russian invasion of Ukraine. Chronicle for December 15-17

18 December 2023

In the early morning of February 24, 2022, Russia launched missile attacks on Ukrainian territory and launched a direct, full-scale invasion. The Ukrainian Armed Forces repel the enemy

- The Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled attacks by Russian troops in the Rabotino area, as well as to the west and north-west of Verbovoy, - ISW, the situation at the front.

▪️Ukrainian forces conducted limited counterattacks near Kupyansk and in the Kremennaya area.

▪️The Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding back Russian troops in the area of Krasnohorivka (on the western outskirts of Donetsk) and Novomikhailovka.

▪️Ukrainian troops also repelled nine Russian attacks north of Priyutnoye (15 km southwest of Velikaya Novoselka).

Ukrainian forces continue counter-offensive operations in the west of the Zaporozhye region, - ISW, situation at the front.

▪️The Ukrainian Armed Forces struck Mariupol in December, a large fire is visible in two places.

▪️Ukrainian forces also maintain positions on the eastern bank of the Kherson region.

▪️Ukrainian troops repelled at least 17 Russian attacks in the area of Krasnohorivka (immediately west of Donetsk), Marinka and Novomikhailovka.

The occupiers have advanced slightly near Bakhmut and Avdeevka in the Donetsk region and in the Verbovoye area in the Zaporozhye direction, - ISW, the situation at the front.

▪️Ukrainian forces repelled 2 attacks by Russian troops in the area of Staromayorsky (9 km south of the village of Bolshaya Novoselka) on the border of Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions.

▪️The Ukrainian Armed Forces also repelled at least eight attacks by Russian troops west of Novopokrovka (13 km northeast of Rabotino) and south of Rabotino.

▪️Heavy fighting continues in the Krynok area.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are transferring reinforcements to the left bank of the Kherson region, while the Russian Federation lacks equipment and manpower - ISW, the situation at the front.

▪️Ukrainian troops are conducting offensive operations on the Kupyansk - Svatovo - Kremennaya line and are moving north from Sinkovka.

▪️Russian and Ukrainian troops continue positional battles on the border of the Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions.

▪️The Ukrainian Armed Forces have advanced slightly west of Verbovoy (9 km west of Rabotino).

- 🤬Orban vetoes €50 billion in EU aid to Ukraine

We will return to this issue next year at the EU summit after appropriate preparation

“Hungary opposes Ukraine”: Belgian De Standaard and a version of the new EU flag with the letter “Z”.

- Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Kirill Budanov does not believe that the Russian Federation plans to wage war against Ukraine in 2025

According to him, Russia has problems with resources, including financial ones, and this may affect their war strategy.

Budanov said that perhaps if nothing changes by the end of 2024, the Kremlin will adjust this, but now they have no such plans.

- Mobile Internet from Kyivstar started working

- $1.34 billion was allocated by the World Bank to Ukraine for the payment of pensions, teachers’ salaries, support for IDPs and other expenses, - Shmigal

- French President Emmanuel Macron said that he is ready to resume dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin:

If President Putin has serious proposals and is ready to resume dialogue that will lead to a peaceful settlement in accordance with international law, France will always be a power that will support and spare no effort to achieve the result.

My phone number has not changed.

- Ukraine is planning a new counter-offensive in 2024, reports the German publication Welt.

- The United States received a wish list from Ukraine, which includes Black Hawk and Apache attack helicopters, F-16 and F-18 fighter jets, missile systems, Abrams tanks, UAVs and combat vehiclesripas.

- Ukraine can count on 95% of all weapons systems supplied from the West, since they have not yet been used at the front.

- In the south, the Ukrainian Armed Forces hold a bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper and continue to expand it. From here to Crimea it is only 60 km. Crimea is a weak point for Russians.

- The starting point can be a bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper. With fighter jets, helicopters and drones, Ukraine could support the offensive, especially since there are practically no Russian fortifications here.

- Zaluzhny was not a supporter of the start of the summer offensive. A quick breakthrough was impossible, and a change in strategy was a smart move, important time had been won.

- Ukraine’s new strategy is “kill, kill and kill,” reports Bild.

Ukraine is postponing plans to return the occupied territories.

The new goal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is to inflict as much damage as possible on enemy personnel while minimizing their own losses.

"Holding positions does not matter, the main thing is that more Ukrainians remain alive," the source said.

- Europe has 5-8 years to rearm, said German Defense Minister Pistorus.

Pistorus believes that Europe's defense industry needs time to build up its capabilities.

In his opinion, Putin’s threats against the Baltic countries, Georgia and Moldova should be taken very seriously:

“This is not just saber rattling. We may face threats later this decade. But until then we will be ready for this.”

- A rare Bosnian 82-mm mortar M69A produced by BNT-TMiH from the city of Novy Travnik in Bosnia and Herzegovina was seen in service with the Ukrainian army.

- ❗️What will happen to NATO if Ukraine is defeated in the war with the Russian Federation: ISW forecast.

