Bob Homans January 5

20230105

Ukraine – 1/5 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
January 5, 2023

Re-Thinking Russia Studies, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

This article, authored by Todd Prince who has long experience in the Region, describes a re-thinking that is now going about how “Russian Studies” are currently taught in Western institutions of higher education.   The focus is the upcoming meeting of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES), which brings together scholars focused on this region from throughout the World.  

The theme of the conference is “Decolonization,” defined by ASEEES as “a profoundly political act of re-evaluating long-established and often internalized hierarchies, of relinquishing and taking back power."   Note that “Russia” is no longer included in the name of the Association.  Discussion of the War in Ukraine and the Russian Federation, and previously the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire as a “colonizer” will be a major focus of the Conference.

In my opinion, this reassessment of “Russia Studies” is long overdue, for the following reasons:

·       Discussion of the War in Ukraine among the so-called experts, is almost always framed through a Russian lens, even though these same experts claim that they support Ukraine.   I am part of an email string consisting primarily of retired U.S. Foreign Service Officers and other retired U.S. Government Officials.   Although I have no reason to doubt their support of Ukraine, articles shared by participants are almost all “Russia, Russia, Russia,” or “Putin, Putin, Putin” (although they’re improved lately, including sharing the RFE/RL article).   I asked one of the organizers about this.  He said “it’s because almost none of use studied Ukraine in university or served in Ukraine as Foreign Service Officers,” but many of these same people were responsible for developing policies affecting Ukraine.  I rest my case.

·       Prior to the start of Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine, beginning last February 24th, except for the 2 authors of these emails and a few others, virtually all the experts predicted Ukraine would surrender in 3 to 10 days.   I believe that this conclusion leads directly from what Prof. Vitaliy Chernetsky of the Univ. of Kansas said in Prince’s article, “One reason many in the field expected Kyiv to fall quickly following the Russian invasion in February was that they bought into the narrative that Ukraine was a "divided" nation with a weak sense of national identity.”   The experts weren’t looking at the facts, but instead were guided by the narrative that most of them learned during their education.

·       Since the fall of the Soviet Union, I believe that the bias toward Russia in academia has led to a succession of mistakes in Ukrainian policy, made by the United States and other Western countries, starting with the fall of the Soviet Union through today.

·       Susan Smith-Peter, a professor of Russian history at the College of Staten Island in New York, quoted in this article, says that “the teachings of Vasily Klyuchevsky, an imperial-era scholar and one of the founders of modern Russian historiography, were essentially transplanted to the United States.   Klyuchevsky, who died in 1911, denied the existence of Ukraine as a people and a culture distinct from Russia, she says. His students in Moscow included Michael Karpovich, who would go on to teach generations of Russia scholars over three decades at Harvard University, from 1927 to 1957.”   

·       As Prince states in his article, “One key narrative passed on from imperial-era historians by emigres, and still widely taught in the United States today, is that Russia is the direct and sole successor to Kievan Rus -- also known as Kyivan Rus, from the city's Ukrainian name -- a state that reached the peak of its power a century before Moscow was founded.”

·       The “push-back” supporting increased Ukrainian scholarship, has come largely from the Ukrainian Diaspora, who established and funded the Harvard-Ukraine Research Institute (HURI), among other institutions in the United States, Canada, and Europe.   Serhii Plokhii, the Head of HURI, Timothy Snyder of Yale and many others are leading the effort to put Ukrainian Studies in the place where it belongs, at the forefront of academic thinking.

It is my fondest hope that students of Plokhii’s, of Snyder’s, and of Chernetsky’s, will populate the U.S. State and Defense Department, the National Security Council, the British Foreign Office, to name just a few, and begin to take tenured positions in our institutes of higher learning.   Only then can it be possible to repair the damage done by the decades of myopia when it comes to Ukraine.

Sen.  Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) spent his honeymoon in the former Soviet Union.   Would Sen. Sanders have chosen a different place, if the Soviet Union had been perceived back then as a “colonizer?”  I think not.   The same applies to those on the “Old Left” of the 1960s who idolized the Soviet Union.

