Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:28 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and signed an agreement on long-term cooperation and support between the countries. Albania provides military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and will continue to support it for the entire ten-year period of the document.
21:56 Russians attacked Kiev with drones on Tuesday evening, January 21. The wreckage of a drone shot down as a result of successful air defense operations fell into a reservoir in the Dniprovsky district of the capital. This was reported by the Kiev City Military Administration.
20.59 Data of users of Russia's largest provider, Rostelecom , fell into the hands of hackers and was published online. This was reported by the data leak detection and darknet monitoring service DLBI.
19:59 The United States of America must play its role in negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. But this "vigorous" diplomacy must be behind the scenes, said the new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
19:47 Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, during a meeting with Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk on Tuesday, January 21, proposed handing over to the Ukrainian side Russian weapons seized by IDF soldiers. This was reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel.
18.48 Suspected of negligence, due to which the enemy was able to capture part of the territory of the Kharkiv region in May 2024, the former commander of the 415th separate rifle battalion, Colonel Ilya Lapin, was taken into custody.
18.41 German armored vehicle manufacturer KNDS Deutschland has officially opened a joint venture with one of Ukraine's defense companies. This was announced by Minister of Strategic Industries German Smetanin. The newly created company will specialize in servicing and repairing military equipment supplied to meet the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
17:39 One of the demands of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at possible negotiations will be a reduction of the Ukrainian Armed Forces by five times. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
17:13 In Kursk region, the military of the 73rd Marine Center of Special Operations Forces are destroying the enemy, receiving important data on the involvement of DPRK soldiers. This was reported by the press service of the Special Operations Forces on Tuesday, January 21.
15.39 The Cabinet of Ministers has decided to distribute funds monthly between brigades for the purchase of drones. Now, UAH 2.5 billion will be distributed monthly between the Ukrainian Armed Forces brigades for the purchase of UAVs. This was announced by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on Tuesday, January 21.
13:36 Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that fortifications created in frontline areas will be transferred to the control of the Ministry of Defense within a month. The head of government reported this on Tuesday, January 21.
11:58 The Russian army carried out a drone strike on Kharkov. This was reported by the head of the regional military administration Oleg Sinegubov.
According to him, at 11:18 a strike was recorded in the Shevchenkivskyi district. As a result of the shelling by the Shahed UAV, garages were damaged, one was destroyed, one passenger car and the windows of a dormitory were damaged.
11:19 Ukrainian military personnel hit a number of important objects on the territory of the aggressor country Russia and the occupied part of the Donetsk region. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, this is the Liskinskaya oil depot, the aircraft plant in Smolensk and the command post of the Russian army in Volnovakha.
10:38 Russian troops attacked Kherson twice from UAVs on the morning of January 21. As a result of drone strikes, five people were injured - a 44-year-old woman and men aged 52, 53, 56 and 78.
9:57 In the Kyiv region, as a result of falling debris from downed enemy drones, a private house and a car were damaged in one of the settlements.
9:39 Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed 72 Russian drones , another 59 drone imitators were lost. This was reported by the Ukrainian Air Force.
8:58 Over the past 24 hours, aviation, missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces hit 22 areas of concentration of personnel and equipment, 11 command posts, ten artillery systems, four air defense systems, four warehouses of military-technical property (ammunition, fuel and lubricants), as well as nine other important objects of the Russian invaders. This was reported on January 21 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
8:46 As a result of the strike on the Dnieper and the region, a warehouse, an enterprise and houses were damaged. A man injured in the shelling is in hospital in moderate condition. This was reported by the head of the Dnepropetrovsk OVA Serhiy Lysak.
8:34 Russian troops struck railway infrastructure in the Dnepropetrovsk region, wounding two railway workers . This was reported by Ukrzaliznytsia. One of the victims was hospitalized, the other received medical assistance on the spot. Buildings and rolling stock were also damaged as a result of the shelling.
7:45 The Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed 1,600 occupiers, about 300 pieces of equipment and 130 drones in 24 hours. The General Staff reported this on January 21. 7:21 Explosions were heard in Dnipro during an air raid alarm . This was reported by Suspilne.Dnipro. First, the Ukrainian Air Force warned of the threat of ballistic weapons from the east and called on Dnipro residents to take shelter.
05:29 Russian invaders have had some success in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions. They will advance in Dvurchnaya, Velyka Novosilka, Nadezhda, Uspenovka and Slavyanka, DeepState reports.
