(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Ukraine Invasion Day 305: still not enough world peace [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2022-12-24

“The chant based on an ostinato 4-note pattern within the range of a minor third is thought to be of prehistoric origins & was associated with the coming New Year which in Ukraine before the introduction of Christianity was originally celebrated in April.” https://t.co/ekvxZFjWqO https://t.co/3OCUc8XIfC

x Despite heavy combat losses, Russia now has more than double the number of troops poised to fight in Ukraine as it did when it invaded in February, including thousands of convicts released from prison and conscripts from a mobilization drive this fall https://t.co/XaB9laxSgO — Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) December 24, 2022

Eastern Ukraine: (Eastern Kharkiv Oblast-Western Luhansk Oblast)

Russian forces continued to conduct limited counterattacks to regain lost positions along the Kreminna-Svatove line on December 24. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled a Russian assault near Andriivka, Luhansk Oblast (15km west of Svatove).[14] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces conducted assaults in the direction of Stelmakhivka (16km northwest of Svatove) and in the direction of Nadiia (16km west of Svatove).[15] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces have transitioned from offensive operations to positional battles near Dvorichna (55km northwest of Svatove).[16] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces conducted assaults in the direction of Makiivka (23km northwest of Kreminna) and in the area of Chervonopopivka (6km north of Kreminna) and that there are positional battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the vicinity of Ploshchanka (17km northwest of Kreminna).[17] One Russian milblogger claimed on December 23 that Russian forces are now at a distance close enough to Makiivka to effectively use small-arms fire against Ukrainian forces.[18] Ukrainian sources reported that Russian forces also conducted assaults in the direction of Yampolivka, Donetsk Oblast (17km west of Kreminna) and near Bilohorivka (12km south of Kreminna).[19] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces conducted an assault in the vicinity of Dibrova (5km southwest of Kreminna).[20]

www.understandingwar.org/...

Russian forces’ rate of advance in the Bakhmut area has likely slowed in recent days, although it is too early to assess whether the Russian offensive to capture Bakhmut has culminated. Russian milbloggers acknowledged that Ukrainian forces in the Bakhmut area have managed to slightly slow down the pace of the Russian advance around Bakhmut and its surrounding settlements, with one claiming that Ukrainian forces pushed back elements of the Wagner Group to positions they held days ago.[1] Ukrainian social media sources previously claimed that Ukrainian forces completely pushed Russian forces out of the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut around December 21.[2] ISW has also assessed that Russian forces made slightly fewer overall advances in the Bakhmut area in November and December combined as compared to the month of October.[3]

Russian forces will likely struggle to maintain the pace of their offensive operations in the Bakhmut area and may seek to initiate a tactical or operational pause. The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense (UK MoD) reported on December 24 that Russian forces currently lack the necessary stockpile of artillery munitions to support large-scale offensive operations and that sustaining defensive operations along the lengthy frontline in Ukraine requires the Russian military to expend a significant number of shells and rockets daily.[4] The Ukrainian Joint Forces Task Force released an interview on December 24 with a Ukrainian servicemember in the Bakhmut area detailing that Russian forces have been conducting an extremely high pace of assaults on Ukrainian positions in the area with little corresponding progress.[5] The Wagner Group’s reported heavy losses in the Bakhmut area in recent weeks have also likely strained Russian forces’ current operational capabilities in the area.[6]

The Russian military’s personnel and munitions constraints will likely prevent it from maintaining the current high pace of offensive operations in the Bakhmut area in the near-term. Russian forces previously allocated significant resources in a meat-grinder effort to seize Severodonesk and Lysychansk in spring–summer 2022. Russian forces culminated after capturing Lysychansk in early July and failed to capture neighboring Siversk to the east or Slovyansk to the northeast. The Russian military’s fixation with conducting a highly attritional campaign to achieve the tactical objectives of capturing Severdonetsk and Lysychansk ultimately undermined the Russian military’s ability to achieve its larger operational objective to envelop Ukrainian forces in a cauldron along the E40 highway and eventually drive to Donetsk Oblast’s western administrative borders. Russia’s relentless and costly push on Bakhmut may also degrade Russia’s ability to pursue long-term objectives in the Donbas theater.

www.understandingwar.org/...

Yakovlivka (North of Bakhmut) and Kurdyumivka (South of Bakhmut).

Russian Subordinate Main Effort—Donetsk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast, the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas)

Russian forces continued to conduct offensive operations around Bakhmut on December 24. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian assaults near Bakhmut, within 19km northeast of Bakhmut near Rozdolivka and Bakhmutske; and within 31km south of Bakhmut near Pivichne and Niu York.[23] A Russian milblogger claimed that there is also fierce fighting northeast of Bakhmut near Pidhordone, where Russian forces reportedly captured stronghold positions on the southern outskirts of the settlement.[24] The Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces also captured new positions in unspecified areas northeast of Bakhmut along the Rozdolivka-Yampolivka line.[25] A Russian milblogger claimed that there is fierce fighting between Ukrainian forces and elements of the Wagner Group in the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut, where battles have been ongoing for days.[26] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces also conducted an assault south of Bakhmut in the vicinity of Andriivka and that there is fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces within 17km south of Bakhmut near Opytne, Klishchiivka, and Dyliivka.[27]

Russian forces continued to conduct offensive operations in the Avdiivka–Donetsk City area on December 24. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian assaults within 27km southwest of Avdiivka near Krasnohorivka, Vodyane, and Marinka.[28] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces are advancing farther into Marinka, but that Ukrainian forces are still entrenched in some positions in the center of the settlement.[29] A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces have been accumulating their forces on the western outskirts of Marinka due to a rapid deterioration of the tactical situation in the settlement and extensive losses.[30] The Russian milblogger also claimed that the 11th Regiment of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) People’s Militia conducted a reconnaissance-in-force operation in the direction of Pervomaiske (13km southwest of Avdiivka) and established a foothold in the outskirts of the settlement.[31] The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces continued indirect fire along the long of contact in Donetsk and eastern Zaporizhia oblasts.[32]

www.understandingwar.org/...