News From the Battlefield

“Reporting From Ukraine” describes Ukrainian advances near Kremina, in the Luhansk Region.   As mentioned previously, Kremina sits astride a road leading south from Russia.   It is used by Russia to re-supply Russian forces operating to the south, including Bakhmut.   The weather is supposed to freeze by Saturday, and it is expected to stay frozen for several weeks.  In turn, this will freeze the ground, giving Ukrainian armor an advantage in maneuverability. 

There has been increased discussion about a possible new effort by Russia to capture Kyiv.   This is described in the Latest Denys.  The conventional wisdom is late February or early March, after the training of additional Russian conscripts has been completed.  Predictions are for a Russian invasion of anywhere from 500,000 up to 1 million men.

There are two things that stand out in this prediction, in addition to those described by Denys:

·       The date is exactly the same time as last year’s invasion, when Russian columns got stuck in the mud and stopped by flooded rivers.

·       The invasion routes described by Denys will force Russian troops into columns, rather than the horizontal attacks that Russia has been able to conduct in the Donbas.  These can be easily picked off by Ukrainians who, as Denys states, will be much better armed.

1/5 Sitrep

Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon January 4 to 12:00 noon January 5, 2022

Abbreviations:

RMA = Regional Military Administration             SBU = Security Service of Ukraine

RASHISTS = russian Facists/all russian invaders

INTERNATIONAL

January 5

10:57: The number of Ukrainian migrants in Europe approaches 8 million people — UN

·       The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that in the last week alone, the number of arrivals to European countries from Ukraine has increased by more than 18 thousand. Persons.

10:33: The price of gas at the auction in Europe fell below $700 per thousand cubic meters for the first time since September 2021.

·       This is evidenced by the data of the London ICE Exchange

09:23: Norway has handed over 10,000 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine, says the Norwegian Ministry of Defense.

·       "Ukraine needs urgent assistance, and therefore we continue to study what else can be provided from the stocks of the armed forces," the Norwegian Defense Minister said.

08:05 Politico: Omicron strain of coronavirus XBB.1.5 could lead to a new wave of morbidity, it has already been detected in 29 countries on several continents,

08:04 Focus Taiwan: Taiwanese authorities have decided to re-tighten control over the export of engineering and chemistry products to russia and Belarus.

·       This aims to prevent the export of dual-use goods and technologies that can be used for military purposes.

07:20 CNBC: Australia has announced the purchase of HIMARS complexes, the amount of the transaction is more than 700 million. US dollars.

·       It is reported that the new complexes should be put into service by 2026. Australia has ordered several types of missiles, the most long-range of which have a range of about 300 km.

January 4

22:41 Bloomberg: Joe Biden confirmed that the U.S. is discussing deliveries of U.S. M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to the Armed Forces.

22:01 National Security Council Coordinator: The United States intends to provide additional military assistance to Ukraine in the coming days and weeks.

·       He did not rule out that the new assistance packages will include installations of HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems.

21:31: Estonia intends to be the first in Europe to transfer frozen Rashist assets to Ukraine, — Postimees, referring to the words of Foreign Minister Reinsala.

·       The Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs were tasked within a month to work out the legal side of the issue.

19:43 CNN: In one of the Iranian drones shot down in Ukraine, technological components of more than ten Western companies were discovered in the drone.

·       According to Ukrainian intelligence, of the 52 components seized from the Shahed-136 drone, 40 of them were developed by 13 different American companies.

·       Other components are manufactured by companies from Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan and China.

19:22 BFMTV with reference to the press service of the Elysee Palace: French President Emmanuel Macron told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that France would supply Ukraine with AMX-10RC armored vehicles.

NATIONAL

January 5

12:00 press service of the Ministry of Economy: Ukraine's GDP fell by 30.4% in 2022

·       "This is objectively the worst result since independence, but better than most experts expected at the beginning of a full-scale invasion, when estimates varied between 40-50% of GDP decline and deeper," the Ministry said.

11:45: As of 11:00 am on January 5, consumption in Ukraine continues to grow due to a gradual decrease in temperature and the intensification of industry and business.

10:05 British intelligence: russia, after the December 5 and 26 explosions at LRA Air Base in Engels, was forced to transfer aircraft to the Far East. This makes missile attacks on Ukraine very difficult.