01:50 Drones attacked Russian Smolensk at night. Social media reports that they hit an aircraft factory. Footage of a fire at the plant has also been published.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The Ukrainian Armed Forces are engaged in heavy fighting in the east and south of Ukraine.
Significant enemy activity is observed only in the Pokrovsky direction, where fighting continues in the areas of 16 populated areas.
Since the beginning of the current day, 55 combat clashes have occurred on the front, more than half of which were in the Pokrovsk direction. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an operational report as of 16:00 on Tuesday, January 21.
Thus, in the Kupyansk direction, Russian troops stormed four times near Dvurechnaya, Petropavlovka, Lozovaya and Novaya Kruglyakovka.
In the Liman direction, the enemy is trying to advance in the areas of the settlements of Kopanki, Terny and Kolodtsy. There have already been four combat clashes, one of which is still ongoing.
In the Seversky direction, the occupiers tried to advance in the direction of Ivano-Daryevka and were rebuffed.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are repelling three assaults near the settlements of Chasov Yar and Fedorovka. The fighting is still ongoing.
In the Toretsk direction, the enemy attacked five times in the Toretsk region. Three combat clashes are still ongoing.
In the Pokrovsk direction, the enemy attacked 33 times near the settlements of Vodyanoye Vtoroye, Zelenoe Pole, Mirolyubovka, Promen, Mirnograd, Novy Trud, Pokrovsk, Zverevoye, Uspenovka, Slavyanka, Serebryanoye, Shevchenko, Andreyevka, Ulakly, Yantarnoye, Dachnoye. Nine combat clashes are still ongoing.
One enemy attack was recorded in the Novopavlovsk, Orekhov and Pridneprovsk directions. All of them were repelled.
In the Kursk direction, the Russians attacked our defenders twice.
It should be noted that on January 20 at 16:00 there were 64 combat clashes on the front, while in the previous days the number of battles reached 80-90. This means that the enemy troops have noticeably reduced their activity.
Let us recall that over the past 24 hours, Russian losses have reached 1,600 killed and wounded . The total losses of the aggressor country Russia since the beginning of the war are approaching 830,000 people.
Linked article is available only through a VPN.
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kharkov direction, the Sever Group of Forces hit formations of a motorised infantry brigade of the AFU close to Volchansk (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 60 troops, one tank, one armoured fighting vehicle, two motor vehicles, and four field artillery guns.
The Zapad Group's units captured more advantageous lines and positions, inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades and one infantry brigade of the AFU close to Novoyegorovka (Lugansk People's Republic), Drobyshevo, Kolodezi, Seversk, Yampol (Donetsk People's Republic), Dvurechnaya, Glushkovka, Zeleny Gai, and Lozovaya (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to more than 510 troops, seven armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carrier. Seventeen motor vehicles, ten field artillery guns, including five Western-made guns, and two field ammunition depots of the enemy were eliminated.
The Yug Group of Forces improved the tactical situation and engaged the units of two mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, and one assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Konstantinovka, Druzhkovka, Izhevka, Predtechino, Belogorovka, Verkhnekamenskoye, Ivano-Daryevka, Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, Yantarnoye, and Chasov Yar (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy sustained losses of up to 290 troops, two motor vehicles, seven field artillery guns, with four of them made by NATO countries. One ammunition depot and one electronic warfare station were destroyed.
The Tsentr Group of Forces continued advancing to the depths of the enemy's defence and liberated Volkovo (Donetsk People's Republic).
Strikes were delivered at manpower and hardware of four mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, one National Guard brigade, two territorial defence brigades close to Shcherbinovka, Petrovka, Dzerzhinsk, Lysovka, Baranovka, Slavyanka, Novoyelizavetovka, Solenoye, Novoaleksandrovka, and Novovasilevka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 580 troops, seven armoured fighting vehicles, including one French-made VAB armoured personnel carrier, six motor vehicles, and nine artillery guns.
The Vostok Group of Forces advanced into the depths of the enemy's defence, defeated units of two mechanised brigades of the AFU, one naval infantry brigade, and one National Guard brigade close to Otradnoye, Novopol, Zeleny Kut, Velikaya Novoselka, Konstantinopol, Novy Komar, and Bogatyr (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 120 troops, one tank, one armoured fighting vehicle, one motor vehicle, and three artillery guns, including a UK-made FH-70 howitzer.
