Ukraine – 2/5 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
February 5, 2023
Correction – In yesterday’s email, a couple of recipients pointed out that I had described Russia using HIMARS, when I meant Ukraine. I stand corrected and I apologize for any confusion. As the ROTC Private said in the movie Animal House, “all is well.”
A Kind Request - As my colleague requests, and I endorse, “Very soon a year of war. Depressing as that is a colleague and I (that would be me) are thinking of doing some roundups. If you have any ideas on this let us know.”
By the time of February 23rd, the total number of pages to these emails total approximately 2,500 pages, or more. We’re aware that digesting all our emails must be like trying to drink water from a fire hose, but we’re both very appreciative of your interest and your staying power.
News From the Battlefield
Russian Offensive – “Reporting From Ukraine” thinks that the Russian offensive will start within a week, and it will be in the Luhansk Area, along the Kreminna-Svatove Axis, with the objective of taking control of the rest of Donbas, lying to the west of this axis, that the Russians don’t already hold. It is a substantial area that include larger cities like Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. It is hard to imagine how Russian forces can move across open country, without much air cover (at least based on Russian air activity since the start of Russia’s latest invasion). According to “Reporting From Ukraine,” Russia is now blocking mobile internet and cell phone access in northern Luhansk to prevent Ukrainian partisans, and for that matter Russian military bloggers, from reporting on Russian troop movements.
According to his report, Russia wants to take advantage of below freezing weather forecast over the next few weeks, making movement of vehicles easier, and the “window” between now and when Ukraine takes possession and deploys the tanks and other armor will begin to arrive in the next 45 days (hopefully sooner).
“Reporting From Ukraine” believes that as long as Ukraine continues to hold Bakhmut and Siversk, the latter being major logistics point for Ukraine, as well as staying close to Kreminna, it will frustrate Russian plans for an offensive in Luhansk. Russia is operating in a tight window, with any delay being to Ukraine’s advantage.
Another Hit to the Kerch Bridge – Well, not a direct hit. The Latest Denys reports that that there was considerable damage done to a factory in Belgorod, Russian Federation, where replacement parts for the Kerch Bridge are being fabricated. As he usually does, Denys attributes the destruction to Russians’ careless smoking.
Denys also includes some video clips from the “Deep State” Telegram Channel of Russian troops operating around Vohludar, in the south, abandoning their vehicles and running away. It is difficult to predict how Russian troops, now consisting of an increasing number of conscripts, will react during Russia’s planned all-out offensive.
2/5 Sitrep
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 00:00 AM February 4 to 12:00 noon February 5, 2022
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration SBU = Security Service of Ukraine
RASHISTS = russian Facists/all russian invaders
INTERNATIONAL
February 5
11:15 Bild: Ukraine will not strike with Western weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview.
· "There is a consensus with Zelensky on this issue ... Together with our allies, we are handing over battle tanks to Ukraine so that it can defend itself. We carefully weighed each supply of weapons, and coordinated them closely with our allies, especially America. This joint approach prevents the escalation of war," he said.
00:56 Pentagon Press Secretary: We are handing over bombs to Ukraine GLSDB that will allow Ukraine to shoot over longer distances and reclaim its territories.
00:09: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will study the possibility of supplying weapons in Ukraine "taking into account national interests."
· He added that Israel does not want confrontation with Russia and incidents between the Israeli and Russian military in Syrian airspace.
February 4
22:46: The U.S. military shot down a Chinese balloon used to monitor U.S. strategic targets.
· This was stated by Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin at today's press conference.
21:40: Canada sent the first Leopard-2 tank to Ukraine today. This was announced by the Minister of Defense of the country Anita Anand.
· "Today, a Canadian Air Force aircraft with the first Leopard 2 main battle tank, which Canada sends to Ukraine, took off from Halifax," she wrote.
19:25: France can use Russia's frozen assets to help Ukraine, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Lejander said.
· "We are exploring this possibility. Obviously, this issue will be studied in accordance with international law, European law and French law," she said.
18:53: Rishi Sunak declares his focus on rapid military assistance to Ukraine.
· This is stated in the release published on the website of the British government following a conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
· "The Prime Minister said he was focused on ensuring that Britain's defensive military equipment reached the front line as soon as possible," Sunak's office said in a statement.
17:19: Serbian President Aleksandr Vučić explained Serbia's voice against Russia at the UN General Assembly.
