Ukraine Daily

Thursday, January 12

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish President Andrzej Duda attend a press conference in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Jan. 11, 2023, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images)

Donetsk Oblast Governor denies Russia captured Soledar, claims Ukraine ‘fighting for every centimeter.’ Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko claimed that the fight was unfolding in the western and northern parts of the town, including inside the salt mine. No evacuation or humanitarian aid convoys have been allowed to enter Soledar since Jan. 6 for safety reasons, Kyrylenko said. Some 550 civilians currently remain in Soledar without heating in subzero weather, according to him.

General Staff: Battle for Soledar near Bakhmut continues as Russia aims to cut supply routes for Ukraine. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in its regular evening update on Jan. 11 that the Russian forces continue to focus their efforts on attempts to capture the eastern Donetsk Oblast by conducting an offensive in the Bakhmut area.

Satellite imagery shows magnitude of destruction in Soledar. New images published by U.S. satellite imagery company Maxar from after Jan. 10 reveal apartment buildings in Soledar that have been completely destroyed as Russia lays siege to the town.

Russia appoints Gerasimov in place of Surovikin as overall commander of war against Ukraine. Russia’s defense ministry cited “an expansion of the scale of the tasks being solved” and “the need to organize closer interaction between the branches of troops” as the reasons for the change in leadership.

Intelligence: All potential conscripts banned from leaving Russia. According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has banned all potential conscripts from leaving the country in all directions since Jan. 9. The Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later denied the report.

Retired US general: Ukraine’s partners must “stop holding themselves back” with weapons deliveries. “I don’t think the Russians will actually be able to escalate,” ex-U.S. Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges said, “and that’s why we need to stop holding back.” “I hope for tanks, ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles, Grey Eagle and Reaper drones, and F-16 fighter aircraft. But there is no guarantee.“

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Opposition: Belarus may have created Wagner-like private military company. Called Gardservis, the security service company has “significantly increased” the number of employees and is preparing to participate in military operations, according to Valeriy Sakhashchyk, defense and security representative of the leader of the Belarus opposition in exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

UK Defense Ministry: Russian troops in Belarus unlikely to constitute credible offensive force. The new deployment of Russian aircraft to Belarus is likely a genuine exercise rather than preparation for any additional offensive operations against Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Jan. 11.

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Zelensky: NATO’s ‘open door’ rhetoric not enough for Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky urged NATO to take concrete steps toward Ukraine’s membership in the alliance at the July summit.

Zelensky: ‘There will be no World War III. It’s not a trilogy.’ “World War I claimed millions of lives. World War II claimed tens of million. There will be no World War III. It is not a trilogy. Ukraine will stop Russia’s aggression on our land. We will do it together with the whole free world,” he said during a virtual appearance at the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards.

Ombudsman: Ukraine, Russia agree on prisoner swap. Russia and Ukraine have agreed on an exchange of 40 prisoners of war, Russia’s Human Rights Ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova told Reuters on Jan. 11.

Energy Ministry: Ukraine started importing small volumes of electricity from EU. Since the beginning of 2023, Ukraine has started to import electricity from the European Union in small volumes, according to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko. The ministry expects to increase the volumes.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Official: Russian attack on Marhanets in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injures 1. Nine residential buildings, a greenhouse, eight cars, and a power line were damaged as a result of the shelling, according to local authorities.

Governor: Russian forces shell maternity center in Kherson, 1 injured. Locals reported a loud explosion soon followed by a fire in the building. Windows are damaged, the governor said. One woman, a staff member at the center, was lightly injured, Kherson Oblast Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said.

Governor: Russian forces shell Kherson Oblast, injuring 5. Russian forces shelled Kherson Oblast 63 times on Jan. 10, injuring five people, Kherson Oblast Governor Yaroslav Yanushevysh reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 112,960 troops **in Ukraine since Feb. 24.**The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Jan. 11 that Russia had lost 112,960 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24.According to the report, Russia has also lost 3,094 tanks, 6,159 armored fighting vehicles, 4,826 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,078 artillery systems, 437 multiple launch rocket systems, 217 air defense systems, 285 airplanes, 275 helicopters, 1,862 drones, and 17 boats.

International response

Poland to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Polish President Andrzej Duda made the announcement at a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nauseda in Lviv on Jan. 11 as part of the “Lublin Triangle” format, the regional partnership established by the three in July 2020.

FT: UK reveals plan to send tanks to Ukraine. According to the report, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asked his Defense Minister Ben Wallace to “work with the partners” in the coming weeks to go “further and faster with our support for Ukraine, including the provision of tanks.”

Ambassador to Turkey denies reports about Ankara’s supplies of cluster munitions to Ukraine. Ukraine’s Ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, said that such claims are made in an attempt to damage Ukraine-Turkish relations, as well as the international image of these two countries.

Stoltenberg: NATO should step up support for Ukraine amid battle of Soledar. “This shows once again the bravery of Ukrainian forces as they fight to defend their homeland. It also shows how vital it is that we step up our military support to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told a news conference.

10 Norway-donated bridges to be installed in liberated parts of Ukraine. Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure reported on Jan. 11 that Norway had sent 10 bridges worth over $3 million to Ukraine in December.

Mayors of 4 European capitals visit Kyiv, vow further support for Ukrainian capital. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko thanked the mayors of Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, and Bratislava for the support they have already provided to the Ukrainian capital, as it continues to be the target of Russia’s missile and drone attacks.

Top EU official: Ukraine can’t join EU while partly occupied by Russia. “The whole idea is to make sure that Ukraine comes out of this conflict victorious, sovereign, independent, free, and has the opportunity to make this choice itself. And I think Ukraine is fighting to make this happen,” European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans said.

WSJ: US, allies preparing new sanctions on Russian oil. The United States and its allies are preparing the latest round of sanctions, this time looking to cap the sales prices of Russian exports of refined petroleum products, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two unnamed people familiar with the matter.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Alexander Khrebet, Francis Farrell, Thaisa Semenova, Toma Istomina, Anhelina Shamlii, Anastasiya Gordiychuk, and Lili Bivings.

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