The Dnepr Group of Forces has engaged manpower and hardware of one mechanised brigade of the AFU, one naval infantry brigade, and one territorial defence brigade near Kamenskoye (Zaporozhye region), Daryevka, Mylovoye, Pridneprovskoye, and Antonovka (Kherson region).
The enemy losses amounted to up to 100 troops, 11 motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns. One electronic warfare station and one ammunition depot have been neutralised.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces struck a power facility ensuring operation of a Ukrainian defence industry enterprise, infrastructure of military airfields, fixed-wing UAV workshops, as well as engaged manpower and armoured hardware clusters of the enemy in 148 areas.
Air defence systems shot down four Hammer guided aerial bombs, six U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, and 156 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles, with 55 of them out of the special military operation area.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 652 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 41,034 unmanned aerial vehicles, 590 anti-aircraft missile systems, 20,702 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,510 MLRS combat vehicles, 20,845 field artillery guns and mortars, and 30,540 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise an enemy group, which broke into the territory of Kursk region.
During the offensive actions, the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formations of one tank brigade, one heavy mechanised brigade, four mechanised brigades, two air assault brigades, one naval infantry brigade, and three territorial defence brigades of the AFU close to Gogolevka, Guyevo, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Loknya, Makhnovka, Nikolayevka, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Nikolsky, Staraya Sorochina, and Sverdlikovo. One AFU counter-attack was repelled.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, and artillery engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Viktorovka, Zaoleshenka, Kazachya Loknya, Kositsa, Kruglenkoye, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Loknya, Malaya Loknya, Martynovka, Mirny, Mikhaylovka, Novaya Sorochina, Oleshnya, Sudzha, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Yuzhny, as well as Basovka, Belovody, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, Miropolye, and Yunakovka in Sumy region.
During the day, the enemy has suffered losses of more than 270 troops, an Abrams tank, a U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, three armoured fighting vehicles, nine motor vehicles, three artillery guns, one mortar, and two electronic warfare stations.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to more than 53,600 troops, 309 tanks, 237 infantry fighting vehicles, 178 armoured personnel carriers, 1,590 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,574 motor vehicles, 381 artillery guns, 44 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 16 anti-aircraft missile launchers, eight transport-loading vehicles, 96 EW stations, 14 counter-battery warfare radars, four air defence radars, 31 units of engineering and other materiel, including 13 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, nine armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 18:25 RF Armed Forces in full released n.p. Nikolaevo-Daryino in the Kursk region.
The footage shows Ussuri paratroopers with the Airborne Forces flag on the street in Nikolayevo-Daryino. At the end of last year, they managed to break through to the other bank of the Snagost River, cutting off the supply line of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The village itself is a long line of houses along the road leading to the border with Ukraine. The stormtroopers of the 83rd Airborne Forces Brigade cleared all the buildings of the enemy the day before and are now advancing along the state border towards Sudzha.
The liberation of Nikolayevo-Daryino allows for reconnaissance and attacks in the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Sumy region.
18:08 Fighters of the special forces group "AKHMAT" knocked out Ukrainian militants from positions in the area of the bunker in the forest south of Chasov Yar. Akhmat is a Chechen unit. 18:07 Russian military assault troops took a powerful fortification of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the children's camp building in the southeast of Chasov Yar.
18:02 Servicemen of the separate engineering and sapper battalion of the "South" group of forces demining area near liberated settlements of the DPR.
Sappers are making passages in minefields left by the enemy in the liberated territories and clearing areas of explosive objects. The work is currently being carried out on the outskirts of the settlement of Ukrainsk.
17:51 In the Khar'kov region liquidated two high-ranking representatives of Ukrainian military intelligence.
17:28 Air defense systems over Belgorod region knocked down several enemy drones.
According to preliminary information, there were no casualties, the governor said.
16:17 Military engineers of the "North" group meet this professional holiday at a combat post in the Kursk border region.
Engineering and sapper units conducted reconnaissance of field roads. Visual control was carried out by a UAV operator, who discovered an anti-tank mine of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The mine was destroyed by a charge placed remotely using a drone. Then the road was surveyed by an engineering and reconnaissance patrol.
Also, during humanitarian demining, engineers removed and destroyed a 120mm mortar shell that had hit a civilian home at the training ground.
15:55 In the period from 13:05 to 14:15 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of the Belgorod region.