· "We did not impose sanctions on Russia, but we had to condemn Russia's invasion of the Ukraine at the UN General Assembly to remain in the international arena," Vučić said.
16:59: Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
16:26 Reuters: The Prosecutor General's Office of Germany has collected hundreds of testimonies of war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
· According to Prosecutor General Peter Frank, the investigation focuses on the facts of massacres, in particular, in Bucha, as well as attacks on civilian infrastructure.
· Peter Frank also said that Russian state leaders and those who implement decisions at the highest military level should be held accountable.
15:56: The International Cycling Federation supports the return of Russians to tournaments as neutral athletes, the official UCI resolution.
· The resolution notes that the federation has allocated a loan to Ukrainians so that athletes can continue training and competitions.
· Cyclists from Russia who supported the war will be banned from playing at tournaments.
15:41: As of January 31, 2023, the number of refugees from Ukraine registered for temporary protection in Europe reached 4 million 823.33 thousand people.
· This was reported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
· The largest number of refugees with temporary protection status, as before, is in Poland – 1 million 563.39 thousand, in second place is Germany – 881 thousand, and in third place – the Czech Republic – 485 thousand.
15:01: The EU has decided to introduce a marginal price for Russian oil products, according to the website of the European Commission.
· It is set at $100 per barrel for gasoline and diesel fuel and $45 for low value-added products.
14:49: Britain's Ministry of Defence has released photos from ukrainian tankers' exercises on Challenger 2.
· The ministry noted that the Ukrainian military quickly mastered the control of the tank.
14:05 Diario de Noticias: Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa says the country will still send Ukraine heavy Leopard 2 tanks, without specifying the number of vehicles.
· Kosta also stressed that sending tanks to Ukraine would not jeopardize the national military potential in terms of equipment.
13:51: Russian propaganda channel RT DE (Russia Today) is suspending operations in Germany, German RT said in a statement.
· The decision is linked to alleged "repressive restrictions on freedom of the press and media in the EU", as well as "enormous pressure from governments, the media, corporations and others".
· Dinara Toktosunova, head of the German editorial board of RT, said the tv channel was forced to cease its activities in Germany due to sanctions.
13:35 The Daily Telegraph: The Home Office - Britain is preparing to recognize PMC Wagner as a terrorist organization.
· According to the publication, a final decision has not yet been made, and the event itself has not been worked out as deeply as a similar step towards the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
13:20 Sol: Portugal refused to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.
12:50: Martin Przydach, head of international policy at the Office of the Polish President, confirmed that U.S. leader Joe Biden will visit Poland soon. This is reported by RMF24.
· However, when exactly this will happen is not yet known.
10:53 CNN pentagon spokesman: We have reports of another Chinese reconnaissance balloon that is now over Latin America," PatRick Ryder, reports.
· In turn, information about the second Chinese spy bullet was confirmed by the Ministry of Defense of Canada.
09:35: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted a video from Washington, where he arrived for talks with senior politicians to strengthen support for Ukraine.
· According to him, Ukrainians need to be given everything they need and as soon as possible — this will be the best solution for Ukraine, the United States and will save the funds of American taxpayers.
08:01 Press release from the French Ministry of Armed Forces: France and Italy will deliver the MAMBA medium-range ground protection system in the spring to help Ukraine defend itself against attacks by Russian drones, missiles and aircraft.
08:00 Wall Street Journal: Turkish companies export goods to Russia, which they use for military purposes.
07:59 Reuters:Companies from Turkey, Kazakhstan and Armenia are reselling goods to Russia that it itself cannot buy due to sanctions. This was stated by the Prime Minister of Latvia Krisjanis Karins.
00:30: The EU handed over trucks, SUVs and ambulances to the Ukrainian army, says Borrell's head of diplomacy.
· In total, 3 new off-road trucks were transferred to transport the military, 94 off-road trucks, and 50 ambulances.
NATIONAL
February 5
11:39 Ukrenergo: Consumption is gradually increasing due to increased frosts. More rapid growth is expected tomorrow, with the beginning of the working week,
· Two units at thermal power plants returned to the network. At the same time, one unit was put into emergency repair. Also, during almost the entire day, electricity is imported from other countries. Restrictions will apply, except for Kyiv and Odesa, only for the period from 16:00 to 20:00. At other times of the day, it is not planned to apply consumption restrictions.
09:51: Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov called American businessman Elon Musk "one of the largest private donors of Ukraine's future victory."
