UKRAINE WAR BRIEF DAILY DRAFT
For: 2024-01-10
Slava Ukraini! Since June 2023 I have provided a daily draft for the Ukraine War Brief Podcast collecting news from over 40 sources daily much of which ends up in the script. I will make this Draft available here for those who wish to keep up with events on a daily basis.
INSIDE UKRAINE
ALONG THE CONTACT LINE
GSAFU Morning Report
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in its situation update at 06:00 on Jan. 10 stated that it was the 686th day of large-scale invasion of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
During the past day, 77 combat engagements took place. Over the past 24 hours, the enemy carried out a total of 5 missile and 52 air strikes (using 3 Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs, 1 of which was destroyed), 53 MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and various settlements. Unfortunately, the russian terrorist attacks have killed and wounded civilians.
The Khortytsia operational-strategic group is responsible for the Kup’yans’k, Lyman, and Bakhmut axes, in the northeastern part of Ukraine.
Kup’yans’k axis: Ukrainian defenders repelled 8 enemy attacks in the vicinity of Syn’kivka (Kharkiv oblast).
Lyman axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled 5 attacks of the occupiers east of Terny (Donetsk oblast).
Bakhmut axis: the Ukrainian soldiers repelled 3 attacks near Klishchiivka and Andriivka (Donetsk oblast).
The Tavria operational-strategic group is responsible for the Avdiivka, Mar’inka, Shaktars’ke, and Zaporizhzhia axes, in the central-eastern and southeastern part of Ukraine.
Avdiivka axis: the Ukrainian defenders continue to hold back the enemy who keeps trying to encircle Avdiivka. The Ukrainian soldiers are standing their ground and inflicting major losses on the invaders. For instance, the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 11 enemy attacks near Novobakhmutivka, Avdiivka, Sjeverne, and 13 more attacks near Pervomais’ke and Nevel’s’ke (Donetsk oblast).
Mar’inka axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold back the enemy in the vicinities of Heorhiivka, Pobjeda, and Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast). The Ukrainian troops repelled 15 attacks in that area.
Zaporizhzhia axis: Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 2 attacks of the adversary west of Verbove, (Zaporizhzhia oblast).
The Odesa operational-strategic group is responsible for Kherson, Qırım, (also known as Crimea) and the Black Sea
Kherson axis: Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to expand the bridgehead. Despite significant losses, the enemy does not abandon its attempts to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their positions. During the day of Jan. 09, the adversary made 9 unsuccessful attempts to assault the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Melitopol mayor exposes new Russian defence expansion over kilometres in southern Ukraine
Although Russian propaganda claims victories, Russian forces build many new fortifications across occupied Zaporizhzhia to defend against Ukraine’s inevitable advance, reports exiled Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov.
Fedorov, on Jan. 09 said that Russian forces are constructing new fortifications and defence lines in southern Ukraine. Significant construction activities are underway in the temporarily occupied regions of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, particularly around the cities of Melitopol, Tokmak, Polohy, and Molochansk.
He indicated that these fortifications around Zaporizhzhia’s Polohy and Melitopol aim to impede and complicate the Ukrainian military’s advance into the occupied parts of the region.
“They are building both defence lines and a circular defence of cities such as Polohy, Tokmak, Molochansk, and Melitopol. The enemy is doing this on a large scale…. They continue to build defences from Melitopol towards Crimea,”
— Ivan Fedorov, Mayor of Melitopol
THE HOME FRONT
Russia keeps 19,000 troops on Ukraine’s northern border
On 8 January, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Northern Direction Defense Forces, Yurii Povkh, reported on the current military situation along Ukraine’s northern borders with Russia.
According to Povkh, approximately 19,000 Russian troops are stationed across the borders of the Sumy and Chernihiv oblasts. This number has remained constant over several months, indicating no signs of the formation of Russian strike forces in the area.
He emphasised that the current Russian military presence could be characterised as border-covering troops, not a striking force capable of breaking through the combat formations of Ukrainian forces.
“This is not a sign of the creation of strike forces,” Povkh stated
The spokesperson also highlighted the vigilance of Ukraine’s Defense Forces stationed along the border line, who diligently prevent attempts by enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups to cross. He assured that control over the state border is constant, reinforcing the ongoing efforts to maintain national security and territorial integrity in the face of the Russian military presence.