·       "Flying from dispersal sites will add additional maintenance load and further deplete the limited number of flight hours available on these aging aircraft."

09:45: In Kiev, in the morning there are schedules of hourly outages.

·       In Odessa, graphs of stabilization power outages are used

07:32 Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 06:00 on January 5:

·       "Over the past day, the Rashist occupiers inflicted 3 missile, 13 air strikes and 68 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems, in particular, on civilian infrastructure of the cities of Bakhmut, Kostiantynivka and Kurakhove, Donetsk region;

·       Also Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk region and Kherson. There are casualties, seriously injured and civilian casualties.

·       The danger of enemy air and missile strikes remains throughout Ukraine."

·       "The forced integration of the temporarily occupied and occupied territories into the legal field of the Russian Federation continues.

·       Thus, in the city of Gorlovka, Donetsk region, the deadline for issuing Rashist passports has been reduced from 30 to 10 days.

·       In addition, license plates and driver's licenses of samples of the Russian Federation are issued in the region."

·       "During the past day, the Aviation of the Defense Forces inflicted 20 strikes on areas of concentration of the enemy, as well as 5 strikes on the positions of its anti-aircraft missile systems."

·       "Over the previous day, in the eastern direction, units of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed the Rashist Su-25 attack aircraft, the Ka-52 attack helicopter and the Orlan-10 operational-tactical UAV".

·       "Soldiers of the missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces carried out fire damage to 3 control points, 4 areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment and 2 enemy ammunition depots."

00:51: A service dog named Una was awarded the Medal "For Dedicated Service" of the III degree

·       A few months ago, after the attack of residential areas of Dnipro, rescuers involved a dog handler with a dog in the search for the victims.

00:46 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine: Ukraine has agreed the purchase of 1800 transformers and 7600 generators.

·       "As of January 4, it was possible to agree on the supply of almost 1800 current and voltage transformers of various capacities, more than 7000 generators with a capacity of up to 100 kW and more than 600 generators with a capacity of more than 100 kW, more than 40 km of cable and hundreds of spare parts for power equipment, heaters, etc.," Dmytro Kuleba said.

00:31 Investigation.Info: Shahed drones are launched in Ukraine by the military of the 294th State Center for Unmanned Aviation of the Ministry of Defense of the Rashist Federation.

·       Journalists found that the exercises were conducted under the pretext of the Army Games, which are arranged by the aggressor country. One of the disciplines of the games is the competition of drone operators — "Falconry".

·       It was possible to establish the identities of four operators, all of whom are servicemen of the 294th center from Kolomna: Sergey Sozinov; Andrey Stepova (captain of the Rashist Air Force); Gleb Pivkin; Evgeny Glukhov (Lieutenant of the Rashist Air Force).

00:16 Representative of the press service of the Defence Intelligence: russia has deployed nuclear weapons in Crimea and Belarus.

·       According to him, Belarus and Crimea are considered by Putin as territories for organizing provocations.

January 4

23:39: On January 7, the Christmas service in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra will be held by Metropolitan Epiphanius, who heads the OCU.

23:22: NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov reacted to Olaf Scholz's refusal to provide Ukraine with tanks.

·       "If Mr. Scholz wants the Germans to fight near Berlin and near Stuttgart on German tanks with the Russians, then he can continue this game, conduct sociological research there, whether we need to give tanks or not."

23:50 Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: In the first days of 2023, the intensity of hostilities in the Donetsk region increased.

·       "Despite the fact that our enemy in the hottest areas of the front has an advantage in weapons and personnel, the level of their irretrievable losses is much greater than ours."

23:12: The Command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the Ukrainian military today destroyed the Rashist attack aircraft Su-25, the Ka-52 helicopter and the ORLAN-10 UAV

22:30 ABC News: Intelligence Chief Kirill Budanov says Vladimir Putin has cancer and will die very quickly, but after Ukraine's victory in the war with Russia.

·       "He's been sick for a very long time, I'm sure he has cancer. I think he's going to die very quickly. I hope very soon."

21:45 Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine: Russia will focus its main efforts on the capture of Lyman, Soledar, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka.

