[Korrespondent] 23:23 In Bakhmut, the occupiers are marching unceremoniously, in groups of 30 people. The Ukrainian military say they are destroying them, and then a new wave goes over the corpses. For more details, see Russian Tactics and Mountains of Corpses .
23:20 During today's Russian shelling of Kherson, a shell hit a Red Cross help center, a female paramedic, a volunteer, died, Zelensky said in an evening video message. Also today communities of the Kharkiv region were shelled again.
In the Donbas, according to the president, brutal Russian attacks continue: “The invaders are throwing everyone and everything they have on the offensive. They cannot defeat our army, and therefore they are physically destroying every city and village so that there are no buildings, no even walls , which can be used for any defense".
23:08 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: "Good conversation - we are preparing to strengthen our defense cooperation. I thank Prime Minister Trudeau and all Canadians for their principled leadership in the sanctions policy. Every sanctions step against Russia during the war, which has already been done by the free world, really helps us bring peace closer. We are also preparing important international events for next week. Something that can give Ukraine more defense support this winter, more military capabilities."
23:02 Another 19,200 Ukrainians will undergo military training in the UK from January 1, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Vadim Prystaiko said: "By the New Year, we are completing the training of almost 10,000 military personnel, and starting from January 1, another 19,200 soldiers and officers will be trained within the UK."
22:41 Telegram channels write about a strike on an enemy ammunition depot in the occupied Irmino, Luhansk region.
22:37 In the occupied Zhelezny Port of the Kherson region, a hotel was blown up in which representatives of the FSB lived, said the speaker of the Odesa OVA Sergey Bratchuk.
22:33 The ambassadors of the EU countries have agreed on the ninth package of sanctions against Russia - the written procedure for agreeing on sanctions should be completed on Friday, December 16, Radio Liberty editor Rikard Jozwiak said.
22:04 Negotiations on the creation of a demilitarized zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant are difficult, Energy Minister German Galushchenko said: "Ukraine's position is clear, we have never changed it - the Russians must leave the station. We are talking about the military, heavy equipment and Rosatom personnel, which actually helps occupation. And after that we will talk about the zone, how it will be defined, how many kilometers it will be."
21:16 The grain deal is unlikely to be expanded in the near future to include new Ukrainian ports or to reduce the time it takes to check ships, Martin Griffiths, UN Deputy Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, said during a visit to Ukraine: "It would be great if the deal could be The more grain is sent to the world, the better - both from our point of view and from the point of view of the whole world. But I do not think that this is already possible to do. "
20:40 The Russians fired at the DTEK energy company today - there were no casualties, but the equipment was seriously damaged. Currently, the enterprise is completely disconnected from the energy system, the shutdown has led to a limitation of heat supply in the region, the company said.
20:14 Zaluzhny said that he had a telephone conversation with the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley: "I updated the issue of providing the Ukrainian Defense Forces with weapons, ammunition and equipment necessary to deter Russian full-scale aggression. I shared with General Milley my main conclusion of an active war with Russia - with such an enemy it is not only necessary, but quite possible to fight to the very end.
19:45 The Russian company Special Technology Center, which manufactures UAVs, is still receiving Western components for the Orlan-10 drone. In particular, intermediaries in the United States, China and Russia help her bypass restrictions. According to Britain's Royal United Defense Research Institute (RUSI), between January and October, the sanctioned STC purchased more than $25 million worth of Western components through intermediaries.
19:37 Russia plans to launch another wave of offensives in February, Reznikov told The Guardian: "While Ukraine can now successfully defend itself against Russian missile attacks on critical infrastructure, including the energy grid, there is evidence that the Kremlin is preparing a new broad offensive. .. Conscripts have been preparing for at least three months. Therefore, they will try to start the next wave of the offensive, most likely in February, like last year. This is their plan."
19:09 Russia can deliver another massive strike at any time, it is not worth predicting their actions, Andrey Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, said: "We know what to expect from the Russian Federation, a terrorist state, but in this situation we will not be tied to the calendar of holidays. Because this empire of evil has its own logic.We see that strikes can be associated with dates or events (for example, a UN meeting), they can be on Mondays, Wednesdays or Thursdays, or they can be unrelated, but chosen on some other logic. In particular, military or internal political on the territory of the Russian Federation."
