Ukraine Daily

Saturday, December 31

Russia’s war against Ukraine

This photograph taken on Dec. 30, 2022, shows a destroyed house in the village of Davydiv Brid, in Kherson region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Air Force spokesman dismisses Russia’s claim of never running out of missiles. Contrary to what Russia says, international sanctions will hinder it from producing an endless supply of cruise missiles.

Air defense downs 10 Russian kamikaze drones on Dec. 30. During the day on Dec. 30, Russia launched five missile and 29 air strikes across Ukraine, as well as 10 Iranian-made kamikaze drones, but all were shot down, the General Staff said.

Kyiv approaches 700 hours of air alerts since full-scale invasion. That means that the city has spent approximately one month in the state of air raid alert.

Klitschko: Kyiv’s population returns to pre-war level. In March, less than one million people remained in Kyiv, according to Klitschko. By July, three months after the liberation of occupied Kyiv Oblast, including the suburbs of Irpin and Bucha near the capital, this figure had reached 2.5 million. At the same time a year ago, Klitschko had stated that up to 4.6 million people live in the capital.

IAEA: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses connection to back-up power line due to shelling. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that late in the evening on Dec. 29, the last functioning back-up power line at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, occupied by Russia, was disconnected as a result of shelling.

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Zelensky: Securing energy system a top priority for Ukraine in 2023. According to Zelensky, the government has a “clear strategy for ensuring the generation and supply of electricity. “It will take time and a lot of effort, but it will happen,” Zelensky said.

Ukrainian army liberates village in Luhansk Oblast in coordinated assault operation. A joint force consisting of the Kraken Special Unit and the 92th Separate Mechanized Brigade conducted a “fiery raid on the occupied village”, with numerous Russian troops taken captive.

New program offers free bone repair implants to wounded Ukrainians. The procedures will be performed in three hospitals in Uzhhorod, Vynnytsia and Cherkasy and is expected to help people recover from particularly complex bone damage.

Donbas resident who joined Russian military gets 15 years for treason. He became a full-fledged contracted soldier of the Russian army in July and was captured by Ukrainian forces during a reconnaissance and sabotage mission.

Reznikov warns Russians of ‘one week left’ before Putin closes borders. In a video address on Dec. 30, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov warned Russian citizens that Russia’s leadership is preparing a new wave of mobilization and plans to close the border within a week.

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Reznikov: Russia could take up to 10 years to restore its military after losses in Ukraine. Earlier, Reznikov reported that the Russian army faces a shortage of high-precision weapons, including Iskander ballistic missiles, having used most of its high-precision missile arsenal.

Official: Russia demolishes 50 multi-story buildings in occupied Mariupol. As of December, 90% of the strategic port city in Donetsk Oblast was destroyed by Russia’s brutal siege of the city from February to April 2022. Around 100,000 residents, less than a quarter of the city’s pre-war population, still reside in occupied Mariupol, according to Ukrainian authorities.

PM: Ukraine secures food supplies for 2023, receives over $31 billion financial support. Despite “the most difficult sowing season in the history of Ukraine”, farmers managed to harvest 60 million tons of crops ensuring food stocks for the next year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a cabinet meeting on Dec.30.

Watch: One day of a Kyiv family struggling with power outages

The human cost of Russia’s war

Governor: Russian forces kill civilian in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces killed a civilian in Bakhmut over the past day, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on Dec. 30. According to Kyrylenko, 1,282 people have been killed, and 2,799 have been injured in Donetsk Oblast since Feb. 24.

Official: Russian attack kills 2 people, injures 2 in Katerynivka, Kharkiv Oblast. A Russian attack on the community of Katerynivka in Kharkiv Oblast killed two people and wounded two on Dec. 30, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said. Tymoshenko said emergency services are working on the scene.

Official: Russian forces kill 1 person in Semenivka, Chernihiv Oblast. One person has been killed due to Russian attacks on Semenivka in Chernihiv Oblast, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Dec. 30. Tymoshenko said the community lost electricity following the attack.

General Staff: Large group of Russian soldiers killed near Donetsk amid continued assault on region. Ukrainian forces killed and wounded up to 10 Russian troops, destroyed two vehicles and damaged three more near the occupied city of Donetsk, according to the Ukrainian General Staff’s evening briefing.

General Staff: Russia has lost 105,250 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Dec. 30 that Russia had also lost 3,026 tanks, 6,059 armored fighting vehicles, 4,683 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,010 artillery systems, 423 multiple launch rocket systems, 212 air defense systems, 283 airplanes, 268 helicopters, 1,740 drones, and 16 boats.

International response

UK hands Ukraine more than 1,000 metal detectors, 100 bomb de-arming kits. The U.K. has supplied Ukraine with over 1,000 VALLON metal detectors and 100 bomb de-arming kits to help clear the country’s minefields and make safe reclaimed territory, civilian homes, and infrastructure, the U.K. government said in a statement on Dec. 30.

Xi says Beijing ready to ‘increase political cooperation’ with Moscow. In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 30, Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed stepping up political cooperation between Russia and China.

In other news

Ukrainian billionaire Zhevago leaves his iron ore company’s board after arrest in France. Zhevago is wanted in Ukraine in a major embezzlement case connected to a bank he used to own.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Teah Pelechaty, Thaisa Semenova, Olga Rudenko, Igor Kossov, Francis Farrell, Natalia Datskevych, Anastasiya Gordiychuk, and Lili Bivings.

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