Supporting Effort—Southern Axis (Russian objective: Maintain frontline positions and secure rear areas against Ukrainian strikes)

Russian forces did not conduct any confirmed ground attacks on the southern axis on December 24 but may be deploying equipment from Donetsk to the southern axis. Ukrainian advisor to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andryushchenko reported on December 24 that Russian forces are transporting an unusually high number of armored personnel carriers and truck convoys through Mariupol towards Berdyansk in Zaporizhia Oblast to fortify the Melitopol front.[33]

Russian forces struck a residential area of Kherson City with a Grad multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) on December 24, killing at least 10 and injuring 55.[34] Most if not all the victims were civilians. Several Russian sources falsely claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted the strike as part of a false flag to blame Russian forces for reasons that remain unclear.[35] One Russian source falsely claimed that this attack was a repeated Ukrainian false flag attack modeled after the Russian Tochka U strike that killed 60 Ukrainian civilians at the train station in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, on April 8 — a Russian strike that the Russian government falsely accused Ukraine of conducting.[36] A few Russian milbloggers mocked the lie that Ukrainian forces conducted the MLRS attack against Kherson City.[37] Independent monitors have thoroughly documented Russia’s deliberate and regular strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine.

www.understandingwar.org/...

x Ukraine Situation Report: Russian Grad Rocket Attack Strikes Khersonhttps://t.co/41NQjJpvaD — Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) December 24, 2022

x The Russians shelled the center of the city of Kherson on Dec. 24, and it is already known that people were killed and 58 wounded, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.



More news here 👉 https://t.co/S95ZiWZy9E pic.twitter.com/FTe3eOzklU — The New Voice of Ukraine (@NewVoiceUkraine) December 24, 2022

x Christmas in Kherson:



russians launch white phosphorus cluster munitions at residential areas, targeting civilians in the Ukrainian city.#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/Y3lzZPhS3L — Walter Report 🇺🇦 (@walter_report) December 24, 2022

x WATCH: Amb. @McFaul says negotiations between Ukraine and Russia don't seem possible right now.



"Both sides believe they can achieve offensive capabilities in the future. Until those conditions are not ripe on the battlefield, I see no possibility for a negotiation." pic.twitter.com/C3ngk4ufQv — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 24, 2022

x If you look closely, you will be struck by how regularly Ukrainian sources refer to the issues or range, accuracy and targeting. https://t.co/IWI3w1tF7c — Phillips P. OBrien (@PhillipsPOBrien) December 24, 2022

x An excellent article @TheStudyofWar I 100% agree. The U.S. "must help Ukraine liberate its territories and people through a large-scale counteroffensive or risk facing the same challenge with the same escalation risks under worse conditions in the future." https://t.co/ONPnem6P7F pic.twitter.com/4perMUm6uz — John Spencer (@SpencerGuard) December 21, 2022

x Russian forces shelled a busy market in Kherson with Grad (meaning hail) multiple-rocket launchers on Xmas eve, killing 8 civilians & wounding more than 50. As you can see in the graphic images shared by Zelensky, these rockets tear human beings apart & cause massive destruction. https://t.co/VlU9UEJn5V — Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) December 24, 2022

x Seeking to “reboot” its relations with much of the African continent, Ukraine will open embassies in ten African countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saidhttps://t.co/2XUDE8Pako — The New Voice of Ukraine (@NewVoiceUkraine) December 24, 2022

x "We have to buckle up for the long haul," Georgetown University professor Matthew Kroenig tells CBS News that he predicts the war in Ukraine could continue for another "3 to 5 years" before a resolution comes via @CBSNews stream prime time pic.twitter.com/J5P8c0ylSe — Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) December 25, 2022

x We are sending equipment in the military portion. The financial AID is primarily money BUT IS accounted for and Ukraine has opened its books. Ither EU countries have sent money with the Eu pledging $18B. Many NATO countries have sent a larger % of their GDP pic.twitter.com/GproPeWmTk — Number6 (@JFSNumber6) December 25, 2022

Pope condemns power hungry and alludes to Ukraine conflict in Christmas Eve mass

x McDonald’s is doing the right thing and has earned considerable goodwill by reopening in Ukraine and shutting down operations in the Russian terrorist state.



Other multinational corporations should follow this example. https://t.co/d5pKdbLMlv — Michael MacKay (@mhmck) December 25, 2022

x If you're a Futurama fan, you'll get it even without any knowledge of Ukrainian.

If you're a Ukrainian speaker, you don't even need to know Futurama

If you know/love both, it's pure bliss: https://t.co/96Tgq2Mnf9 pic.twitter.com/sm52BmlUME — Ukrainian Ministry of Accidental Russian Fires (@EPICGOPFAIL) December 24, 2022

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/12/24/2143609/-Ukraine-Invasion-Day-305-still-not-enough-world-peace

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.