· "I think his [Elon Musk's] personal contribution, his company [SpaceX] is more than $100 million. And that's an investment. He is one of the largest private donors of our future victory," said the Minister of Digital Transformation.
· Fedorov added that he keeps in touch with Musk and tells him about Ukraine and how his technologies help Ukrainians.
· "Recently, I sent him a photo of the last batch of Starlink, how people use them, how operators feed them, energy infrastructure," Fedorov explained.
· According to him, currently there are more than 30 thousand Starlink terminals in Ukraine, and soon another batch of 10 thousand will arrive.
08:37 The Prosecutor's Office carries out pre-trial investigation in 14 criminal proceedings regarding the involvement of members of private military companies, particularly the "Wagner group", in war crimes on the territory of Ukraine, - press service of the Prosecutor General's Office
07:10 Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
· Prime Minister: Estonia will consider boycotting the 2024 Olympics if athletes from Russia and Belarus are admitted, says Kaya Kallas.
· 08:36 Statements by Western leaders about the inadmissibility of escalation only unleash the Russian dictator's hands on raising the level of tension himself. This was stated by one of the heads of the Berlin think tank Zentrum Liberale Moderne Ralph Fücks.
· "The Russian Federation is concentrating its efforts on the conduct of offensive actions in the Kupyansk, Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Novopavlovsk directions.
· Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repulsed the attacks of the occupiers in the areas of the settlements of Kreminna and Shipylivka in the Luhansk region and Verkhnekamenskoye, Blagodatne, Krasnaya Gora, Paraskoviivka, Bakhmut, Ivanovo and Klishchiivka in the Donetsk region.
· The Russians continue to defend the previously captured frontiers in other directions, shelling the positions of Ukrainian units and settlements bordering the line of origin- the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
· During the day, Russian troops carried out 61 attacks from the MLRS, including on the civilian infrastructure of Kherson. In addition, the threat of Russia's strikes on civilian targets throughout Ukraine remains high.
· In the temporarily occupied Horlivka, Donetsk region, all medical facilities are overcrowded with wounded invaders. Therefore, the Russians are equipping kindergartens, schools or simply warehouses for field hospitals, - the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
· It is also known that medical personnel from Yakutia arrived at one of these hospitals, where about 70 people are being treated, in the city of Svitlodarsk, Donetsk region.
· There are cases of refusals to participate in hostilities by mobilized Russian servicemen - the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
· As of February 3, up to 600 people of this category were returned from Luhansk region to the territory of the Russian Federation.
· Over the past day, Ukrainian aviation has inflicted 5 strikes on areas of concentration of Russian personnel and military equipment, as well as 2 strikes on anti-aircraft missile systems, - the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
· Over the past day, units of the missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit the control point, 3 areas of concentration of Russian manpower, an anti-aircraft missile system and a warehouse of fuel and lubricants.
February 4
23:50: David Arakhamia confirms deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship of traitors during the Yanukovych era
· According to him, the next step will be to impose sanctions on them, seize and confiscate all their property, corporate rights and other assets in favor of the state.
· A detailed list of those who had their Ukrainian citizenship revoked can be found here. It includes many members of former President Viktor Yanukovich’s Cabinet and inner circle, known collectively as “the Family,” all of whom have Russian passports.
21:20: In some cities of Ukraine, in these moments you can observe a unique phenomenon, like a lunar halo.
· The lunar halo is an optical phenomenon in the atmosphere resulting from the refraction and reflection of light in ice crystals.
20:25: Volodymyr Zelenskyy: "We are constantly working to bring home all our people who are kept in Russian captivity. And I'm happy – every time it succeeds.
· In total, from February 24, our team managed to return 1762 Ukrainians from Russian captivity. And I also thank everyone who is involved in helping these people of ours upon their return."
20:44: The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has decided to introduce the Delta system in the Defense Forces, according to the Ministry of Defense.
· It is reported that Delta is a situational awareness platform created by the Center for Innovation and Development of Defense Technologies of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
· In addition to the military's use of the platform, the government allowed Delt to be placed in the cloud outside of Ukraine. This will protect the system from enemy missile and cyberattacks.
20:00: Legitimate targets for strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine are also located in Moscow.
· This was stated by member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence Fyodor Venislavsky in an interview with the German publication Bild.
· "Any command post in the Russian capital is a legitimate military target. I see no problem in attacking them," the deputy said.