·       According to Malyar, the Rashist leadership's goals remain unchanged — forcing Ukraine to negotiate by force.

19:10: Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed Ukraine's defense needs with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

18:30 Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 18:00 on January 4:

·       "The enemy continues to move personnel, weapons, military equipment and ammunition to the areas of hostilities.

·       In addition to rail transportation, it uses military transport and civil aviation

·       "During the current day, the enemy launched 3 missile strikes on civilian objects in the city of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, carried out 9 air strikes and 14 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems.

·       The threat of the enemy's air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure remains throughout Ukraine."

·       "In the city of Luhansk, in the neurological department of the Luhansk Regional Clinical Hospital, the occupiers are treating more than 100 mercenaries of the private military company "Wagner".

·       "The fire damage on January 3 of the place of concentration of manpower and military equipment of the occupiers in the area of the settlement of Tokmak, Zaporizhia region, was confirmed.

·       The enemy's losses amounted to about 80 servicemen wounded and dead."

·       "During the day, our aviation inflicted 17 strikes on the areas of concentration of the invaders, as well as 4 strikes on the positions of the enemy's anti-aircraft missile systems."

·       "During the current day, units of the missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces carried out a fire attack on the control point, 2 areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment and an enemy ammunition depot."

17:47: Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat reacted to an article by The New York Times that Ukraine was shooting down cheap drones with expensive missiles.

·       "If there's a threat to life, then you'll probably spend everything to save your life. It is incorrect to compare here. I've seen it in the Western press. Not for the first time," Ignat said.

17:17 SBU press service: SBU has opened proceedings against former host of pro-Rashist TV channels Medvedchuk Diana Panchenko.

·       According to the investigation, the pro-Rashist stories of this journalist manipulate the consciousness of the audience in the interests of the Rashist Federation.

·       Among other things, we are talking about the alleged documentary created by her about Mariupol destroyed by the Rashists, which uses the propaganda narratives of the enemy.

16:20: The SBU detained a Bureau of Economic Crimes official and a local deputy in Zakarpattia who "covered" the illegal sale of excisable goods, the SBU press service said.

·       The official established a mechanism for illegally receiving money from local entrepreneurs. For regular "contributions", he promised them not to respond to the facts of clandestine sales of excisable products, in particular electronic cigarettes.

16:05: Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

15:45 ABC News - Chief of the Defence Intelligence: In the spring, Ukraine is planning a "serious" counteroffensive, and the fighting on the front line in March will be "the hottest".

·       "Then we will see more liberations of territories and the task of the final defeat of the Rashist Federation. This will happen throughout Ukraine from Crimea to Donbas," he said.

·       "russia no longer poses a military threat to the world, it is only fiction, the only remaining issue is a nuclear arsenal and an uncontrolled regime that will make the whole world realize the need for denuclearization of russia."

14:16: Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the next meeting in the Ramstein format on armed support for Ukraine will take place soon.

·       "Ukraine now most of all needs air and missile defense systems and ammunition for them. Therefore, we will negotiate not only on new Patriot batteries, but also on the supply of new NASAMS, IRIS-T, Crotal systems," the minister said.

14:00 Chesno: Almost 70 people's deputies refused to sign an appeal to the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada on the deprivation of powers of deputies of the banned "OPZZh".

·       Among them are Arakhamia, Kornienko, Trukhin, Tishchenko and the Batkivshchyna faction almost in full force.

13:31: russia has used 660 Iranian drones, with 1750 under contract with Tehran, said Vadim Skibitsky, a spokesman for the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

·       "According to our data, now they will have another batch of delivery. How much it will be - we will also specify. As a rule, before that they imported in batches of 250-300 pieces. Let's see how it will be this time," the intelligence official said.

13:15: As of 12:00, electricity consumption in Ukraine is growing. Therefore, consumption limits have been brought to all regions, which are valid from 8:00 to 24:00, Ukrenergo said.

13:05 press service of the Defence Intelligence: The Military Intelligence of Ukraine records the intensification of the resistance movement in the Rashist Federation.

·       On the night of January 4, unknown partisans stopped the movement of trains and military echelons on the section of the Trans-Siberian Railway in the Krasnoyarsk area.

