
08:36 EU diplomacy chief: The Taliban's ban on women's work in NGOs could affect international aid to Kabul.
· "Banning the Taliban from working for women in any local and foreign non-governmental organization is tantamount to ousting women from public life," Borrell added.
· Josep Borrell called on the Taliban to immediately reverse their decision as part of their commitment to uphold international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles.
00:52: Scientists have discovered two new minerals in a 16.5-ton meteorite found in Somalia in 2020.
· Chris Gerd, curator of the meteorites collection, noticed that some parts of the space stone cannot be identified under a microscope.
· One of the new breeds was called elaliitis. This name comes from the name of the meteorite "El-Ali", which was found near the city of the same name in central Somalia.
· The second was named elkinstonton after Arizona State University Vice President Lindy Elkins-Tonton.
00:06: Volunteers from Belarus fighting in Ukraine announced the creation of the Belarusian Volunteer Corps, which aims to completely liberate Ukraine and Belarus from occupation.
December 25
23:49: The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy building has also become part of the Gerry Hofstetter light show.
23:04: Archbishop of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, congratulated Ukrainians on Christmas and declared that Russia's aggression could not be justified.
· He stressed the courage of the Ukrainian people
· According to him, the Holy Great Church of Christ, which brought the Christian faith and Byzantine civilization to Kievan Rus at the end of the tenth century, continues to admire the courage, courage and valor of the Ukrainian people, which demonstrates to the whole world true devotion and boundless love for their country
22:11: A children's choir from St. Mary's Ukrainian School performed at the royal carol evening Royal Carols: Together at Christmas, which was organized by Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, on Christmas Eve.
· The Princess invited Ukrainian children to sing for the British and their parents, who are now fighting in Ukraine on the front lines.
21:31 United Kingdom Defence Minister: The United Kingdom is initiating a doubling of the number of Ukrainian troops to be trained under the guidance of Western instructors.
· "With nearly 10,000 Ukrainian troops trained in the UK in 2022, I want our Armed Forces, along with our allies, to at least double the number trained in 2023," Ben Wallace said.
20:30 AP: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says China intends to deepen cooperation with Russia next year, and at the same time assured of the country's "impartial" stance on the war in Ukraine
· "As for the crisis in Ukraine, we consistently adhere to the fundamental principles of objectivity and impartiality, not preferring one side or another, not adding oil to the fire, and even more so not looking for selfish benefits from the situation."
19:37 El País: The King of Spain supported the Ukraine in a Christmas address.
· "In February, Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, we have witnessed ten months of war that has already led to a level of destruction that is hard to imagine in our daily reality.
· We are worried about the suffering of the Ukrainian people and continue to feel with deep sadness the loss of thousands of human lives," he said.
18:09: Kazakhstan has transferred 41 powerful generators for Ukrainian hospitals, the press service of the Ministry of Health said.
· Generators will be sent to Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions, which are under constant enemy shelling.
17:37 Aamaj News: An explosion rang out in the Afghan capital, Kabul, near the Russian embassy.
16:58 Financial Times: Announces plans by Taiwanese chip maker TSMC to build the first plant in Europe.
· According to the publication, in early 2023, TSMC will send senior executives to Germany, namely the city of Dresden, to negotiate with the authorities and suppliers on the possibility of opening a plant.
16:08: Elbit Systems has signed a $36 million contract to supply four full-featured F-16 simulators for Poland, the general manager of Elbit Systems Aerospace said.
· The contract will be executed within 28 months and should be completed in 2025.
14:58 Prime Minister of Finland: The fate of Ukrainians especially burdens our hearts. No one has ever wished such a Christmas, in a Christmas greeting.
· "This Christmas, our thoughts are with Ukraine. Many Ukrainians will have to spend this Christmas and winter without electricity, water and heat as Russia continues to bombard their country's cities and infrastructure. Many of us want to help Ukrainians and show our support during the holidays."
2:10: The Chinese Navy conducted patrols and firing exercises off the island of Taiwan, the Eastern Zone of the People's Combatant Command.
14:01 Minister of Defense of the United Kingdom: Britain has transferred 900 generators to Ukraine, designed for use in extreme cold.
· In January, it is planned that another 10 thousand sets for cold weather will be delivered to Ukraine.
13:34: Ukrainian Valery Lobanovsky entered the list of the best football coaches in history according to the publication 90min.
· An outstanding mentor of the national team of Ukraine and Dynamo Kyiv took 24th place in the ranking.
· The list was topped by legendary Scotsman Sir Alex Ferguson, who for 26 years headed England's Manchester United.