18:24 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Russia is regrouping in certain areas.
· The main efforts are focused on the conduct of offensive operations in the Kupyansk, Liman, Bakhmut, Avdievsky and Novopavlovsk directions.
· To replenish losses in manpower, the enemy is trying to attract convicted women to participate in hostilities.
· During the week, Russians recruited about 50 people from the women's penal colony in the city of Snizhne in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region.
· It is also known that they are sent to the territory of the Russian Federation for training.
· During the day, Ukrainian aviation struck 3 strikes on areas of concentration of Russian personnel and military equipment.
· And units of the missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit the control point, 2 areas of concentration of Russian manpower, anti-aircraft missile system and a warehouse of fuel and lubricants.
18:09 Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine: This week, Russian troops threw all their forces to break through our defense and encirclement of Bakhmut, launched powerful offensive operations in the Liman direction.
· According to her, due to the stability of Ukrainian soldiers, the Russian troops have not achieved success.
17:39: Ukraine has terminated a bilateral agreement with Russia on space exploration, said Taras Melnychuk, a representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada.
· The Russian-Ukrainian agreement was the main document defining bilateral cooperation in the field of exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.
16:11: During the week Ukrainians, about one million old incandescent lamps were exchanged for LED lamps at Ukrposhta, the press service of Ukrposhta reported.
· Kyiv residents exchanged more than 162 thousand lamps during the week. In Kharkiv, local residents received more than 80 thousand lamps, in Dnipro — 88 thousand, and in Lviv — 69 thousand.
· It is reported that from next week another 6 million light bulbs will be available in cities of regional importance.
· It was estimated that the number of LED light bulbs supplied to Ukraine by Poland, will save electricity equal to the annual output of 1 major power plant.
15:27: Head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said that communication is currently underway with more than 5 countries that could potentially borrow Ukrainian the Diia application.
· According to Fedorov, these are several European countries, as well as countries in Asia and Africa.
14:36 Spokesperson of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Ukraine is waiting for the supply of Patriot PAC-3 anti-aircraft missile systems and SAMP/T systems.
· "At the moment, Ukraine has a symbiosis of Soviet air defense systems that operate alongside western IRIS-T, NASAMS, Crotale and Gepard," said Yuri Ignat.
12:24: The "black box" from the helicopter that crashed in Brovary on January 18 has not yet been deciphered. This will be done in the coming weeks, said the chairman of the Council's law enforcement committee, Sergei Yonushas, on the air of the national telethon.
· Serhii Ionushas added that the main versions of the tragedy are pilot error and helicopter malfunction. But this does not exclude the option of sabotage.
11:35 President's Office: Another big exchange of prisoners. 116 Ukrainian soldiers were returned. Defenders of Mariupol, Kherson partisans, snipers from the Bakhmut direction and our other heroes.
· 87 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, two of whom are from the USN. Eight troopers, seven from the National Guard, six from the National Police, five from the State Border Guard Service, two from the Navy and one representative of the State Emergency Service. Of these, two officers and 114 privates and sergeants.
· In addition, it was possible to recover the bodies of the dead foreign volunteer volunteers - Christopher Matthew Perry and Andrew Tobias Matthew, as well as the body of the deceased volunteer soldier - a Ukrainian who served in the French Foreign Legion and after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion returned to defend the Ukraine - Kulik Evgeny Olegovich, - reports Andrei Yermak.
11:15: The first study of gambling addiction has started in Ukraine.
· It was launched by the Ministry of Health in partnership with Favbet
· The research is conducted by a team of experts, sociologists and scientists from the Center for Responsible Play (RGC) and the Institute of Psychiatry.
· This will help gambling companies and doctors to identify signs of risky gaming behavior in a timely manner and prevent gambling addiction.
09:55: Martial law and mobilization in Ukraine will continue, says MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak
· The Verkhovna Rada will again extend martial law and general mobilization. This time, probably again for 90 days.
09:13 BBC News: Western embassies remain in Kyiv despite rumors of a possible offensive, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
· "Our partners are confident in Ukraine's success on the battlefield. It is fundamentally different from the one at the beginning of the war," the minister said.
07:10 Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
· "Over the past day, the enemy has inflicted 20 air and 3 missile strikes on the civilian infrastructure of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions, there are civilian casualties. He carried out more than 90 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems."