15:38 Servicemen of the assault units of the combined arms army of the "West" group conduct engineering training sessions at a training ground in the rear area of the special operation zone.
Trainees, under the guidance of engineering training instructors, find and destroy enemy "surprises" and overcome various types of obstacles. The main objective is to gain skills and overcome fear of explosives.
15:31 Fighters transmit greetings from the liberated settlement of Volkovo, Donetsk People's Republic.
Servicemen of the "Center" group of forces continue to destroy units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, liberating the lands of the Donetsk People's Republic.
15:18 Destruction of multifunctional radar "RADA ieMHR" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine using the UAV "Lancet" in the area of the settlement of Vyvodovo in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
14:45 Servicemen of the engineering units of the "West" group of forces conducted training on the deployment of a heavy mechanized bridge TMM 3M2 in one of the rear areas of the special operation.
14:45 In the Kursk region, fighters from the 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade began advancing towards Guevo from the north, reports Anatoly Radov.
14:24 Calculation of FPV drones of the Rubicon center destroyed temporary deployment point of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kupyansk direction.
14:31 Velikaya (Bolshaya) Novosyolka is being stormed from three sides
They report about the breakthrough of the enemy's defense on the eastern outskirts of the settlement. Now the Russian Armed Forces are pressing the enemy from three sides.
13:41 Between 11:00 and 11:50 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 11 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles: eight UAVs over the Black Sea and over the territory of the Republic of Crimea and three UAVs over the territory of the Belgorod region.
12:45 In the area of the settlement Dneproenergiya Russian operators of FPV drones burned a T-72 tank of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
12:32 Advance near the village of Dvurechnoye from 20.01 to 21.01. Kupyansk direction.
With a swift dash they took the houses where the enemy's first line of defense was located and after that, on his shoulders, they advanced deeper, taking the entire western sector.
11:35 Russian Ministry of Defense:
In the period from 10.45 to 11.00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea off the coast of the Republic of Crimea.
10:37 Paratroopers of the Dnepr group of forces destroyed an enemy weapon on the right bank of the Dnieper
During aerial reconnaissance, the UAV operator identified a Ukrainian Armed Forces weapon, which the enemy was using to fire at Russian military positions. After confirming the target, the coordinates were immediately transmitted to the crew of the 152mm 2A36 Giatsint-B gun.
“During the counterbattery battle, the gun’s personnel destroyed the gun and the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ manpower on the right bank of the Dnieper with a precise hit,” reported in the Russian Ministry of Defense.
10:10 Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine killed a woman in the Kursk direction because she spoke Russian
The captured militants of the 22nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confessed to carrying out a criminal order. They killed an elderly woman.
"We had an order to "zero" all Russian speakers. There was an order to kill that woman, we didn't do it ourselves. Commander "Luke" ordered it," the prisoners said.
9:15 The Russian Armed Forces destroyed the Ukrainian Armed Forces bunker, –video.
8:20 Zaporizhzhya Front. They continue positional battles. Long-range weapons are actively used on both sides. No significant changes in LBS.
Donetsk Front. Here, the offensive of Russian troops continues to develop in several directions. The Russian Armed Forces are storming Velyka Novosilka, the holding of which, apparently, has ceased to be an important task for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Ukrainian garrison is trying to leave the settlement, leaving through the "fields", since all the main escape routes are under the control of the Russian Armed Forces. To the west of Kurakhovo, Russian troops continue to put pressure on the enemy's defense, gradually cutting off the formed "pocket".
Chasovoyarsk direction. Russian troops continue to advance with battles in the urban development. There are tactical successes of the RF Armed Forces.
Kursk region. Here, Russian troops continue to put pressure on the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defense in several areas, but there is no serious progress. The Ukrainians are putting up fierce resistance, conducting counterattacks. The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to try to bring up more reserves to the Sudzha area.
Direct translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] While the world is watching the first steps of the new US administration led by Donald Trump, who had previously promised to stop the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours, fighting in the SVO zone continues. The sides are exchanging missile strikes, using drones and artillery to attack in the rear.
The fighting along the front line from Kupyansk to the Zaporizhia region continues unabated. At the same time, the most tense section of the front remains Donbass, where Russian troops have launched a new offensive operation.
On Friday, January 17, fighting resumed in the Velikaya Novosyolka area. The Russian Armed Forces crushed the enemy's defenses and took up positions on the outskirts of the settlement. During further fighting, the city was encircled.