12:51: Ankara discusses with Moscow the possibility of using airspace over northern Syria for a possible operation against the Syrian Kurdish Self-Defense Forces (YPG), Turkish media, citing Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
12:30: Moldova responds to Russia's threats regarding their cooperation with NATO.
· "Moldova is a peaceful and neutral state. But neutrality does not mean self-isolation, demilitarization, or indifference to what is happening in the world.
· We are a free state, and we will decide for ourselves how to develop further," said Daniel Vode, a spokesman for the Moldovan Foreign Ministry.
NATIONAL
December 26
11:35: As of December 26, the power grid capacity deficit remains significant.
· Consumption limits have been brought to all areas.
· Currently, due to exceeding consumption limits, emergency outages have been introduced in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Lviv, Kyiv regions and in Kyiv.
09:54 Center for National Resistance: Russians in the occupied territories kidnap people suspected of "disloyalty".
· Relatives of detainees are not informed of the reason, and usually the whereabouts of their loved ones. They are not allowed to see each other, and at best only allow transmission, without a guarantee that the products reach the addressee.
09:30: Today, Ukraine will officially raise the issue of excluding Russia from the UN Security Council, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
· "Our question is very simple: does Russia have the right to remain a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to be at the UN at all? We have a convincing and reasoned answer - no, it doesn't," Kuleba said.
09:20 Head of the Defence Intelligence: Crimea will be returned in a combined way: both by force and diplomacy.
· "But without force, there will be nothing. Our units will go there with weapons in their hands," Budanov said.
· He also added that Ukraine will return all the lost territories, that is, it will reach the border of 1991.
· Since the beginning of autumn, the Russian army began to face technical hunger. The occupiers lack various ammunition, including tank ammunition, - the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kirill Budanov.
· "Now Russians around the world are also looking for where to buy 122 and 152 mm shells, tank high-explosive fragmentation shots and rockets to the Grad and Hurricanes.
· Russia has two or three massive shellings left.
· "The remaining number of missiles - if we take purely mathematically their calculations - will be enough with their intensity in the volley with an average of 70-75 missiles two to three times. And in principle, they will end altogether. If you look at the intensity of Russia's missile attacks, they carried out these terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure first once a week. Then – once every 10 days. Then – once every two weeks. Now it's even longer."
07:31 Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 06:00 on December 26:
· "Over the past day, the enemy has inflicted 1 air and 5 missile strikes, carried out more than 40 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems.
· In the city of Starobilsk, Luhansk region, about 50 severely wounded enemy servicemen have recently been delivered to a military hospital equipped with the occupiers."
· "In the city of Horlivka, Donetsk region, due to a lack of donated blood, all employees of medical institutions were obliged to donate blood in accordance with the schedule."
· "During the past day, the Aviation of the Defense Forces inflicted 5 strikes on the areas of concentration of personnel and weapons and military equipment of the occupiers.
· And our rocket launchers and artillerymen hit 9 control points, 2 areas of concentration of manpower and 2 other important enemy objects."
December 25
23:31: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to deliver an appeal to the Verkhovna Rada by the end of 2022, which he makes annually. But the date is not named for security reasons.
22:44: Olena Zelenska held festive readings with patients of Okhmatdyt and became a potential bone marrow donor
22:28: The Command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine congratulated Ukrainians on the New Year holidays.
· "Ukrainian pilots are preparing New Year's gifts for the Russian occupiers."
21:11 Spokesperson for the Head of the National Police: On New Year's Eve, curfews in Ukraine are not lifted. Violators who go outside risk being at the police station.
· "People need to understand that no matter what day we have - festive or non-holiday - there are certain curfew requirements. Police officers will check individuals, check their documents, take them to police units to identify or verify that identity," Reva said.
20:46 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine: All the necessary weapons will be delivered; it is only a matter of time.
· "If we summarize all the behind-the-scenes conversations, not only in Washington, but also in other countries, the conclusion is this: all the necessary weapons will be delivered; it is only a matter of time. Why can't it be provided right away? Because there are psychological, logistical, and political reasons. But we have to work with all these reasons, and we will work," Dmytro Kuleba said.
19:31: The Church of St. Nicholas in Kyiv and the monument "Motherland" today were illuminated with projections with the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
· The author of the projection is the world-famous artist from Switzerland Harry Hofstetter.
18:18 Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 18:00 on December 25:
· "During the day, the occupiers launched a missile strike on the Kupyansk area of the Kharkiv region. They also carried out more than 10 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems.
· The threat of enemy air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure remains throughout Ukraine."