· Russians continue offensive operations in the Liman, Bakhmut, Avdievsky and Novopavlovsk directions, suffer heavy losses
· Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces repulsed Russian attacks in the areas of the settlements of Grekivka, Nevsky, Kreminna and Dibrova in the Luhansk region and Verkhnekamenskoye, Krasnaya Gora, Paraskoviyivka, Bakhmut and Ivanovo of the Donetsk region.
· The Russians have begun measures to evacuate the population from the temporarily occupied territories, - the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
· According to available information, collaborators with families in the Troitsky district of the Luhansk region are being prepared for departure.
· During the past day, the aviation of the Defense Forces inflicted 8 strikes on the areas of concentration of Russians, - the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
· 4 Orlan-10 UAVs were destroyed. And our rocket launchers and artillerymen hit the control point, 2 areas of concentration of russian manpower and 1 heavy flamethrower system "Solntsepyok".
00:05 Ministry of Internal Affairs: Ukrainians are actively applying to join the assault brigades of the "Offensive Guard".
· "We started this recruiting campaign literally on Thursday, but I know that applications and questionnaires are already being submitted very actively. In fact, there are a lot of calls to the hotline, which was created specifically for the formation of these brigades. Open set for both boys and girls.
· First of all, it should be motivated people who are ready to liberate territories. This is a window of opportunity," said Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Kateryna Pavlichenko.
MORDOR (russia)
February 5
11:50: In Belarus, 12 Russian helicopters were withdrawn from the border with Ukraine, – the Belarus Gayun monitoring group.
· In the period 09:00-10:30, 12 helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces were relocated from the Luninets airfield to the Machulyschi airfield, including the Mi-8 and Mi-24.
February 4
23:21: Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov showed a strange design. (The Minister was holding a folded piece of reflective metal – ed)
· "It's a military corner reflector. The entire territory near the Kherson bridge was covered with dozens of such Russian reflectors. The enemy tried to use this anachronism to defend himself against... HIMARS.
· Indeed, this is a war of a free future against a totalitarian past," the Minister explained on Twitter.
21:03 interception of the conversation of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine: The wife/girlfriend of a Russian serviceman is in sincere surprise and does not understand how Ukraine will pay with Europe for the military assistance provided.
· "She is also shocked by her husband/boyfriend's confession to committing serious crimes, namely the murders of children," the intelligence said.
19:10 The Wall Street Journal: China supplies Russia with the technological equipment necessary for waging war, writes with reference to data from Russian customs.
· The publication claims that Chinese state-owned defense companies sent navigation equipment, equipment for electronic warfare (EW) systems and spare parts for jet fighters to Russian defense enterprises.
14:21: Activists of the "Yellow Ribbon" movement distributed pro-Ukrainian leaflets and painted graffiti in the cities of temporarily occupied Ukraine.
12:35 British intelligence: Russia's attempt to integrate the occupied areas of Ukraine makes no sense.
· Russian troops officially included the occupied territories of Ukraine (the so-called "DPR" and "LPR", Zaporizhia and Kherson regions) in their Southern Military District. According to foreign intelligence, this step emphasizes that the Russian military is likely seeking to integrate the recently occupied territory into a long-term strategic position.
· However, Britain believes that such steps of the Russians are unlikely to affect the course of the war.
12:04 Institute for the Study of War: Russian officials manipulate "terrorist levels" to justify the war against Ukraine.
· Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believe that Russian officials are artificially winding up the levels of terrorist threat in the Kursk and Bryansk regions in order to create in the eyes of their citizens the appearance of danger from Ukraine. This information operation aims to justify the aggressive actions of the Russian army and suppress dissent, analysts say.
10:16: The Russian Defense Ministry said that as a result of the exchange, 63 of its troops were allegedly returned.
· It is alleged that the group of the released included so-called persons of the "sensitive category", and their exchange was allegedly carried out with the mediation of the UAE.
· Ukraine has not reported the exchange at the moment.
08:24: The governor of the Belgorod region of Russia, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that the yellow (high) level of terrorist danger introduced in the region would be indefinite.
· Earlier, a similar decision was made by the authorities of the Kursk and Bryansk regions.
01:17 Social Networks: A large-scale fire broke out at one of the oil depots in the Belgorod area.
KHARKIV
February 5
10:49 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kupyansk, Kharkiv region,
10:44 National Police spokesperson: The number of wounded has risen to five.
· Four are residents of a residential building, another one is a university security guard. Three of the wounded were assisted on the spot, two were hospitalized.