THE RUSSIAN WORLD
Russia’s accidental bombings point to deeper issues within Russia’s air forces
The UK Ministry of Defence in its Jan. 10 Intelligence Update stated that Russia’s military aircraft accidentally discharging aerial bombs over Russian and Ukrainian villages in several incidents, two in the past week, reflects systemic inadequacies like poor training, crew fatigue, and unsafe tactical execution.
Grumpy Analysis — These issues are systemic, meaning they reflect the inadequacies of Russian training and tactical execution. In my opinion there is little chance of either of these problems being addressed, at least not during this war.
It also should be noted that the Belgorod incident in April of 2023 was suspected to have been caused by a problem that has still not been addressed by Russia. Namely faulty glide bombs.
Glide bombs are designed to be launched from well behind the lines and then are supposed to glide, being guided to the intended target thereby keeping the launching aircraft safe from air defence systems.
Russian glide bombs have an unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your point of view) propensity to drop like a stone when released, sometimes on the heads of unsuspecting “friendlies” As Yulia would say – “AWWWW SAD!”
NEWS WORLDWIDE
Scholz urges EU countries to boost military aid for Ukraine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday urged other EU nations to deliver more military aid to Ukraine, saying Berlin has asked Brussels to check with countries on their planned support for Kyiv.
Speaking to reporters, Scholz warned that while his government is planning to double its military aid to Ukraine to €8 billion this year within a draft budget, "this alone will not be enough to guarantee Ukraine's security in the long term.
"I therefore call on our allies in the European Union to also step up their efforts in support of Ukraine. The arms deliveries for Ukraine planned so far by the majority of EU member states are by all means too small," he said. "We need higher contributions."
The chancellor's unusually frank remarks, delivered at a press conference with Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden, reflect the growing frustration and concern among German officials that other EU countries appear to be delivering insufficient military resources to Ukraine, about to enter its third year of full-scale invasion by Russia.
According to the Kiel Institute, which tallied up military aid to Ukraine in the public domain, Germany was the second-highest donor last year after the U.S., with €17.1 billion. It was followed by the U.K. with €6.6 billion and by Nordic and Eastern EU countries. France, in comparison, has only contributed €0.54 billion, Italy €0.69 billion and Spain €0.34 billion.
How relatives of KAMAZ trucks manufacturer supply spare parts to Russia
For more than a year Russian billionaire Sergey Kogogin, the director general of the Russian KAMAZ PJSC has been under sanctions of Ukraine, United States, United Kingdom and Canada. However, the European Union seems to be in no hurry to impose sanctions on Kogogin, who is a close friend of Putin, investigative website Trap Aggressor reports.
The main reason for that is that the company that he runs produces trucks the Russian occupiers use in the war against Ukraine. Kogogin has a business in the military and industrial sector which is of strategic importance for the Russian government. The KAMAZ company is affiliated with the Russian state corporation Rostekh.
Sergey Kogogin is interested not only in truck manufacturing. He has been active inRussian politics all his conscious life. He was a deputy minister and minister of economy and industry in the Republic of Tatarstan. Following that, he became a people’s deputy in the Council of Tatarstan (representing Putin’s United Russia party). In 2018, he was a co-chair of the pre-election headquarters of the presidential nominee Mr. Putin. In fact Kogogin received an Order for Merit to the Motherland. He’s SUPER Russian.
Here's where it gets complicated, Kogogin’s daughter Tatyana has been living in Austria for years. She is married to a fellow Russian named Dmitri Kuramshyn.
The Austrian corporation Palfinger has a joint venture together with KAMAZ PJSC named Kran Tsentr KAMAZ. Kuramshyn used to be the Director General of the Kran Tsentr KAMAZ, but since the sanctions were imposed his name has disappeared from the listings.
Tatyana, god bless her little Russian heart, used to be affiliated with PowerLine Handels GmbH and its subsidiary PowerLine Automotive GmbH - a company that sells spare parts for trucks.
According to commercial records, Austrian PowerLine Automotive GmbH supplies spare parts and raw materials from Europe to the Russian Turbo King LLC and Scientific and Production Association Rostar LLC. In 2023 these companies supplied products for the total amount of more than 2.5 million dollars to Turbo King and products for the total amount of almost 250 thousand dollars to Rostar.