18:57 The Russian army is concentrating its efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Avdeevsky directions. He is trying to improve the tactical situation in the Limansky direction, and in the Kupyansky and Zaporizhzhya - he is building up a grouping, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an evening summary. According to the General Staff, in order to make up for losses, the Russians are forced to staff the command level of the operational-tactical level with retired officers transferred to the reserve, and even retired officers. They are sent to the area of warfare.
18:45 The Ministry of Internal Affairs is working on installing special cameras and sound sensors that will protect power plants: they will be able to detect objects such as a drone or missile and notify the air defense forces about them, Andriy Nebytov, head of the Main Directorate of the NPU in the Kiev region, said.
According to him, video surveillance devices have already been installed in the Chernobyl zone, which are not yet in Ukraine: law enforcement officers see and record the situation even at night, observing all movements in the border zone to the scale of a person. And recently, the regional council supported a program worth 77 million hryvnias to install video surveillance cameras with face recognition technology in public places.
18:23 EU leaders still agreed to pay Ukraine 18 billion euros of macro-financial assistance in 2023, Radio Liberty Europe editor Rikard Jozwiak said.
17:58 The United States announced the imposition of sanctions against the Russian oligarch, owner of Norilsk Nickel and Tinkoff Bank Vladimir Potanin, as well as against the first deputy chairman of the Russian government Andrei Belousov. In addition, sanctions have been imposed against a number of Russian governors. Potanin's holding company Interros, which owns shares in Norilsk Nickel, fell under sanctions, but Norilsk Nickel itself did not fall under the restrictions.
17:47 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny in an interview with The Economist analyzed the course of further military operations in the war against Russia. The main thing from his interview is in the material They will go again .
17:26 In Warsaw, in the building of the Main Police Department, one of the gifts that the head of the Polish National Police Yaroslav Shimchik received during his working visit to Ukraine on December 11-12 exploded, the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs reported. The explosion occurred at 7:50 on Wednesday, December 14, in a room adjacent to the office of the head of the Polish police. He received minor injuries and is in the hospital for examination. The Polish side turned to the Ukrainian side with a request to provide an explanation.
During his visit to Ukraine, the commandant met with the leadership of the police and the State Emergency Service, and the gift was from one of the leaders of the Ukrainian services. Gazeta Wyborcza writes, citing its sources, that the grenade launcher exploded when the officers were playing with it in the room.
16:54 The Russians fired at the Nikopol region - they fired from heavy artillery from the territory of Energodar, hiding behind a nuclear power plant. In Marganets, one person died, at least three were injured, said the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA, Valentin Reznichenko.
16:48 Pro-Kremlin media received manuals from the presidential administration explaining the cancellation of Putin's message to the Federal Assembly, as well as his "direct line" and press conference. According to two interlocutors of the channel We can explain , they decided to tell the Russian people that the president is focused on the "special operation" and its consequences - such as the restoration of the occupied territories. And all events will take place when the country reaches its goals. At the same time, the “special operation” itself is going according to plan, and Putin allegedly communicates with the people enough anyway.
16:37 The hotline of the project I want to live has already received more than 4,300 calls from Russians on the issue of surrender, project representative Vitaly Matvienko said. According to him, the calls came from the territory of Russia. All those who contacted the hotline are being worked on for safe surrender.
16:08 Occupants in Crimea are preparing for the landing of Ukrainian troops. Thus, a network of minefields, trenches and trenches is being built along the coast near the village of Molochnoye in the Saki region. Additionally, the so-called "dragon's teeth" are being installed - rows of concrete pyramids, which should stop the advance of heavy equipment, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported.
15:49 A new Russian offensive may begin as early as February. The occupiers may go not from the Donbass, but towards Kyiv, from Belarus, and the southern direction is not ruled out, Zaluzhny said in an interview with The Economist. According to him, it is now important for Ukraine to focus on accumulating resources for protracted and difficult battles that may begin next year: "An important strategic task for us is to create reserves and prepare for a war that can take place in February, at best in March, at worst - at the end of January.