·       In four days of this year, this is the sixth case of blocking the railway, which leads to violations in the schedules of movement of military echelons.

12:40 Representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence: The Rashists are redeploying new units to the north of Crimea, they want to maintain control over the so-called land corridor to the peninsula.

·       "This was their idea of capturing the Donetsk region, the coast of the Sea of Azov, and their plans were to cut off Ukraine from the Black Sea. But the occupying country could not implement any plans in Ukraine. Given that our foreign partners supply us with new weapons, Ukraine will strike at the positions of Russians throughout the occupied territory," Chernyak said.

12:16 Representative of the Defence Intelligence: russia is preparing for a new massive strike on Ukraine, he said.

·       Skibitsky noted that the Rashists would try to apply new approaches during the shelling.

·       "For example, if they do not have enough missiles for a mass raid, they will combine high-precision missiles, the Kh-22, and the S-300 - especially in the frontline areas, and kamikaze drones."

12:06 Foreign Minister: Ukraine expects to deploy the American Patriot system as soon as possible.

·       "Last year we ended with a revolutionary decision to provide Ukraine with American Patriot systems, as agreed by the leaders of Ukraine and the United States Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joseph Biden. We expect the Patriots to be deployed as soon as possible," Kuleba said.

·       Ukraine will receive in 2023 everything that has not been transferred in the past

·       "Today, even children are asked to bring them a Leopard under the Christmas tree, we understand that children think not only about toy "Leopards". We all not only think about it, but also work a lot. Everything has its time, wait for the news."

MORDOR (russia)

January 5

00:02: A fresh satellite image of the Crimean bridge was published by the Copernicus center.

·       The picture shows that restoration work after the explosion on the roadway has not yet been completed.

January 4

22:55: Explosions are heard in the area of Cape Fiolent in the temporarily occupied Crimea, according to local social networks.

20:46 Center for National Resistance: In the temporarily occupied Crimea, it is planned to expel students with debt.

·       "In the temporarily occupied peninsula, preparations are underway for a new wave of mobilization. Within its limits, the so-called "universities" on the peninsula received a directive to expel all students who are subject to mobilization and have academic debt."

16:34: In Tomsk, russia, a fire broke out in the camp where the mobilized are located.

·       RosSMI writes that several tents in which the military and personal belongings of soldiers live have burned down.

KHARKIV

January 5

11:09 Kharkiv RMA: Last day, Rashists shelled the border settlements of Kupyansk, Kharkiv and Chuhuiv districts of the region with artillery, tanks and mortars.

·       During demining, a 42-year-old head of the pyrotechnic work group was killed due to the detonation of the ammunition. A senior sapper of the same group was also injured. He was hospitalized in a state of moderate severity.

·       In addition, in the area of the city of Balakliya, Izyum district, a civilian of 22 years old was detonated on an unknown explosive device. Hospitalized with explosive injuries in a state of moderate severity.

January 4

22:11 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in the Kharkiv region.

21:04: Participant of the National Selection for Eurovision Moses Bondarenko played in the liberated Izyum. The video was published by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.

LUHANSK

January 5

10:24 Luhansk RMA: Ukrainian Defense Forces entrenched in Bilohorivka.

·       He also noted that on the part of the Kharkiv direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are gradually liberating the territory of Luhansk region.

DONETSK

January 5

10:42 Donetsk RMA: In Donetsk sector, Kurakhove suffered the most. Marinka was subjected to intense shelling, and in the morning isolated arrivals were recorded in the old part of Avdiivka, without casualties.

·       In the Horlivka sector, 2 people were killed and 1 wounded in Bakhmut. In Chasovoy Yar, a high-rise building was destroyed, 4 more houses and a hospital building were damaged. In Soledar, a 5-storey building was damaged and no one was injured.

·       In the Lysychansk direction, the Rashists launched a missile strike from the S-300 on the Estuary, and on the territory of the community they shelled Torsky and Zarechny and damaged the house. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

08:44 Donetsk RMA: The Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to push the Rashist troops outside Bakhmut.

·       According to him, more than 60% of Bakhmut was destroyed during the fighting.

·       He also said that on Wednesday, two civilians were killed in shelling of the city.

