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Ukraine Invasion Day 664: RU continues to take losses [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-12-18

The Pentagon warns that the US will run out of funds to replenish arms and equipment transfers to Ukraine unless Congress passes additional funding. There’s also a Russian version of “I’m as poor as a church mouse” that translates to “the mouse hung itself in my fridge”. The war in Ukraine caused Russia estimated GDP losses between $81 billion and $104 billion in 2022.

x Frontline Ukrainian troops face shortages of artillery shells and have scaled back some military operations because of a shortfall of foreign assistance, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavsky reports.https://t.co/zcBjxwLGz4 — NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) December 18, 2023

President Zelensky’s evening address: "I want to congratulate the warriors of our military counterintelligence in the Security Service of Ukraine today. The warriors are celebrating their professional day. These are not just brave warriors – they are exemplary, courageously effective warriors. The kind to look up to. They fight exceptionally well both on land and in our seas. The occupiers have already felt it – hundreds of our powerful operations. Everyone knows about the strikes on the Crimean Bridge, the work of our drones – especially those at sea. They efficiently detect spies and traitors. And this is just a small part of what the military counterintelligence of the SBU really does. Warriors, I thank you for every manifestation of your strength, for your courage, for all your victories in battles. In one word, well done! Glory to all whose strength becomes the strength of Ukraine! Glory to all who fight and work for our independence!

www.understandingwar.org/... Key takeaway: Ukrainian strikes against Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) assets have changed Russian naval operating patterns, causing the BSF to move some ships away from its main base in occupied Sevastopol, Crimea and hampering the BSF’s ability to interfere with maritime trade in the western part of the Black Sea. Ukrainian strikes have likely caused the BSF to set conditions for a more permanent basing pattern along the eastern Black Sea coast as it transfers naval assets away from Crimea and expands a small port in de facto Russian-controlled Ochamchire, Abkhazia. Ukrainian strikes against BSF assets have successfully facilitated the use of Ukraine’s Black Sea grain corridor as international support for the corridor continues to increase despite Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and military threats against it. www.understandingwar.org/...

The European Union (EU) adopted its 12th sanctions package in connection with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The European Council (EC) adopted a sanctions package on December 18 that aims to weaken sources of funding for Russia’s war effort and degrade Russia’s defense industrial base (DIB).[28] The sanctions include measures banning the import of Russian diamonds, prohibiting the re-export of dual use goods and technologies, instituting strict export restrictions on 29 legal entities that directly support the Russian DIB, enforcing a transit ban for all goods that Russian forces use on the battlefield in Ukraine, and strengthening compliance rules for the G7 price cap on Russian oil and petroleum products.[29] Key Takeaways: A combination of artillery ammunition shortages and delays in the provision of Western security assistance is likely causing Ukrainian forces to husband materiel and may delay future Ukrainian counteroffensive operations.

Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi declined to comment on recent Western reporting about Ukrainian counteroffensive and Russian offensive plans for 2024.

Ukrainian Air Force Spokesperson Colonel Yuriy Ihnat stated on December 18 that Russian forces have enough drones to launch daily strikes against Ukraine from different directions.

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) is reportedly forming four new military transport aviation (VTA) regiments, although these efforts are likely aimed at reorganizing existing VTA units in support of Russia’s force posturing rather than adding new capability in the short term.

The Russian Government Commission on Legislative Activity supported a bill that would criminalize “Russophobia” abroad, likely as part of ongoing efforts to maintain and increase Russian influence in post-Soviet countries.

Russian officials simplified requirements to obtain Russian citizenship for Belarusian, Kazakh, and Moldovan citizens amid continued hostility towards migrants in Russian society.

The European Union (EU) adopted its 12th sanctions package in connection with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russian forces continued offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, near Avdiivka, west and southwest of Donetsk City, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast and made a confirmed advance southwest of Donetsk City.

Former Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) People’s Militia Spokesperson Eduard Basurin claimed that more than 25,000 Russian personnel are serving with Cossack volunteer formations in Ukraine as of December 18.