15:40 In the city of Orekhov, Zaporozhye region, as a result of two rockets fired from an aircraft, two employees of the local Vodokanal KP were wounded, one of them is in serious condition, said the head of the OVA Alexander Starukh.
15:38 The German government has updated the weekly list of aid to Ukraine. It will include: missiles for IRIS-T; two units of BREM Bergepanzer 2; 30,000 shells for 40 mm grenade launchers; 5000 artillery ammunition 155 mm; four ambulances; 18 8x8 trucks with a special loading system (Wechselladesystem).
15:36 There will be no ceasefire in honor of the New Year, said Alexei Gromov, deputy head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, "I believe that a complete ceasefire on our part will only take place when not a single occupier is left on our land."
15:29 In the occupied territories, the Russians intensify terror after each successful action of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the resistance forces. So, after the destruction of the headquarters of the invaders in the Hunter's Rest in Melitopol, filtration measures intensified - they check mobile phones, cars, people are taken "to the basement," said Mayor Ivan Fyodorov.
In addition, according to him, from January 1, the Russians will also intensify economic terror - the circulation of the hryvnia will be banned, and the use of the Ukrainian currency will be equated with a "federal crime." Melitopol residents, who are already on the verge of survival due to the occupation, are forced to exchange hryvnia for rubles at an extremely unfavorable rate, and local collaborators and their Moscow curators take the difference.
15:23 Zaluzhny said in an interview with The Economist that the Ukrainian army is well equipped, but needs more weapons. Answering a question about a possible new wave of mobilization in Ukraine, the commander-in-chief said: “We are already conducting it in the form in which it is. We have enough people, and I clearly see what I have. I have enough. we need hundreds of thousands more. We need tanks, we need armored personnel carriers, we need infantry fighting vehicles. And we need ammunition."
15:18 The Russians are preparing about 200,000 new soldiers and will go to Kiev again, Zaluzhny told The Economist: "The Russian mobilization has worked. It's not true that their problems are so terrible that these people won't fight. They will fight. The Tsar says they go to war and they go to war. I studied the history of the two Chechen wars - everything was the same. They may not be as well equipped, but they still present a problem for us. According to our estimates, they have a reserve of 1.2 "1.5 million people... The Russians are preparing about 200 thousand new soldiers. I have no doubt that they will go to Kiev again."
“Ammunition is being prepared, not very good, but still. It will not be the resources that could be in two years of a truce. It will be lousy, and the combat potential will be very, very low. Even if he recruits another million people into the army, to throw corpses, as Zhukov did, it still will not bring the desired result," Zaluzny added.
15:11 Ukraine will be able to reach the frontiers on February 23 if it has 300 tanks, 600-700 infantry fighting vehicles and 500 howitzers, Zaluzhny said in an interview with The Economist. Now, according to him, Ukraine gets "what it gets, but it's less than it needs." The Commander-in-Chief added that with such resources he cannot conduct "new major operations", although the Armed Forces of Ukraine are currently working on one of them. According to him, this operation is "already on the way."
Answering a question about the attack on Crimea, Zaluzhny noted that in order to reach the borders of Crimea, the Armed Forces of Ukraine need to overcome the distance of 84 km to Melitopol - its liberation will give Ukraine full fire control over the land corridor to the occupied peninsula. But in order to reach Melitopol, Ukraine needs resources, Zaluzhny stressed.
15:02 Zaluzhny, in an interview with The Economist, told what he thinks about the commander of the Russian troops in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin: "With all due respect to Mr. Surovikin, if you look at him, he is an ordinary commander from the time of Peter I, let's say, a bullshit. You look at and you understand that either you complete the task, or you are finished. And we have long understood that this approach does not work. "
According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, everything is different in the Ukrainian army - sometimes 21-year-old lieutenants command men who are 50-60 years old. And "keeping order with fists and biceps" does not work in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Zaluzhny stressed that he trusts his generals, and also listens to those who are on the ground, "because the initiative is there."
