Russian military liberates key Donbass stronghold – Moscow
Full control of Maryinka, a town immediately to the west of Donetsk, has been achieved, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has said
Russian troops have fully liberated Maryinka, a key town in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced on Monday. The town, which is located immediately to the west of the city of Donetsk and has been part of Russia since last year's referendums, has been a major Ukrainian stronghold for years.
Взрывы в Феодосии: Поврежден большой десантный корабль "Новочеркасск"Explosions in Feodosia: The large landing ship Novocherkassk was damaged
. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported a serious incident that occurred in the port of Feodosia. The large landing ship Novocherkassk was damaged as a result of an attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), which was carried out using aircraft guided missiles.
During the incident, the air defense forces destroyed two enemy tactical aircraft Su-24. The planes were in the area of the settlement of Zhovten, located about 125 kilometers northeast of Nikolaev, and launched missiles.
"During the air defense battle, two Su-24 tactical aircraft of the enemy were destroyed in the area of the settlement of Zhovten (125 km northeast of Nikolaev), which launched guided missiles," the Ministry of Defense reports.
The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, confirmed the information about the attack on the port in Feodosia, reporting explosions and fire in the morning. He later added that one person was killed and two others were injured as a result of the incident. Windows were broken in six buildings in the port area.
Освобождавший Марьинку майор Трошин назвал звонок Путина большой честью - Российская газетаMajor Troshin, who freed Maryinka, called Putin's call a great honor
Tank battalion commander Alexander Troshin, who received the extraordinary rank of major for the liberation of Maryinka in the DPR, admitted that a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin was a great honor for him. The fighter told about this on the air of Channel One.
According to Troshin, he had not yet retired from the fighting, when he reported on the liberation of Marinka, his "hands were shaking." "I'm leaving Marinka this morning and they're taking me to the commander, first the chief of the General Staff talks to me," RIA Novosti quoted the fighter as saying.
After that, Troshin was informed that the president wanted to contact him by phone. "I was very surprised, that is, it is a great honor for me," the serviceman stressed.
Recall that on Monday, Vladimir Putin instructed to present commanders and fighters who especially distinguished themselves in the battles for the liberation of Maryinka to state awards. He noted that the names of some commanders and fighters are already known, and one of them is Alexander Troshin, who has seven concussions, a shrapnel wound, destroyed five tanks and more than 20 combat vehicles. It was reported that the president plans to talk on the phone with Troshin.
The liberation of Maryinka, located five kilometers southwest of Donetsk, makes it possible to more effectively protect this city from shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stressed during a report to the president. According to him, there are over three thousand well-fortified houses in Marinka, but Russian fighters managed to break into this fortified area. Vladimir Putin called it a success.
На украинском аэродроме Кульбакино произошли взрывыExplosions occurred at the Ukrainian Kulbakino airfield
In the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine, explosions occurred at the Kulbakino military airfield on the night of December 26. According to information from sources, the attack on the facility was carried out using unmanned aerial vehicles. At the time of the attack, an air alert was declared in the Mykolaiv region.
Despite attempts by mobile air defense (air defense) groups, the Geran drones successfully hit their targets. There is an assumption that the strike could have hit the parking lot of military helicopters also based here. Given that unmanned aerial vehicles were involved in the attack, it is assumed that the air defense systems of the Ukrainian military were unable to effectively resist this raid.
Sources confirm the information that the explosion occurred directly on the territory of the military airfield, but nothing is known about the consequences so far.
Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has been located at a penal colony in Siberia, his team said Monday, two weeks after they lost contact with him.
“We have found Alexey,” his spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. “He is now in IK-3 in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District.”
She said Navalny’s lawyer had visited him earlier Monday and that the jailed activist was “doing well.”
Navalny’s lawyers said on December 11 they had lost contact with him. Until then, he was imprisoned in a penal colony about 150 miles east of Moscow.
Navalny had “never been hidden for so long,” his team said after he was absent from two scheduled court hearings last week. They warned he had been in poor health before his disappearance after being “deprived of food” and “kept in a punishment cell without ventilation.”
His disappearance, which came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he will run for re-election in March 2024, had sparked concerns for his well-being and safety.
Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation, said the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp where Navalny is now being held, known as “Polar Wolf,” is “one of the northernmost and most remote colonies.”
“The conditions there are harsh, with a special regime in the permafrost zone. It is very difficult to get there, and there are no letter delivery systems,” Zhdanov wrote on X.
Zhdanov said Navalny’s lawyer had not been allowed into the penal colony “right away.”