Later, the successes in the Velikaya Novosyolka area were confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
According to the latest information, the Ukrainian Armed Forces units blocked in the city still have the opportunity to retreat north. It is also reported that the enemy is trying to force the Mokrye Yaly River in small groups and withdraw forces to the Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Units of the 110th Mechanized and Separate Presidential Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine remain in the city.
At the same time, units of the Russian army are not allowing the enemy to retreat in an organized manner, a front-line source for the Regnum news agency reports.
"Until the very end, we were putting a lid on this cauldron, pushing the enemy. But Kiev did not give the order to retreat. Now, when it was too late to jerk around, we began to retreat under continuous fire, suffering heavy losses. Like in Ugledar before - and many other places. This is a chronic learning disability," the source noted.
The situation is complicated for the enemy by the fact that the borders of the DPR, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions converge in the area of Velyka Novosyolka. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command apparently did not prepare plans in case of a retreat from the village, so reserve defensive lines began to be built only in the last few weeks.
The trenches are being dug literally in an open field, since there are no large settlements and/or industrial zones in this area where Ukrainian troops could gain a foothold.
The situation developing at the front creates opportunities for the Russian army to further advance into the territory of the Dnepropetrovsk region. Moreover, north of Velyka Novosyolka, the offensive continues in the Pokrovsk area.
THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES ARE PREPARING TO RETREAT
Developing the offensive in the Pokrovsk direction, assault units of the Russian army were able to cut off the road from Pokrovsk to the territory of the neighboring region in the area of the village of Kotlino. It is also reported that the advancing troops are advancing in the area of Uspenovka and Novoyelyzavetovka. Thus, there are about five kilometers left to the administrative borders of the Dnepropetrovsk region.
For now, the highway between Pokrovsk and Pavlograd remains under the control of Ukrainian troops, but Kyiv is already preparing for a sharp deterioration in the situation on this section of the front.
According to information from the field, Ukrainian troops have begun preparing the defense of Pavlograd in case of a retreat from Pokrovsk. It is reported that the enemy is mining bridges on the approaches to the city and evacuating key city enterprises, and is building fortifications in the area of the Pavlograd Chemical Plant. Ammunition depots and long-term firing points are being created in the factory workshops.
In turn, the Russian Aerospace Forces are striking enemy targets in the city and its environs, since Pavlograd is home to the operational rear of the enemy group in Donbass.
It is important to note that Pavlograd is located only 62 kilometers from Dnepropetrovsk, the fourth largest city in Ukraine. The city is home to the largest Ukrainian defense enterprises and other strategic facilities. In this regard, some Western media predict that the Russian offensive will continue in the direction of Pokrovsk - Pavlograd - Dnepropetrovsk.
But frontline sources of the Regnum news agency are calling for not rushing things, since the enemy still holds control over part of Donbass.
"Nobody will go anywhere until Pokrovsk is completely blocked and liberated. There is a large enemy group in the city, it cannot be left in the rear. Now all our efforts are focused on disrupting the enemy's supply, encircling his forces and pushing them out of our land," the agency's source says.
According to reports from the ground, Russian troops are preparing to cut the E50 highway, which connects Pokrovsk with Dnepropetrovsk via Pervomaysk and Pavlograd.
And for the complete liberation of Donbass, another task must be solved: to drive the enemy out of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, which the enemy, naturally, does not plan to surrender without a fight.
ROAD TO SLAVYANSK AND KRAMATORSK
Fighting continues in the eastern part of Donbass. Here, Russian troops are finishing the liberation of Chasov Yar, an offensive that has been going on for several months.
As a result of the successful actions of the assault groups, the territory of the Chasov Yar Refractory Plant, which is called the "Citadel" in frontline reports, was liberated. Sources of the Regnum news agency specify that this concerns the third and fifth workshops of the plant. Units of the "Yug" group also cleared the territory of the Chasov Yar railway station.
The enemy still controls the Yuzhny, Shevchenko and Levanevsky microdistricts in the southern part of the city, as well as the first and second workshops of the Chasov Yar plant - a total of about 40% of the city's territory. It is expected that the operation to liberate Chasov Yar will be completed in the near future, because the enemy has been driven out of the dense urban development.
The liberation of Chasov Yar opens the way to Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka, and then to Slavyansk and Kramatorsk. As they advance in the Pokrovsk area, Russian troops will be able to launch an offensive on Slavyansk from the west, blocking the enemy.