10:19: Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov, against the background of a destroyed residential building, said that although the rocket flew into the foundation, there was no threat of collapse.
· He also noted that there were no military personnel in the house.
10:09 Regionalrescue department: A second rocket in Kharkiv hit the building of a higher educational institution and caused serious destruction. It damaged the building structures of the fifth and fourth floors. The area of the fire was 50 square meters. m.
09:18 Kharkiv RMA: reported a fire at the site of the hit.
· Three victims are currently known: a 54-year-old woman and two men, aged 51 and 55. The woman was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, the men were assisted on the spot.
08:57: One of the missiles hit a residential building in the center of Kharkiv, - the mayor of Kharkov Igor Terekhov.
· So far, it is known about a fire in one of the residential buildings and one injured person.
08:42: Mayor Igor Terekhov reports that two Russian missiles struck the center of Kharkiv. Getting in the Kiev district of the city. Previously, we are talking about S-300 missiles.
· There is no information about the victims of the strike yet - the State Emergency Service is already working at the site of the missiles, dismantling the rubble and conducting a search operation.
08:39 Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kharkiv
LUHANSK
February 5
09:12 Luhansk RMA: The information that the Russians captured Bilohorivka is not true,
· "Now information is spreading massively in the Russian Federation that Bilohorivka is allegedly fully controlled by their troops, and civilians have been taken out of there. First, they don't even know if there are people left there and how many are there. Secondly, our fighters are in positions, no one captured Bilohorivka, no one went there, the enemy is not there," Gaidai said.
09:04 Institute for the Study of War: Russian troops continue to prepare for the offensive in Luhansk region
· "It is unlikely that Russian decisive offensive operations will be directed at the city of Zaporozhye from the western front line Donetsk - Zaporozhye, as the Russian military continues to prepare for the Dgan region," the report of the US Institute for the Study of War says.
February 4
10:05: Kharkiv RMA. Last day, Russians shelled the border settlements of the Chuguev, Kupyansk and Kharkiv districts of the region.
· Yesterday, as a result of the explosion of an anti-personnel mine "petal" in Izyum, 8 teenagers were injured. 7 children have shrapnel wounds. One girl has a psychological trauma - an acute reaction to stress. The condition of the victims is light, their lives are not threatened.
DONETSK
February 5
11:05 British intelligence: Roads under fire. Bakhmut is becoming increasingly isolated
· "M03 and H32 - the two main roads to the city for Ukrainian defenders - are now likely to be under the threat of direct fire after the Russian offensive," the intelligence said.
· According to Britain, over the past week, Russia has continued to make small strides in their attempt to surround Bakhmut. Probably, the "Wagnerians" established control over the route connecting Bakhmut and Seversk.
10:27 Donetsk RMA: In the middle of the night, Russians launched 2 missile strikes on Druzhkivka: 5 people were wounded, 4 high-rise buildings and kindergartens were damaged
· Vuhledar and the outskirts of the Volnovakha community were under fire. It was loud in Kurakhove: a shop was damaged by a direct hit, 2 apartment buildings and the construction of the enterprise were also damaged. In the morning, shelling of Solovyovo and Avdiivka took place.
· Chasiv Yar was under fire — at least 7 residential buildings and the building of the enterprise were damaged. 3 houses in Rozdolivka and another 3 in Vasyukivka were damaged.
· 1 person died in Yampol of the Liman community. In Zvanivska hromada, 2 houses in Pereizne were damaged, without casualties.
· In just one day, the Russians killed 4 residents of the Donetsk region, wounded another 11.
09:29 Institute for the Study of War: Russia expands efforts to recruit convicts, including women.
· According to experts, about 50 women from the women's penal colony in the occupied city of Snizhne, Donetsk region, were recruited to the ranks of the Russian army during the week.
February 4
23:00: Defender of Mariupol Oleksiy Kysylyshyn was posthumously awarded the first All-Ukrainian Animal Protection Prize. He opened a shelter for dogs, foxes, spiders, pythons in Mariupol.
· After a full-scale Russian invasion, he defended Mariupol at Azovstal. He died in July 2022 as a result of a Russian terrorist attack in a colony in Olenivka.
· The award was given to his parents.