“It seems that the colony was prepared for his arrival in advance. The head of the Federal Penitentiary Service, Arkady Gostev, was there in April, and perhaps it was then that they decided to transfer Alexey there,” he added.
Kharp is almost 2,000 miles from Moscow, where Navalny had previously been held.
He had been sentenced to 19 years in prison in August after being found guilty of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activities and numerous other crimes. He was already serving sentences of 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility on fraud and other charges he denies.
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Alexander Nemenov/AFP/ Getty Images Navalny, pictured being detained at a protest in Moscow in 2012, has been a thorn in Putin's side for more than a decade.
Supporters of Navalny claim his arrest and incarceration are a politically motivated attempt to stifle his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Navalny has posed one of the most serious threats to Putin’s legitimacy during his rule. He used his blog and social media to expose alleged corruption in the Kremlin as well as Russian business and organized anti-government street protests.
In 2020, Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent, and airlifted from the Siberian city of Omsk to a hospital in Berlin, where he arrived comatose.
A joint investigation by CNN and the group Bellingcat implicated the Russian Security Service (FSB) in Navalny’s poisoning. Russia denies involvement in Nalvany’s poisoning. Putin said in December 2020 that if the Russian security service had wanted to kill Navalny, they “would have finished” the job.
Navalny was immediately incarcerated upon his return to Russia in January 2021, on charges of violating the terms of his probation related to a fraud case brought against him in 2013, which he also dismissed as politically motivated.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Украинцы из батальона имени Богдана Хмельницкого приняли бой с ВСУUkrainians from the Bogdan Khmelnitsky battalion took the fight to the Armed Forces
DONETSK, Dec 28 - RIA Novosti. Fighters of the Bogdan Khmelnitsky volunteer battalion, formed from former Ukrainian prisoners of war as part of the Russian Operational Combat Tactical Formation (OBTF) Cascade, took the first fight with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Kirill Spassky, a soldier of the unit, told RIA Novosti.
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"The first combat experience was accepted with dignity — they did not pass, they did not turn on the rear and went ahead ahead. When they moved into position, they reached the positions, dug in there, and took the fight too. After they dug in, the "birds" (drones. — Ed.) of the enemy. I had an anti-drone cannon. I planted two "birds", as a result, mortar shelling began, they began to hit with mines, with AGS — it was no longer possible to work with a cannon, and I, as the commander, gave the order to withdraw," the fighter said.
Spassky is a former Ukrainian border guard who voluntarily laid down his arms and surrendered to the Russian military. During the first combat exit, he was wounded — the shank of a mine cut the soft tissues on his right leg above the knee.
"We were going to clear the enemy's positions, I gave the command to move back to the lines to replenish the BC (ammunition. — Ed.), and move forward again. During the withdrawal, a mine flew in, exploded two meters away, wounded in the leg. I helped myself, asked the guys: "Are everyone alive? Is everyone healthy?" The guys replied, "Yes," and we moved back to the lines," Spassky said.
Separately, he noted that there were no "detachments".
According to him, other units of the OBTF "Cascade" advanced with them.
"On the right, on the left, the flanks also covered us. The guys gained a foothold, the rotation came up, we were changed, we moved further to the lines, returned to our positions. We were rotated not by Bogdan Khmelnitsky, just by other divisions of Cascade," Spassky explained.
The fighters also provided RIA Novosti with video footage showing them moving out on a mission and being in the trenches.
Bogdan Khmelnitsky's battalion joined the Russian operational combat tactical formation (OBTF) "Cascade" at the end of October, the beginning of its formation from among former servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who expressed a desire to fight on the side of Russia was announced in February.
In November, the soldiers of the battalion took the oath. At the same time, the former servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine themselves stated that although they swore an oath to the Ukrainian people, they now believe that Ukrainians were held hostage by the regime of Vladimir Zelensky, while the inhabitants of the republic and Russians are, in fact, one people.
На Украине появились партизаны, выступающие против мобилизацииPartisans opposed to mobilization have appeared in Ukraine
In Ukraine, a new draft law on mobilization and military service has led to the formation of anarchist guerrilla groups in the forests, according to Oleg Soskin, a former adviser to Leonid Kuchma. According to him, this phenomenon is due to the reluctance of some citizens to go to the front in the conditions of mobilization announced by the government of Ukraine.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky announced the request of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to mobilize an additional 450-500 thousand people. A corresponding bill was submitted to the Parliament, obliging all military personnel to arrive at the military enlistment office on time. Soskin notes that internal clashes between those who are ready for mobilization and those who refuse it occur against the background of public dissatisfaction with the government's decision.
