ISW Key inflections in ongoing military operations on January 8:
www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-updates
Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov stated on January 8 that Russia plans to begin domestic production of Iranian-made drones.[18]
Russian forces continued counterattacks to regain lost positions along the Svatove-Kreminna line on January 8.[19] Luhansk Oblast Head Serhiy Haidai stated on January 8 that Russian forces transferred several battalions from the Bakhmut area to the Kreminna area.[20]
Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Serhiy Cherevaty stated on January 8 that Russian forces do not control Soledar, and other official Ukrainian sources reported that Ukrainian forces captured Russian positions near Bakhmut.[21] Prominent Russian milbloggers expressed divergent opinions of the potential for the Russian encirclement of Bakhmut.
Russian forces continued offensive operations around Bakhmut and along the western outskirts of Donetsk City.[22]
Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov claimed on January 7 that 300 Chechen Akhmat-1 OMON personnel deployed to Ukraine.[23]
Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces used incendiary munitions to strike civilian infrastructure in Kherson City overnight on January 7–8.[24]
Russian forces are continuing to intensify filtration measures to identify partisans in occupied territories. Russian occupation authorities claimed that likely Ukrainian partisans committed sabotage by mining a gas pipeline in Luhansk Oblast on January 8.[25]
Russian occupation authorities intensified passportization efforts in occupied territories on January 8.[26]
+++
Kyiv Indep Telegram
⚡️ Ukrainian officials: Russians convert (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/officials-russians-convert-maternity-ward-in-occupied-city-into-military-hospital-for-its-troops) maternity ward in occupied Antratsyt in Luhansk Oblast into military hospital for its troops.
“The occupiers have almost erased civilian medical institutions from the map,” said the regional administration.
⚡️ DTEK: Russia attacked (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/dtek-russia-attacked-thermal-power-plant-on-orthodox-christmas-eve) thermal power plant on Jan. 6.
⚡️ Official: 50 Ukrainian troops returned (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/official-50-ukrainian-troops-returned-from-russian-captivity) from Russian captivity.
Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office Andriy Yermak reported on Jan. 8 that 50 Ukrainian military personnel were freed from Russian captivity and returned to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange.
⚡️Shmyhal: "World's largest minefield" created (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/shmyhal-worlds-largest-minefield-created-in-ukraine-as-result-of-russian-invasion) in Ukraine as result of Russian invasion.
Some 250,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian land – nearly 40% of all country’s territory – have been mined
⚡️General Staff: Russian national guard shoots (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/general-staff-russian-national-guard-shoots-own-soldiers-for-planning-to-surrender-to-ukraine) own soldiers for planning to surrender to Ukraine.
On Jan. 5, Russia employed a unit of the country's national guard Rosgvardiia to shoot six Russian troops who had signaled their intention to surrender to Ukrinian forces near Chystopillia in the southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine's General Staff reported in its daily evening briefing.
⚡️Reuters: No signs of 600 Ukrainian soldiers allegedly (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/reuters-no-signs-of-600-ukrainian-soldiers-allegedly-killed-by-russia-in-kramatorsk-after-revenge-attack) killed by Russia in Kramatorsk after ‘revenge attack.’ [retaliation? isn't killing soldiers in war just normal? Were they going to leave these 'soldiers' alone otherwise? They really can't think very clearly can they]
⚡️Zelensky: Bakhmut (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/zelensky-cities-of-bakhmut-and-soledar-hold-on-in-spite-of-everything) and Soledar ‘hold on in spite of everything,’ more units to be sent to defense of key cities.
Ukraine war latest: ‘Very difficult’ situation in Soledar amid Russian advance in Donetsk Oblast (kyivindependent.com/national/ukraine-war-latest-very-difficult-situation-in-soledar-amid-russian-advance-in-donetsk-oblast)
Russian forces are slowly advancing in the eastern Donetsk Oblast, and the situation is “very difficult” in the town of Soledar, near the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut, a Ukrainian defense official said on Jan. 8.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported that tough heavy fighting is raging in eastern Ukraine as Russia masses its forces in a desperate bid to capture any settlement “for propaganda purposes.”
⚡️Official: Kinburn Spit at Dnipro delta "remains front line", islands contested (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/official-kinburn-spit-at-dnipro-delta-remains-front-line-islands-contested).
According to Ukrainian military spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk, a 40-kilometer long and up to 12-kilometer wide part of the Kinburn peninsula between the Dnipro-Buzka estuary and the Black Sea, is currently “the demarcation line, the front line, where the battles are going on.”
⚡️Politico: Ukraine cyber officials gathering digital evidence (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/politico-ukraine-gathering-digital-evidence-for-international-criminal-court-to-prosecute) for International Criminal Court to prosecute.