Kremlin-appointed Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova continues to deny Russian and Belarusian involvement in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied areas. www.understandingwar.org/...

x ⚡️ WAR IN #UKRAINE - DEC 18, 2023



■ Fewer strikes, combat engagements & settlements under artillery fire reported

■ Casualties remain high, exceeding 1,000 per day in the last 7 days

■ Huge equipment losses reported, more than 200 landbased ones, most in two months

■ Oryx:… pic.twitter.com/zH1Lpkd8fm — Ragnar Gudmundsson 🇮🇸🇺🇦 (@ragnarbjartur) December 18, 2023

x “Ukraine and Zelensky are so closely connected in the eyes of the world as to be indistinguishable. Seldom in the annals of war has the fate of a nation weighed so heavily upon the shoulders of one man.”



https://t.co/w8Oxa8L69O — Hybrid Warfare Analytical Group/UCMC (@hwag_ucmc) December 18, 2023

x Two Russian Su-34's Reportedly Destroyed and 10 Damaged



Update: Yesterday, on 12/17/2023, a number of strikes were carried out at the Morozovsk military airfield (48.314758, 41.784055) in Rostov Oblast, RF.



The airfield serves as a deployment site for the 559th Guards Bomber… pic.twitter.com/KPmgnJZNVk — OSINT (Uri) 🇺🇦 (@UKikaski) December 18, 2023

Russian Subordinate Main Effort #1 – Luhansk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast and northern Donetsk Oblast) Russian forces continued attacking along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on December 18 and likely did not advance. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian assaults northeast and east of Kupyansk near Synkivka (9km northeast of Kupyansk) and east of Petropavlivka (7km east of Kupyansk), northwest of Kreminna near Makiivka (23km northwest of Kreminna), west of Kreminna in the area east of Terny (17km east of Kreminna), and south of Kreminna near Spirne (30km south of Kreminna).[30] Ukrainian Luhansk Oblast Military Administration Head Artem Lysohor stated that Russian forces concentrated the majority of their attacks on Makiivka and that heavy battles took place near Terny.[31] www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... Russian forces continued offensive operations near Avdiivka on December 18 but did not make confirmed advances. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled at least 31 Russian attacks east of Novobakhmutivka (7km north of Avdiivka); south of Tonenke (5km west of Avdiivka); and near Stepove (3km northwest of Avdiivka), Avdiivka, Sieverne (6km west of Avdiivka), Pervomaiske (11km southwest of Avdiivka), and Nevelske (15km west of Avdiivka).[42] www.understandingwar.org/... x This interview with one of the members of the Avdiivka garrison was recorded in November. "Zam", a company commander, has been in Avdiivka for many months now. He first saw massive Russian columns advancing on his positions on 10 October '23. This interview will give you an idea… pic.twitter.com/HSzF4UC1Ph — WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) December 14, 2023 www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/...

x “The social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is being investigated for allegedly breaking EU law on disinformation, illegal content and transparency, the European Commission has announced.” ⁦@lisaocarroll⁩ https://t.co/9xHfFHEROt — Ashis Basu 🇨🇦 (@BasuAshis) December 18, 2023

x 27 M113 tracked armored personnel carriers were handed over to the National Guard of Ukraine on the initiative of @U24_gov_ua 🫡 pic.twitter.com/l7qYCVQCaf — NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) December 18, 2023

x Ukraine's homegrown Bohdana 155mm self-propelled howitzer matches the range of pricier Western models at half the cost - $2.5 million apiece.🔥



The scrappy, modular system was rapidly developed amid war, with production decentralized after missile strikes.



Using adapted Soviet… pic.twitter.com/ZhfPHqItRN — Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) December 18, 2023

x Denmark will join Sweden in tank donation to Ukraine worth over 240 million euros https://t.co/OhzbL43WaC pic.twitter.com/d7MGKW2p7b — euronews (@euronews) December 18, 2023

x In Krasnoyarsk, Russia, a man was arrested for allegedly 'vandalizing' the military symbol 'Z,' accused of 'discrediting the military.’pic.twitter.com/vn5IqWqJg4 — Hybrid Warfare Analytical Group/UCMC (@hwag_ucmc) December 18, 2023

x "Make no mistake: If Republicans in Congress abandon Ukraine to Russian aggression, they do so to please Trump. Every other excuse is a fiction or a lie."

From @davidfrumhttps://t.co/OiqquhfzVp — Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) December 18, 2023

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