But to solve this problem, it is first necessary to liberate Pokrovsk and eliminate a large group of enemy forces.
At the same time, Kyiv has no time or resources left to try to seize the initiative: “elite” units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are dying in the Kursk region.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Victor Lavrinenko
[REGNUM] Spy mania is not abating in the Baltics. In recent weeks, new information has been received related to the cases of "Russian spies" caught in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The bona fides of these cases raise serious doubts, but they fulfill their main function.
This kind of news helps to keep local Russian communities in fear. In a situation where no one is sure that he or she will not be declared the next "spy", few dare to loudly protest against the policy of oppression. "Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!" EXPLOSIVES IN THE GARAGE
The Riga Regional Court recently sentenced a 72-year-old Russian citizen who permanently resides in Latvia to eight years in prison. The man's name has not been released, but it is known that he once served in the Soviet Army. After Latvia left the USSR, the retired officer, like over 700,000 other Russian speakers living there, did not receive local citizenship - and then he applied for Russian citizenship.
He was detained on December 20, 2023 - the Latvian State Security Service opened a criminal case on "espionage in favor of the Russian Federation", the LETA agency reported, citing the prosecutor's office.
According to the prosecutor's office, the man " received publicly available information about political processes in Latvia, critical infrastructure and military facilities in the area of the Riga airport, and also inspected the area around the 17th battalion of the Zemessardze (local territorial militia. - Ed. Regnum )." It is alleged that the man passed this information on to a representative of Russian intelligence, who personally came to meet him in Kaliningrad.
The Latvian prosecutor's office admits that it was "difficult for them to determine the specific volume of information transmitted," since " the espionage was carried out over a long period of time, and the defendant transmitted the information he received by personally visiting the Russian Federation."
It is also claimed that explosives were found in the pensioner’s garage: a hexogen briquette weighing 975 grams and four TNT briquettes with a total weight of 759.4 grams, as well as 136 rounds of ammunition.
The details voiced raise questions.
Why would a Russian intelligence officer need to meet with a pensioner for the sake of “publicly available information about political processes in Latvia”? After all, this same information can be obtained from the Internet. And the stories about explosives found on the pensioner are vividly reminiscent of other similar cases that have taken place in recent years.
Thus, in 2002, the Latvian secret police accused opposition activist Vladimir Linderman (an associate of Eduard Limonov ) of preparing an assassination attempt on then-President Vaira Vike-Freiberga. They presented 200 grams of TNT and two detonator caps, allegedly hidden by Linderman in his armchair at home. The activist took refuge in Russia, but in 2008 Linderman was extradited to Latvia – in the spirit of the Russian Federation’s understanding of the “good-neighborliness policy” at that time.
However, the evidence presented against the opposition activist turned out to be so thin that the Latvian court acquitted Linderman in 2009. True, back then the times were much freer than now.
In 2017, a case was opened in Latvia against opposition journalist Yuri Alekseyev, editor of the Imhoclub portal, who had long been an eyesore for officials.
He was accused, among other things, of illegal possession of ammunition. Alekseyev himself claimed that the cartridges were planted on him - and indeed, his fingerprints and genetic material were not found on them. The Latvian court initially decided to remove these cartridges from the indictment, but pressure from above came, and they appeared there again.
Alekseyev, who was also accused of writing anti-Latvian comments on the Internet and “possessing child pornography” (photos of the journalist’s children bathing were considered child pornography), recently fled to Belarus. According to Alekseyev himself, they wanted to jail him for up to ten years.
The stories of Linderman and Alekseev give reason to doubt the integrity of the case opened against the still unknown pensioner - if in order to finally "drown" him, it was necessary to resort again to such a trick as the alleged explosives found on him.
It is also worth noting that on January 28, a Latvian court will begin hearing the cases of two more people accused of espionage. The first of them is Riga taxi driver Sergei Sidorov, who was caught in correspondence with several political emigrants from Latvia who created the Telegram channel “Anti-Fascists of the Baltics” in Russia. Sidorov sent them photos of objects like the Riga airport or the seaport, taken from angles accessible to everyone.
The second is Latvian Svetlana Nikolaeva, who brought Sidorov money for a lawyer from his sister, who lives in Russia. The seriously ill Nikolaeva is effectively deprived of access to medical care and is slowly dying in a Latvian prison. According to investigators, Sidorov and Nikolaeva illegally collected and transmitted to Russia undisclosed information about other suspected spies who are in custody in Latvia.