14:43 The vast majority of Ukrainians surveyed - 97% - are confident that Ukraine will be able to repel Russia's attack, according to the opinion poll of the Rating group.
14:27 The leader of the "LPR" Pasechnik banned the sale of alcohol in the front-line territories.
14:16 Zelensky said during an address to the European Council that the next six months will be decisive in many respects in the confrontation that Russia began with its aggression. The President highlighted the main points to focus on:
- Russia's energy terror must be defeated in all forms.
- Winter stability of Ukraine, energy supply of Ukrainians.
- Defense support should be no less than in the past six months.
- Diplomacy and support for the Ukrainian formula for peace.
- Value task for the next six months: European integration of Ukraine.
13:48 The European Parliament voted to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. In the resolution, the EP "recognizes the Holodomor, the artificial famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, caused by the conscious policy of the Soviet government, genocide against the Ukrainian people, as it was committed with the aim of destroying a group of people by deliberately creating living conditions calculated for their physical destruction."
In this regard, the European Parliament called on the Russian Federation "as the legal successor of the Soviet Union to officially recognize the Holodomor and apologize for these crimes." In addition, the EP called on "all countries and international organizations that have not yet recognized the Holodomor as genocide to do so."
13:35 The Baltic countries and Poland are blocking the adoption of a new package of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation, as some countries have proposed to mitigate them under the pretext of ensuring food exports, said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.
13:18 Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexei Gromov does not rule out that Belarus is preparing for a war against Ukraine. In particular, according to him, this is evidenced by the fact that territorial defense is being created in the regions bordering Ukraine, and the ban on visiting the territories bordering the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions has been extended. In addition, the death penalty for state treachery is introduced for civil servants and the military.
13:10 The Armed Forces of Ukraine advanced in the east of Ukraine, said the representative of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksiy Gromov: "During the offensive operations, the defense forces advanced up to 1.5 km in the area of the settlement of Dibrova."
13:06 Kherson is completely de-energized due to enemy shelling, said the head of the OVA, Yaroslav Yanushevich. According to him, there is a powerful shelling of a critical infrastructure facility in the Ship District of the city. As soon as possible, power engineers will start restoring power grids.
12:30 Since the beginning of the voluntary evacuation, 11,000 residents have left Kherson, Irina Vereshchuk said. Of these, 7 thousand took advantage of free state evacuation, another 4 thousand left on their own. According to the minister, now in the de-occupied Kherson, people most of all need to clear the territory and resume the supply of electricity.
Vereshchuk also called on all residents of the temporarily occupied territories who have such an opportunity to evacuate.
12:26 Carriers of Kinzhal MiG-31K missiles and A-50U early warning aircraft have arrived in Belarus. Oleksiy Gromov, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that this indicates an increase in the aggressor's ability to launch air strikes on the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, according to him, there is not yet enough Russian aviation on the territory of Belarus to conduct a land offensive.
12:07 Biden approved the expansion of training of the Ukrainian military at the American base in the German Grafenwöhr. It is planned to increase the number of the military and update tactics, writes The New York Times, citing officials. Expanded training will allow US instructors to train one Ukrainian battalion - about 600 to 800 troops - every month. Currently, Americans train an average of 300 military personnel per month.
U.S. instructors will train Ukrainian soldiers in more advanced combat tactics, including conducting team drills such as coordinating ground infantry maneuvers with artillery support. It is planned that the expanded training program will start at the beginning of 2023.
11:54 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that Russia is likely preparing for a new large-scale offensive in January-February along the Kharkiv-Luhansk border or in the Donetsk region. Thus, Russian troops are already moving heavy equipment from the rear areas of the Lugansk region to areas located near the current front line. At the same time, the troops of the Russian Federation in the Donetsk region are significantly reinforced by units released after Russia left the Kherson region, as well as mobilized reservists.
11:16 The enemy again hit the center of Kherson, 100 meters from the UVA building. There is information about two dead, the President's Office reported.
11:03 A significant shortage of electricity remains in the energy system of Ukraine, the situation is significantly complicated by weather conditions, Ukrenergo reported. In the east, the enemy again launched an artillery strike on one of the de-occupied regions - energy infrastructure facilities were damaged. Limits of daily electricity consumption in some areas have already been exceeded in the morning, emergency shutdowns have been applied.