· "The Russian occupiers, in order to intimidate, continue chaotic shelling of civilians in liberated cities and villages along the right bank of the Dnieper River.
· The city of Beryslav, Kherson region, is subjected to systematic mortar shelling."
· "Also, in the Kherson direction, the civilian infrastructure of the settlements of Kherson, Republican, Tyahynka, Zelenivka, Engineering, Antonovka, Sadove and Veletenske suffered from shelling. There are civilian casualties."
· "In the Donetsk region, 4 self-propelled artillery installations 2S7 "Peony" were destroyed.
· And in the area of Zabaryne, Kherson region, the headquarters of the occupiers was affected, where a meeting of officers of the southern military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was held.
· As a result, up to 70 servicemen were injured. The death toll is being clarified."
· "During the day, the aviation of the Defense Forces inflicted 2 strikes on the areas of concentration of the occupiers, and units of the rocket forces and artillery struck 5 control points and the area of concentration of enemy manpower."
17:58: The Ukrainian research icebreaker Noosphere has traveled from Cape Town to Antarctica, the press service of the National Antarctic Research Center said.
· A group of researchers and technical specialists went to the Vernadsky station to deliver goods. The icebreaker is expected to be in place by the end of January next year.
17:47: International partners will help Ukraine's energy sector for $1.5 billion, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
· "Every day additional equipment arrives to repair damaged infrastructure. More than 200 cargoes with power equipment have already arrived. Let's stand."
16:38 State Border Guard Service spokesman: The situation on the border with Belarus remains under control, there is no movement of equipment or troops on the other side.
· "Of course, Belarus has strengthened its border with our country, and this has been repeatedly emphasized there. They seem to see some kind of 'threat' on our part."
15:08: In the Black Sea, 13 Russian ships are on alert, of which 4 carriers of cruise missiles "Kalibr" with a total volley of 24 missiles - the Navy.
14:36 State Border Guard Service: Three Ukrainian border guards who defended Zmiyiny Island returned to Kiliya, Odesa region, from Russian captivity.
· The fighters were in Russian captivity for 9 months until they were exchanged on November 24. The boys underwent rehabilitation, received medical and psychological assistance, the department said.
13:51 press services of the State Emergency Service: During the day, pyrotechnic units of the State Emergency Service were involved 134 times, 191 explosive objects were found, seized and neutralized. An area of 53 hectares was surveyed.
· In total, since the beginning of the large-scale military invasion of the Russian Federation, 309 thousand tons have been neutralized on the territory of Ukraine. 699 explosive objects and 2 thousand tons. 891 kg of explosives, including 2 thousand tons. 156 aerial bombs. The territory with an area of about 77 thousand square meters was surveyed. 059 hectares.
13:14 Air Force Command spokesperson: There is a pattern in the Russians' rocket attacks, they use cruise missiles during the day and Iranian drones at night.
· "Radar drones are visible, but visually it is virtually impossible to shoot them down with small arms, these are machine guns and anti-aircraft guns. Therefore, in fact, such a difference. Drones begin about eleven or twelfth at night, and rockets are more in the daytime."
12:19: The Orthodox Church of Ukraine and Greek Catholics are preparing a reform of the church calendar, according to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. This was discussed at a meeting of the heads of churches - Metropolitan Epiphanius and Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk.
· "Special attention was paid by the primates of the Churches to the coordination of positions on the reform of the church calendar, which is increasingly acute before the Christmas and Easter holidays. After the discussion, it was proposed to create a joint working group to comprehensively study this issue," the UGCC website says.
MORDOR (russia)
December 26
07:12: The governor of the Saratov region confirmed the explosions in Engels near the local airfield.
· It is reported that the area of the fire after the explosion was 120 sq.m. Previously, three people were killed and four others were injured.
01:49 Social Networks: The sounds of explosions are heard at Engels airport.
00:20 Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation: Moscow does not reject the possibility of a political settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but it will not go to the conditions that Kyiv is currently voicing.
December 25
21:19 Russian Media: On Monday, doctors will try to extract a shell fragment from the buttock of the ex-head of Roscosmos, Rogozin.
18:28 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Yevpatoria, in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
16:49 Belaruski Gayun: Today, at the airfield in Machulyshchi, Belarus, the MiG-31K of the Russian Aerospace Forces caught fire.
· On December 25, an engine fire occurred on board the RF-95194, the damage received does not allow the board to fly in the near future.
KHARKIV
December 26
10:27 Kharkiv RMA: Last day, mortar and artillery shelling was carried out in the areas of the settlements of Strelech, Starytsia, Zemlyanka, Ustinivka, Vilkhovatka, Chuhunivka, Novomlynska and Kamyanka.