·       On January 4, Russians killed 2 civilians in the Donetsk region, 3 more people were injured.

January 4

22:18 President's Office: Rashists shelled the private sector of the city of Kurakhove, Donetsk region.

·       Windows, roofs, facades of private houses were damaged. The heating network is also damaged. There are no casualties.

20:53 Advisor to the mayor of the city: Rashists are turning the Mariupol seaport into a military base.

·       "At the same time, all Mariupol residents who worked in the port were fired, and workers from russia came to their place. Small vessels of the river-sea class RMZ can enter the waters of the port.

·       However, this does not prevent the establishment of supplies of enemy military equipment," Andryushchenko wrote.

16:59 State Border Guard Service: In the Bakhmut direction, border guards repulsed the assault and seized the positions of the Rashists with a counterattack.

·       The Rashist military, under the guise of artillery, tried to seize one of the leading Ukrainian positions, but the assault went unsuccessfully. As a result, nine Rashists were killed and about 20 others were wounded. Border guards advanced 300 meters.

16:44: Today, Rashist troops shelled Bakhmut with artillery. One of the shells hit the road. Two elderly women died from the wreckage, the National Police said.

13:46: "The situation in the city of Bakhmut is virtually unchanged. Over the past day, assaults on infantry groups, artillery shelling continued, but the line of defense stands. Bakhmut was, is and will be a Ukrainian city," the Ukrainian military said.

ZAPORIZHIA

January 4

22:44 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in the temporarily occupied Melitopol.

15:30: Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov confirmed arrivals in the temporarily occupied Vasilyevka.

·       "The occupiers complain that today the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporizhia direction "roasted" the military commandant's office in the city of Vasylivka. The death toll and wounded reaches several dozen."

14:45: The so-called "local authorities" of Zaporizhia region reported shelling of the temporarily occupied Vasylivka. At the moment, it is not known for certain exactly where the arrival was and whether there are casualties.

DNIPRO

January 5

08:54 Dnipro RMA: The Rashists covered Nikopol three times with "grads" and heavy artillery.

·       "Several houses and utility buildings, a social infrastructure facility and power lines have been damaged. People were not injured in the strikes

·       A 64-year-old man died in the hospital, who was seriously injured the day before," Reznichenko wrote.

00:42 Social Networks: Sounds of explosions in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region.

January 4

23:29 Social Networks: Explosions are heard again in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region.

19:56 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region.

17:59 Dnipro RMA: The Rashists targeted Nikopol with heavy artillery.

·       "Previously, one person was injured. This is a 64-year-old man. He is in hospital with severe chest lesions," Reznichenko wrote.

14:30 Suspilne: In Dnipro, a monument "Tank" dedicated to Soviet Lieutenant General Efim Pushkin was dismantled.

·       The building was removed from the pedestal and taken to the territory of one of the communal enterprises.

KHERSON

January 5

11:22 Kherson  RMA: As soon as the Rasists attacked the central part of Kherson, they hit the house.

·       A 20-year-old man died from his injuries on the spot.

09:55: Rashists shelled the territory of Kherson region 41 times.

·       The Rashist army attacked Kherson 9 times – once again they shelled residential areas of the city. Rashist shells hit private and apartment buildings. 3 people were injured of varying severity.

09:39 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson.

08:06 Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kherson region

January 4

21:48 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in the temporarily occupied Kakhovka, Kherson region.

19:51 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson, .

13:43 Social Networks: Explosions are heard again in Kherson, .

12:22 Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson.

KYIV

January 5

10:14 Kyiv RMA: Today, trainings for sappers are being conducted on the territory of the Vyshgorod district of Kyiv, local residents can hear the sounds of explosions.

CHERNIHIV

January 4

15:15: In the Chernihiv region, the SBU exposed a traitor who worked for the special services of Belarus, the press service of the SBU reported.

·       It turned out to be a resident of Chernihiv region, who organized a channel of illegal smuggling of Ukrainian citizens of draft age abroad.

·       He also conducted reconnaissance and subversive activities in the region in favor of the special services of Belarus. It was for them that the attacker collected information about the deployment and movement of units of the Defense Forces in the region.

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

www.ubn.news