UNITED24 Media
Russia is preparing to launch the production of Iranian kamikaze drones in Tolyatti, there are other cities, – Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine
L3Harris Technologies, the manufacturer of VAMPIRE, has received a contract for the production of 14 mobile anti-drone systems for Ukraine
The cost of the work is $ 40 million, the customer is the US Department of Defense.
The company will install missile systems on vehicles provided by the US government. The VAMPIRE portable kit will allow you to shoot down enemy drones and other airborne targets at low altitudes.
The contract provides for the delivery of four VAMPIREs by mid-2023 and ten more by the end of the year.
At the end of January, the Pentagon will train the Ukrainian military to operate the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle
According to Laura Cooper, deputy assistant to the head of the Pentagon for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, the course for 500 Ukrainian troops will last a month.
Nuclear weapons will not be placed on Finnish territory after it joins NATO, – Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto
Russia attracts its power engineers to prepare missile strikes on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, – the head of Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytsky in an interview with the Financial Times.
Russian engineers knew Ukraine's power system like the back of their hand because just before the invasion, it was disconnected from the Russian one.
But now Ukrainian engineers have a better understanding of Russian strategy and can take steps to minimize the impact of the attacks, Kudrytsky explained.
In his opinion, the strikes primarily concern transformers in key nodes of the distribution system of the power system.
Russia is trying to break up the energy system into isolated sections in order to disrupt the transmission of electricity between regions.
This year Ukraine entered top 15 most powerful armies in the world. It follows from the rating of the international company Global Firepower, which does annual ranking. Such an estimate of Ukraine’s military potential is a joint result, that Western aid helped a lot to happen.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to pressure Europe with energy resources will fail, – Bloomberg
Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to pressure Europe with energy resources will fail, – Bloomberg
European countries have passed the lowest point of the energy crisis, avoiding critical problems in the economy, the article says.
This was facilitated by relatively warm weather, an expansion of the range of suppliers, efforts to reduce demand, and a new outbreak of coronavirus in China, which reduced competition in the LPG market.
Gas storage facilities in European countries will be filled by about 50% by spring, provided that comfortable weather conditions continue, analysts at Morgan Stanley and Wood Mackenzie say. This is twice as much as in the same period last year.
Gas consumption in Europe will decrease this year by about 16%. Europe is already buying more liquefied natural gas than it needs, and green energy will cut electricity generation from gas by 39%, analysts at Morgan Stanley and S&P Global predic
Italy will approve new military assistance to Ukraine no earlier than February, writes La Repubblica
Ukrainian military is developing a new weapon that will become a "tank killer," — The New York Times
Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are going to remake a fragmentation grenade for installation on DJI Mavic drones.
In Russia, the number of sabotage is growing, — Podolyak
The Office of the President believes that Russia's defeats in Ukraine have desacralized Putin's personality, his entourage, and the very vertical of power. [interesting new word, desacralized!]
Live: Ukraine
We are discussing with France the delivery of air defense systems to Ukraine, - Italian Foreign Minister for Ansa.
The Italian government is still finalizing the sixth package of defense aid to Ukraine, after which the Parliament will be informed about it.
A new massive attack may be in cold weather. Temperatures are falling, and the Russians have not attacked us for several days, - representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Skibitskyi.
He noted that Russia may also launch a new offensive in Zaporizhzhya region, and in Kharkiv direction they will try to stop our counteroffensive.
In Kyiv, the memory of those killed in the plane crash on January 8, 2020 in the skies over Tehran, then there were 176 people on board - Suspilne
UIA employees, former president of the airline Yevhen Dykhne and relatives of the victims came to the memorial.
Sweden cannot fulfill the requirements that Turkey sets as a condition for unblocking accession to NATO - Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
❗️Joint military aviation exercises with Russia will be held in Belarus from January 16 to February 1. All military airfields and training grounds of the Armed Forces of Belarus will be used for this purpose.
▪️UN: Russia has caused the largest wave of refugees in 80 years
Russians recruited Ukrainian children in a mobile game for military purposes
"Russians tried to use Ukrainian children to unknowingly provide information about the location of strategically important objects through a mobile game.This is not just a dirty trick, it is a war crime," said Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov.
Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi visited the positions of servicemen defending Bakhmut and Soledar
🔻Germany does not rule out the supply of Leopard tanks, heavier than Marder, to support Ukrainian troops in the future - Minister of Economy, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck [wish they'd make their minds up, and wish they'd make them up for Yes]
Slightly more personnel losses again and no less than 3 helicopters down. Photo is the retrieval of a civilian from under the rubble of a building. The first photo showed nothing but earth, the person could very easily have been missed and died trapped there.