· The Russians also continue intensive shelling of the Kupyansk direction. The troops of the Russian Federation inflicted fire damage on the areas of the settlements of Dvorechnaya, Kislovka, Kotlyarivka, Berestovo, etc.
· In the Kupyansk district in the village of Dvorochnaya, a house was damaged due to Russian shelling, and a fire broke out on the territory of economic buildings on an area of 250 square meters. m. There were no casualties.
· A 72-year-old woman was hospitalized in Vovchansk, who received a shrapnel wound the day before.
DONETSK
December 25
21:40: Russians demolish historic buildings in the center of Mariupol, - adviser to the mayor of the temporarily occupied city.
· Petro Andryushchenko said that the Russians were demolishing a clock house in the city, where the studio of the famous Ukrainian monumentalist artist Viktor Arnautov was located.
20:18 Social Networks: Santa Claus visited Sloviansk in the Donetsk region on an American armored car HMMWV and distributed gifts to local children.
14:47 mayor of Kramatorsk: "Three missiles hit the industrial zone of Kramatorsk. According to preliminary information, no casualties."
ZAPORIZHIA
December 25
2:21 Mayor of Melitopol: The Russians have made a reservation from the occupied territories and are holding people hostage.
· "For 10 days, Russians have not released residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions through Vasilyevka towards Zaporizhia. According to the occupiers themselves, the passage was closed until January 15," Fedorov said.
KHERSON
December 26
07:20 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson.
December 25
21:15 Social Networks: New explosions are reported in Kherson.
20:40 Social Networks: Another explosion is reported in Kherson.
17:20 Social Networks: Repeated explosions are heard in the temporarily occupied Kakhovka.
17:12 Kherson RMA: Russians shelled two medical facilities in Kherson yesterday.
· "The occupiers struck the territory of the Kherson Regional Clinical Hospital. The regional psychiatric care facility was also attacked. Fortunately, as a result of these enemy attacks, people were not injured," Janushevich wrote.
15:58 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson and in the temporarily occupied Kakhovka.
15:56 Kherson RMA: "Queues at blood donation points. People are seeking to help the victims of the Russian strike in the center of Kherson."
12:41 Operational Command South: The shelling of Kherson by Russian troops is not their revenge. Russians simply hate everyone who lives better than them, and therefore terrorize our citizens.
· According to her, in this way, Russian soldiers are trying to prove to their "tsar" that they are supposedly capable of something.
· "This is a manifestation of their powerlessness, because they cannot do what their "leader" craves from them," Humenyuk summed up.
KYIV
December 26
08:20 DTEK: As of December 26, emergency blackouts continue to operate in Kyiv.
December 25
19:47 CEO of Yasno: The situation with energy supply is gradually improving in Kyiv. Currently, the capital is already close to the planned schedules.
· "We are now very close to planning and those gray periods where there may or may not be light. Almost all these graphs have light," Kovalenko explained.
16:27 Kyiv RMA: It is planned to organize Points of Indestructibility in the Kyiv region orthodox churches.
SUMY
December 26
10:52 Sumy RMA: After 10:52 p.m., December 25, Russian troops fired artillery and mortars at the Mid-Buda community. There were a total of 9 arrivals.
10:06: According to the SBU, a Russian agent who was preparing a breakthrough of Russian DRGs to Sumy region will spend 15 years behind bars
· Together with his accomplice, he collected information about the locations, the number of personnel and available weapons of the Defense Forces units in the region.
· The Russians planned to use the obtained intelligence to prepare for the breakthrough of the state border by sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the Russian Federation in the north-eastern direction.
December 25
12:09 Sumy RMA: After 1, Russians fired mortars at the Mid-Buda community. There were 4 arrivals.
IVANO FRANKIVSK
December 25
13:24 Ivano Frankivsk RMA: Due to the ingress of petroleum products into the Dniester River, in the city of Halych, Ivano-Frankivsk region, pollution indicators exceed the permissible 200 times.
· "Yesterday, December 24, oil products entered the Dniester River on the territory of Lviv region were recorded. As a result, pollution by Dniester oil products was found in the city of Halych. Laboratory tests have shown an excess of permissible norms by 200 times."
Comparing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Russian invasion of Ukraine using Wikipedia and Ukraine Ministry of Defense Daily Bulletins. Soviet and Russian military losses not including captured equipment.
SOURCES
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/
https://euromaidanpress.com/
https://cutt.ly/Blyskavka