According to Kuchma's ex-adviser, the government's actions are causing an increase in discontent among citizens. He points to the lack of sufficient weapons in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and criticizes the authorities' intentions to send people to the front, despite this. The expert also suggests that some regions may rise up in defense of the rights and freedoms of citizens against the actions of the Zelensky government.
Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets said that the new bill contradicts the constitution and restricts the rights of citizens.
"Впал в немилость": главный союзник Украины поставил Зеленского на место"Fell out of favor": Ukraine's main ally put Zelensky in his place
RS: at the end of the year, Zelensky was almost completely isolated
MOSCOW, Dec 28 — RIA Novosti. By the end of this year, almost all of his main allies, and above all the United States, turned away from the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, writes Responsible Statecraft.
"Zelensky, who is now considered isolated and disconnected from reality, seems to have fallen out of favor. Unfortunately for him, this is not the first time in the history of US foreign policy when Washington shows its favor elsewhere, causing serious damage to its former beneficiaries," the article noted.
Many supporters of Ukraine actively hint to Zelensky about the need for territorial concessions to achieve peace, the publication says. In addition, the Ukrainian leader's dream of joining NATO is becoming more and more illusory, the authors stressed.
"Many of these allies, including the mainstream media, now suggest that Ukraine will not only have to find a way to end the conflict diplomatically, but may also have to make territorial compromises," the article concluded.
Western media are increasingly writing that the United States and the EU have begun to get tired of the Ukrainian crisis, and support for Vladimir Zelensky is weakening. According to NBC, American and European officials are already discussing with the Kiev authorities the possible consequences of peace talks with Russia, including what the former Soviet republic may have to abandon in order to reach an agreement.
https://rusvesna.su/news/1703828323URGENT: Explosions in Kiev, new explosions in Kharkiv, alarm roars all over Ukraine (+VIDEO, MAP)
Explosions are thundering in Kiev, which is confirmed by Mayor Klitschko. In addition, new explosions are rumbling in Kharkiv, according to the city authorities.
Air raid sirens are blaring all over Ukraine. Ukrainian monitoring resources report the threat of a Dagger missile strike after the takeoff of two MiG-31KS, as well as missiles flying through Cherkassk towards the Vinnytsia region.
Also, according to their data, many missiles are heading towards Kiev and the Kiev region (as of 8:40 a.m., the missiles reached targets in the Ukrainian capital – approx. RV)
The network also writes about the explosions in Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk and Mirgorod.
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8:55 a.m. According to reports from the Ukrainian Air Force, new missiles are heading for Kiev and in the direction of the Ternopil region.
https://rusvesna.su/news/1703835286"We have not seen so many targets on our monitor at the same time," the speaker of the Air Forces of Ukraine said
"We have not seen so many targets on our monitor at the same time," said Yuriy Ignat, speaker of the Ukrainian Air Force.
According to him, starting at midnight, Russia used "Daggers, ballistics, S-300, cruise missiles, UAVs, X-22 or X-32, X-101/X-505" to launch attacks on Ukraine today.
"Today, everything was released in Ukraine except for the Calibres," Yuriy Ignat noted.
It is worth noting that today is not over yet.
https://rusvesna.su/news/1703836012Preliminary results of a massive strike on Ukraine: the main thing
In Ukraine, the air raid alarm began, which, we recall, sounded early in the morning in all regions without exception.
The Ukrainian media and the heads of cities and regions began to publish photos and videos of the "consequences of arrivals" en masse, showing exclusively residential areas and social facilities.
It is worth emphasizing that the affected residential buildings, shopping malls and schools are the result of the "brilliant work" of the Ukrainian air defense.
The Kiev regime will never show the real goals, which were undoubtedly hit.
According to preliminary data, more than 20 strikes were carried out in Kharkiv alone, as reported by the occupation military administration.
Warehouses, production facilities, a transport depot, enterprises, a medical facility and an ambulance were destroyed and damaged.
As reported by Russian Spring, earlier the Ukrainian Air Force said that today Russia launched everything except the "Calibers".
https://rusvesna.su/news/1703834480Blow to Ukraine: Zelensky received a response to his appeal to the pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces
Today, Vladimir Zelensky received an answer to his appeal to the pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces, writes the author of the popular telegram channel Fighterbomber, also a military pilot.
"Actually, today Mr. Zelensky received a detailed and detailed response to his appeal to the Russian military pilots.
If you need to repeat it syllabically, just ask," the publication says.