THE MYSTERIOUS STORY OF EDUARD MANOVAS
In December last year, Lithuanian special services reported the capture of a "Russian spy". The corresponding suspicion was brought against 82-year-old Eduards Manovas. Manovas, who holds dual Russian-Lithuanian citizenship, was an activist of the conservative party "Fatherland Union - Lithuanian Christian Democrats" (SO-KhDL), which lost power in the country as a result of the autumn elections.
In addition, Manovas is a member of the influential Union of Political Prisoners and Exiles in the country. This is due to the fact that he was born into a family of Lithuanian residents who were deported by the Soviet government at the time - and in recent years he actively indulged in memories of his childhood in exile: he communicated with the press and wrote memoirs. Manovas was interested in artistic photography, and his native Šiauliai regularly hosted exhibitions of his works. Information about them was removed from Lithuanian websites.
Apparently, Manovas was ruined by the fact that he himself lived in Russia for many years, owned an apartment in Moscow, received a Russian pension, and his adult children live here to this day. The pensioner often visited them, traveled around Russia, including to Crimea.
As it turned out, Eduards Manovas was arrested back in early 2024, but the arrest was kept secret for a long time. The Šiauliai branch of the SO-KhDL, having learned about the arrest of a colleague, expelled him from the organization.
The Lithuanian State Security Department (DSD) claims that some “complex equipment for receiving and transmitting information” was found in Manovas’s home in Šiauliai.
But at the same time, according to the deputy director of the State Security Department, Remigijus Bridikis, the suspect was not collecting any top-secret data. According to the department, he sent to Moscow the information that could be gleaned from the Lithuanian media - about foreign and domestic policy, exercises, the activities of local political parties, and the same Union of Political Prisoners and Exiles.
Bridikis claimed: "He worked for Russian military intelligence as part of the Illegals program. It is quite exceptional because it is quite expensive, complex, requires a lot of resources, work and preparation. Usually in such cases, sensitive information is collected, especially relevant for Russia."
At the same time, it is completely unclear what kind of “sensitive and completely relevant” information Manovas collected, which, if desired, cannot be found in Lithuanian open sources.
At the same time, the Lithuanian press was fed with a version that Manovas was not real, but an illegal immigrant abandoned in Russia who stole someone else’s identity.
As evidence, they cite a questionnaire filled out by Manovas in 2011, when he ran for the Šiauliai City Council. It states that he studied to be a journalist at the Lviv Humanitarian University. However, since an educational institution with that name never existed, the whistleblowers suspected that Manovas actually graduated from the Lviv Higher Military-Political School, where Soviet military journalists were trained. And it is assumed that before returning to Lithuania in 1997, he worked in Russia in this very specialty.
Additional suspicions arose because no information was found in the archives about the exile Eduard Manovas, born in 1942. However, Eduard Manovas, born in 1941, was found, who was exiled with his parents in 1945 to Tajikistan and died there.
There was a suggestion that Russian intelligence could have used the deceased child’s data to construct the “legend” of their intelligence officer.
The Union of Political Prisoners rebelled against these speculations. The head of this organization, Gvidas Rutkauskas, believes that Manovas, when filling out the election questionnaire, could have simply made a mistake in the name of the educational institution. In the worst case, he could have deliberately distorted the name of the Lviv Higher Military-Political School in order to get rid of the "stain" on his biography. But this is not such a big crime.
Former exiles have no doubt that Manovas is the same Manovas. His family was well known in Šiauliai. In particular, Eduard had a brother who died four years ago - he never doubted his authenticity. At the same time, in the documents of exiles, errors were often found, made by the bureaucrats who compiled them: they could distort the first and last name, date of birth and other data.
It was later revealed that the record of Eduard Manovas' death was made in error, but the data on his expulsion from the village of Diktarishkiai in the Šiauliai district together with his father Aleksandrs, mother Kateryna and brother Alberts was confirmed.
At the same time, the State Security Department itself “gets confused in its testimony.”
If earlier they promoted the version about an “illegal immigrant introduced in the 90s”, now they claim that Manovas began working for Russian intelligence in 2018, when he was 76 years old. This seems rather ridiculous: why would the intelligence services need an old man who does not have access to state secrets, whose interests are limited to artistic photography and participation in the organization of exiles?
The Manovas case continues to unfold and may bring new interesting twists.