10:35 Donetsk RMA: The night before, the Russians launched two more missile strikes on the outskirts of Kramatorsk — damaged utility buildings, without casualties,
· Under the shelling of Vuhledar and Novoukrainka, no one was injured. 3 people were injured and 8 houses were damaged in Kurakhivka. The next morning there was a massive shelling of the old part of Avdiivka , without casualties.
09:23 CNN: In Bakhmut, during a rescue operation, American volunteer Pete Reed was killed by Russian shelling.
· Reed, 33, along with colleagues, was evacuating the wounded when their car came under Russian fire. Unfortunately, he soon died of his wounds.
08:16 Donetsk RMA: On February 4, it became known about 2 residents of Donetsk region killed by Russians: in Toretsk and Bakhmut.
· Another 14 people in the region were injured.
DNIPRO
February 4
07:53 Dnipro RMA: That night, heavy artillery fired at the Marganets community in the Nikopol region, firing a dozen shells at it.
· Currently, the exact consequences are being clarified, the survey of the territories is ongoing. Fortunately, people were not injured.
KHERSON
February 5
11:55: Explosions are heard in the temporarily occupied Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region
08:57: According to the Kherson OVA, the Russians attacked the settlements of the Kherson region 60 times.
· Kherson itself was attacked by the Russian army 6 times. 1 person was killed, another 1 resident of the region was injured.
February 4
23:32 Social Networks: The sounds of explosions are heard in Kherson.
ODESA
February 4
19:43 Ukrenergo: In Odesa and the region, in the coming days, significant restrictions on energy supply will continue due to an accident at one of the energy infrastructure facilities.
· "Currently, the power engineers are directing efforts to repair one of the power facilities, which will allow restoring the electricity supply channel to Odesa and entering the light schedules two hours later in six," Kudrytsky said.
· He also noted that the city and the surrounding area will be fed by energy supply in the north and south of the Odessa region, because the accident did not affect these parts of the region.
17:54: Power engineers managed to return electricity to the critical infrastructure of Odesa against the background of a large-scale accident at one of the high-voltage substations in the region.
· Ukrenergo reported that soon this infrastructure will be transferred to autonomous power supply, and the released capacities will be given to other users.
15:10: Generators are urgently being transported to Odesa due to an accident, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
· He noted that the situation with electricity in the city is serious and difficult, stressed and it will not be possible to quickly restore energy supply.
· The government has decided to send to the region all the powerful generators that the Ministry of Energy has and the 25 MW gas turbine power plant, which was previously transferred to the United States.
12:13 SBU press service: The SSU exposed officials of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority for embezzlement of more than UAH 90 million.
· The head of the branch of the state institution in 2017-2018 and two of his subordinates were involved in the organization of illegal activities.
· Within the framework of criminal proceedings initiated under part 2 of Art. 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, three organizers of the transaction were notified of suspicion of committing a crime.
11:50 Ukrenergo: This morning, at one of the high-voltage substations through which Odessa is powered, an autotransformer failed, which was restored after damage during Russian attacks
· In the city and several districts of the region adjacent to Odessa, there are network restrictions, since it is impossible to deliver electricity to consumers in full. Unfortunately, the scale of the accident is quite significant, so the energy supply limitations this time will be longer. It is currently impossible to determine a specific hour when the power supply will be fully restored.
09:45: SBU detains Russian agent in Odesa who worked for the FSB, hoping to "get" an apartment in Crimea
· It turned out to be a former military man who had been in contact with the Russian special service since 2010. "Particular attention" was paid to the course of international military exercises in the Black Sea and training of ground units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at training grounds.
· He also tried to "track" the flow of military products and dual-use goods into the Ukraine through the seaports of Odessa, Mariupol, Chernomorsk, Izmail and Skadovsk.
08:50 DTEK: Due to a large-scale accident at the substation of NPC Ukrenergo, the Suvorov, Primorsky and Malinovsky districts of Odesa and part of the Odesa district were temporarily de-energized.
· De-energized critical infrastructure facilities, industry and household customers. Power engineers of NPC Ukrenergo eliminate the accident.
· Also, odesmiskelectrotrans reported that all electric transport will not work.
08:42 Odesa RMA: In the morning, an accident occurred at one of the key energy infrastructure facilities of the Odessa district, as a result of which some communities of the Odessa district and the city of Odessa were left without electricity.
· Currently, a rescue operation is underway with the involvement of the State Emergency Service, the power engineers are trying to restore power supply.
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
Female convicts to join the Russian forces? Must have run our of male cannon fodder. Sad news.