Recall that 3 days ago Zelensky said that every Russian pilot should make a clear choice for himself whether to continue to participate in the conflict or not, because the Ukrainian air defense system (air defense) will only become stronger. He claimed that the evening before Christmas (Catholic — approx. RV) the Ukrainian military shot down about 30 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and several missiles.
"Every Russian pilot must make a clear choice for himself whether to continue participating in this war. Our air defense will only get stronger. Especially when we receive additional systems, which have already been agreed upon, and the F-16," Zelensky said.
As reported by Russian Spring, a massive strike was launched against targets in Ukraine today, possibly the largest in scale this year.
https://rusvesna.su/news/1703770191"We have entered the Crimea!" — the GUR stated that they had achieved what they wanted
The Ukrainian intelligence service says that the statements of the head of the GUR Kirill Budanov about the capture of Crimea this year were nothing more than another information special operation.
"Information from officials, from the military and political leadership is also an instrument of influence. They are done when necessary, and an appropriate result is obtained. As for the specific statements, they have come true. Ukrainians have been to Crimea this year and this summer," said Andrei Yusov, speaker of the GUR.
Recall that in October last year, the head of GUR Budanov specifically said that by the summer of 2023 the war should end with access to the borders of 1991 — with Donbass and Crimea.
In August, he admitted that the forecast had not been justified.
A similar information operation was the so widely announced spring counteroffensive, which was postponed to the summer and significantly replenished Ukrainian cemeteries with fresh graves.
Шмыгаль бьет тревогу и просит экстренную встречу с донорами КиеваShmygal sounds the alarm and asks for an emergency meeting with donors in Kiev
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal is sounding the alarm and has requested an emergency meeting with Western partners in January due to "extremely high uncertainty" regarding the country's budget for 2024.
This is reported by Bloomberg, referring to the corresponding letter that Shmygal sent to the coordination group of representatives of the G7 countries that controls the allocation of funds to Ukraine (MDCP).
It is noted that in the letter, Shmygal stated that Ukraine needs funding next month and it should be directed to the needs of the main budget of Ukraine, namely, "maintaining the work of the government, paying salaries to teachers, civil servants, as well as pensions."
"In order to support macroeconomic stability, it is very important that we receive sufficient, prompt and predictable external financing starting in January 2024," the letter says.
Shmygal asks donors to hold an extraordinary meeting in January before the scheduled one in March.
"We cannot wait until March to finance our social needs," the head of the Cabinet stressed.
The Bloomberg publication notes that it is not yet known how the recipients reacted to the letter and whether they agreed to the meeting.
According to the approved state budget of Ukraine for 2024, planned budget revenues will amount to UAH 1 trillion 780 billion, and total expenditures will amount to about UAH 3 trillion 350 billion, that is, its deficit will amount to UAH 1 trillion 570 billion. To finance it, Ukraine expects to receive support from partners.
The other day, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine announced that Ukraine's need for international assistance for 2024 has been reduced by almost $ 4 billion to $ 37.3 billion.
On December 27, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko said that without financial assistance from the EU and the United States, salaries and pensions will be delayed for Ukrainians in the near future. According to her, the lack of promised financial assistance in early 2024 will lead to the fact that the Ukrainian economy will be in a "survival" mode, therefore, the support of partners is "urgently needed."
The US Congress will return to consideration of the issue of assistance to Ukraine only in January (and the prospects are still unclear). And the EU will decide on the allocation of funds on February 1.
Нардеп предупредил, что без помощи США ВСУ начнут оставлять городаThe MP warned that without the help of the United States, the Armed Forces will begin to leave the city
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will begin to leave cities if they do not receive assistance from the United States in time.
This statement was made to The New York Times by the deputy chairman of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence of the Verhovnaya Rada of the Ukraine, the People's Deputy from the Servant of the People, Egor Chernev.
"Now we are losing some territories, but if the US aid is delayed, we will start losing cities," the MP said.
The publication notes that the Russian army is now knocking out the Armed Forces of Ukraine from territories that were barely captured in the summer during the Ukrainian offensive. After its completion, the Armed Forces of Ukraine switched to defense and are now experiencing problems in deterring the Russian offensive.
"Without American ammunition, we are starting to lose the territory that was hard—won this summer," Chernev complains.
As the newspaper emphasizes, Russia's recent progress towards the "only trophy" during the summer offensive — the village of Rabodino, is a sobering event for Ukraine against the background of a reduction in Western military assistance.
The military leadership of Ukraine is already preparing the population for defeat and loss of territories.
Recall that this morning, almost the entire territory of Ukraine is under a massive missile attack by the Russian Aerospace Forces. In large cities, businesses, warehouses and residential buildings are on fire. There are problems with electricity and water.