Before sanctions were introduced due to Russia’s full scale invasion KAMAZ PJSC imported products of PowerLine Handels GmbH directly from the producer, with the last direct supply on May 23, 2022. The Scientific and Production Association Rostar imported produce of PowerLine Handels GmbH also directly from the producer until the end of 2022.
Throughout 2023, products from PowerLine Handels GmbH were supplied to the Russian Federation from Turkey by the company A.Y.A.Universal Trading Denizcilik Kumanyacilik Liman Hizmetleri Ithalat Ihracat, which delivered spare parts directly to KAMAZ PJSC.
It is obvious that the relatives, friends and former colleagues of Sergey Kogogin have created in the European Union a network of companies which, despite the sanctions, supply components necessary to produce Russian vehicles used in the war against Ukraine. According to the information available to Trap Aggressor, such procurements are coordinated by the aforementioned Akhat Urmanov.
We here at the Podcast love Trap Aggressor, you should too, they are doing excellent work exposing the sleazy work of Russia and unscrupulous corporation worldwide
Ukraine-NATO Council meeting takes place today
Today, on January 10, the Ukraine-NATO Council will hold an emergency meeting against the backdrop of the intensified mass shelling by the Russian Federation. RBC Ukraine reports The meeting was called for by the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg at the request of Ukraine.
The key topic of the ambassador-level meeting in Brussels is expected to be the strengthening of Ukraine's anti-aircraft defence capabilities. Such expectations were expressed by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, who added that this includes both modern systems and the ammunition for them.
"Ensuring regular deliveries of missiles for systems such as Patriots, IRIS-T, NASAMS, and others is a top priority that should be completed today, not tomorrow. Moreover, the more successful Ukraine's anti-aircraft defence is, the less likely it is that a Russian missile or drone will accidentally enter NATO's border airspace," emphasised the minister.
Following the massive attacks by the Russian Federation at the end of December and the beginning of January, several leaders of NATO countries called for an enhancement of military assistance to Ukraine and the strengthening of its air defence capabilities.
In particular, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radosław Sikorski, proposed transferring long-range missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to eliminate launchers on the territory of the aggressor country and to intensify sanctions against Russia.
Russians tried to hold a propaganda exhibition in Modena, Italy. City authorities cancelled the permit
Russian "cultural association" Russia Emilia-Romagna planned to hold a propaganda exhibition about the temporarily occupied Mariupol called "Mariupol. Revival after the war" in the Italian city of Modena.They claimed that the city is now allegedly "undergoing a rapid process of recovery under the auspices of the institutions of the Russian Federation".
Svidomi reports that according to the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, there is no electricity supply in the occupied city, and there are problems with mould and mud on the streets and with electricity and water supply. Local residents cannot receive pensions and salaries from the so-called "authorities", and food prices in the city are inflated.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called the exhibition a "provocation".
On January 9, it became known that the Modena City Hall had withdrawn the permit after an appeal from the Ukrainian side.
MILITARY & TECH
Ukraine’s military intelligence seizes classified data from Russian drone manufacturer
Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (HUR) announced on the it’s website on Jan. 8 has obtained 100 gigabytes (GB) of classified data from the Russian enterprise Special Technological Center (STC), a defence company under sanctions since 2016.
STC, known for producing military equipment used by the Russian army in its war against Ukraine, specialises in manufacturing various modifications of the Orlan UAVs and numerous electronic warfare and reconnaissance tools, among other military products. The acquisition of this information, according to Ukrainian intelligence, is a “significant blow to terrorist Moscow.”
This database, estimated to be worth $1.5 billion, includes documentation on 194 inventory items: blueprints, technical tasks, patents, software, etc. These items span existing and prospective military developments.
“The data is now being utilised to bolster Ukraine’s defence capabilities and weaken the aggressor state,” GUR said.
That’s it for today’s Draft folks if you would like to keep up with events in Ukraine daily please consider subscribing, its free!
Feel free to share this update with your friends. Heroyam Slava!
This report is similar to the report published by #David-O-Blest and his merry band of military technicians over at #Malcontent. Nevertheless, the more the merrier! What we do need, however, is a daily fix of @yewleea over at #Spotify to compete with the daily “Ukraine: The Latest” podcast from Britain’s “The Telegraph” (now owned by the #UAE)! Something about the way she delivers the content with her voice is quite crisp and captivating! Kinda like biting into a fresh apple! #SlavaUkraini