"ATTACKS ON ESTONIAN TERRITORY"
In Estonia, two of the most notable “espionage” cases to date involve local journalists Allan Huntsom and Svetlana Burtseva, who collaborated with Russian media. Huntsom has already received his sentence of six and a half years in prison; Burtseva’s trial is ongoing. Huntsom’s sentence in May 2024 was handed down behind closed doors, with only vague references to “intelligence activities.” Details were only made public in December.
It turned out that Hantsom was credited with “planning and preparing attacks on Estonian territory” — on behalf of a certain Ilya Bocharov and Alik Khuchbarov, allegedly connected to Russian intelligence. The essence of these “attacks” was that in December 2023, someone smashed the windows of cars belonging to the head of the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs Lauri Läänemetsu and pro-government journalist Andrei Shumakov with stones at night. Monuments erected in honor of Estonians who fought the Red Army in 1919 and in honor of members of the Estonian Waffen SS legion created by the Nazis were also doused with paint.
According to investigators, Hantsom approached former police officer Andrei Kolomainen (he has also already been convicted) with this “order,” who, in turn, recruited several other people who directly carried out the “attacks” on cars and monuments.
" There were five attacks in total, but more were planned. The other attacks were not carried out because Hantsom was arrested, " said Margo Palloson, head of the Estonian Security Police (KAPO). A total of nine people are linked to this episode. Seven were found guilty by the court, and two are outside Estonia and are wanted. Moreover, according to the Estonian prosecutor's office, the perpetrators did not receive the money they were supposedly promised, meaning that "Russian intelligence" deceived them.
The story told raises serious suspicions - the detained "saboteurs" did not need to receive assignments from Moscow to carry out their "sabotage".
In recent years, state propaganda in Estonia has been doing everything it can to fan hatred towards Russians, but this is always a double-edged sword – hatred grows on the other side as well. Over the past two years, monuments to Soviet soldiers have been torn down in Estonia, but this was not enough for the authorities – at the same time, the process of destroying the Soviet soldiers’ cemeteries is underway; disturbed bones are dragged off and buried in little-visited places under faceless signs reading “Victims of World War II”.
Russian Estonians, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those very soldiers whose bones are being desecrated, watch this with impotent fury. Naturally, some may want to take it out on the monuments of those “heroes” who are now raised on shields in Estonia – people who fought in the ranks of the Estonian Waffen SS division.
As for the damage caused to the cars of Läänemets and Shumakov, there is no mystery here either. Läänemets is probably the most hated Estonian civil servant by Russians. In the recent past, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs coordinated the vandalism campaign to demolish monuments to Soviet soldiers, and is currently blackmailing the leadership of the Estonian Orthodox Church - they are demanding that it sever all canonical ties with the Moscow Patriarchate, threatening to outlaw the church in case of refusal.
As for Shumakov, he is a classic example of the so-called Vyrusi. This propagandist runs the Russian-language version of the Delfi portal, which serves the interests of the Russophobic state, called upon to convey the "party policy" to the local Russian population. And, as is well known, former "friends" who have defected to the "foreigners" always evoke particular hatred.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov, visited a tank division and a motorized rifle brigade of the Center group of forces in the special operation zone. This was reported on January 21 by the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry.
"Valery Gerasimov visited the tank division and motorized rifle brigade of the Center group of forces, which are carrying out combat missions in the Red Army direction in the area of the special military operation," the message on the Telegram channel says.
It is noted that during the work, Gerasimov heard reports from the commander of the Center group of forces, Col. Gen. Andrei Mordvichev, commanders of units, and other officials on the progress of tasks in the area of responsibility.
In addition, the Chief of the General Staff presented state awards to the military personnel who distinguished themselves most in the liberation of settlements in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), and also thanked them for their courage and valor in carrying out combat missions.
At the end of the work, Gerasimov summed up the interim results with the command of the Center group of forces and set tasks for further actions, the Ministry of Defense reported.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on December 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin heard reports from Gerasimov and the commanders of the Russian Armed Forces groups on the progress of the special operation. He thanked everyone for their service and congratulated the military and participants of the SVO on the upcoming New Year.
On December 18, Gerasimov stated that the initiative in the SVO zone belongs entirely to the Russian side, and the offensive is underway along the entire front. He noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attempts to advance were suppressed, and Russian troops continue to systematically push the enemy out of captured settlements.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
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Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