10:59 The UN is ready for possible new large waves of displacement of Ukrainians, Deputy Secretary General Martin Griffiths said. At the same time, he expressed the hope that the situation that developed after the start of the Russian invasion, when there was the largest displacement of people since the Second World War, would not be repeated.
10:43 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy on the morning of December 15.
- personnel - about 96,590 (+590) people liquidated,
- tanks - 2975 (+5),
- armored combat vehicles - 5946 (+9),
- artillery systems - 1943 (+12),
- MLRS - 406 (+2),
- air defense systems - 211 (+0),
- aircraft - 281 (+0),
- helicopters - 264 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 1644 (+27),
- cruise missiles - 592 (+0),
- ships/boats - 16 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 4563 (+1),
- special equipment - 172 (+1).
10:07 Russians over the past day fired at the territory of Kherson 86 times. Three people were killed, including an eight-year-old child, and 13 more civilians were injured, said the head of the UVA, Yaroslav Yanushevich.
10:04 The head of the Luhansk OVA, Serhiy Gaidai, announced a strike on an enemy ammunition depot in Kadievka.
09:45 The Ukrainian military managed to push the occupiers out of two blocks of Bakhmut, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Pogrebinsky told the Kiev TV channel: “The President noted the 46th brigade, this is my brigade, where I serve. Yesterday we counterattacked the enemy’s positions and knocked him out of several blocks of Bakhmut .Now it's not there."
09:17 British intelligence believes that the joint forces of the Russian Federation and Belarus are now hardly capable of a successful offensive from Belarusian territory.
09:04 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, two civilians were killed - in Bakhmut and Razdolovka. Four more people were injured in the region, Pavel Kirilenko, head of the OVA, said.
08:41 The Russian army continues to focus its efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Avdeevsky directions. He is trying to improve the tactical situation in the Kupyansky, Limansky and Zaporozhye directions. In other directions, it is trying to restrain the actions of the Defense Forces, the General Staff said in the morning summary . Over the past day, attacks by invaders were repelled in the areas of the settlements of Verkhnekamenskoe, Yakovlevka, Soledar, Bakhmut, Vesele and Marinka, Donetsk region.
According to the General Staff, the invaders mined summer cottages and the banks of the Konka and Chaika rivers in the Oleshkovsky community of the Kherson region. The enemy also forcibly evacuated Ukrainian citizens living on Bolshoi Potemkinsky Island near Kherson to the territory controlled by the Russian Federation. The occupying "authority" is working to switch the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to the energy system of the Russian Federation.
07:43 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that Putin's decision to postpone the annual address to the Federal Assembly indicates that he is not confident in his ability to shape the Russian information space amid growing criticism of the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin has also ditched the annual live conference to avoid tough questions. Analysts say this could undermine Putin's populist appeal as a ruler who stays in touch with his population.
07:12 The EU and NATO plan to soon officially publish a joint call for Russia to end the war and leave Ukraine, writes Politico. According to the publication, the declaration was being prepared for more than a year, but was delayed due to tensions between Turkey and Cyprus. While the text is largely unremarkable, giving it official status would be a significant diplomatic achievement, Politico notes.
06:41 "Mayor" of Donetsk said that the city center on the morning of December 15 was subjected to "the most massive strike since 2014." Russian propagandists blame the UAF for the attack, although local residents talk about the sounds of "sorties" nearby.
06:18 The United States plans to transfer advanced electronic equipment to Ukraine capable of converting unguided aircraft munitions into "smart bombs", writes The Washington Post. According to senior US officials, the Ukrainian military can use "smart bombs" to hit Russian military positions with a high degree of accuracy.
Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) - a set of equipment based on GPS technology that turns simple free-fall bombs into all-weather corrective ("smart") munitions. However, it remains to be seen whether Biden or any of his top national security advisers approved of the proposed transfer of JDAM to Ukraine.
00:22 The Sejm of Poland adopted a resolution recognizing the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.