▪️If the West fails to help, Ukraine could be completely occupied, Russian troops will advance to the borders with the Alliance countries, and European NATO forces will have nothing to hold them back;

▪Enabling Ukraine to regain control over its territory is much more profitable and cheaper than cutting aid or freezing the conflict now;

▪️Defeat will force the United States to urgently transfer troops to the European border. A Ukrainian victory would place the most capable army on the European continent at NATO's front line;

▪States will have to choose between keeping enough aircraft in Asia to defend Taiwan and deterring or repelling Russia;

▪️Ukrainian defense forces, backed by the West, destroyed almost 90% of the Russian army that invaded in February 2022. And this is a serious argument not to reduce, but to increase assistance to Ukraine.

Given all these arguments, Ukraine should receive help, and our partners understand this very well.

- Zaluzhny showed an interesting self-propelled gun “Bogdan”.

- Donetsk, powerful arrival at the oil depot 🔥

- Polish carriers will resume the border blockade: the court lifted the ban on protests.

This means that on the night from Sunday to Monday, carriers can again protest at the entrance to the border and they have already announced this. Already about 1.7 thousand trucks are waiting in a 45-kilometer queue to pass through Dorogusk.

- Some countries are approaching a decision to send their soldiers to Ukraine - former Ukrainian Ambassador to Britain Prystaiko.

To clarifying questions, he answered that the dispatch of troops could occur in the event of a “catastrophic development of the war,” specifying what “continuation of occupation” meant.

- A grenade explosion in a village council in Transcarpathia: one of the victims died in the hospital - UP, citing sources in law enforcement agencies.

Now the suspicion of the one who undermined the granThe charges against the deputy can be reclassified to something more serious – part 3 of Article 258 (a terrorist act that led to the death of a person).

- Tin, photo of one of the victims after the explosions in the village council in Transcarpathia.

- He really deserved such nice words 🤡

- Less than $1 billion monthly: international assistance to Ukraine has fallen to its lowest level in recent times.

- New dress from Balenciaga in the shape of a garbage bag for €6000

Would you buy it?

- Less than a day after our publication, Balenciaga closed comments under the post.

And all because of the Ukrainians, who began to write en masse that the new product is ideal for dead Russian soldiers 🤡

- When you want to ski on the European mountains

-NATO has several years to prepare for war with the Russian Federation,” German Defense Minister Pistorius.

According to him, Russia's threats to Georgia, Moldova and the Baltic countries are very serious. Putin is increasing weapons production and the West has 5-8 years to prepare.

The new cold war has knocked on the door 🙈

- 4:19 – our BUK M-3 worked perfectly.

4:20 – eternal flight, brother.

Rusnia worked on its own drying😁

- The Russian Wagner PMC in Libya, Mali, etc. is being renamed “Afrika Korps” with an obvious reference to Nazi Germany.

The German Afrika Korps was Nazi Germany's expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II.

- Europe is preparing for the fact that Ukraine may lose US military support and will need compensation, says German Defense Minister Pistorius.

“We clearly understand that, probably, sooner or later, we will have to compensate for what may no longer come from Washington.”

- Putin on Biden’s statements that “Russia is going to fight with NATO”:

This is complete nonsense. Russia has no reason, no interest, neither geopolitical, nor economic, nor political, nor military, to fight with NATO countries.

We have no territorial claims with them against each other, and we have no desire to spoil relations with them. We are interested in developing relations.

- Russian army van with funny camouflage.

I remembered what it reminded me of

- The effectiveness of forcibly mobilized Ukrainians is “almost zero,” says the head of the Ukrainian Military Intelligence (GUR) Budanov.

“Everyone who wanted to came in the first six months. Who is being called up now? Unfortunately, there won't be a good answer here. If you don’t find motivation for these people, then no matter how much people are forced or according to legal norms, their effectiveness will be practically zero, which, in principle, is what has been happening lately.

Financial gain for those mobilized does not play a big role, and many do not have the feeling that the enemy has captured the territory and needs to be defended. Everyone is for Ukraine, but everyone is running.

But it is necessary to maintain the size of the army. The country's defense forces now number 1.1 million, but due to losses, this figure has to be maintained."b constantly."

- Putin on Finland’s accession to NATO:

There were no problems at our border, now there will be.

- 😢Consequences of the suicide attack in the Kherson region

A residential building, an office building and a service station were damaged. Fortunately, there is no information about casualties.

- Raiffeisen Bank is temporarily not considered an international sponsor of the war

All because of the 12th package of sanctions against the Russian Federation: Austria approved it and in return asked to exclude Raiffeisen from the list of war sponsors.

- AFU serviceman with a cat

- Weaning your grandfather off TV is like weaning an alcoholic off vodka. Grandfather has long since become a little goat.

- There hasn’t been such a version yet, for good measure

- As I understand it, Arestovich simply doesn’t care about Ukraine anymore, he has found a new homeland for himself. The barn burned down and so did the hut.

Let's add humor

- World leaders with their dogs

- Hens don’t understand orders, and Gurulev reported at Solovyov’s evening that he was ready to begin and report in 9 months on the implementation of the commander-in-chief’s order about traditional values with a large family.