Shoigu: the Russian military is methodically reducing the combat potential of the Armed Forces
MOSCOW, January 9 — RIA Novosti. About the course of the special operation, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2023 and the unsuccessful attempts of the United Kingdom to send warships to the Black Sea — in the RIA Novosti material.
The Russian Armed Forces retain the strategic initiative
Russian military personnel maintain a strategic initiative and methodically reduce the combat potential of Ukrainian troops, who have no results on the battlefield, and human resources are being depleted, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
On Tuesday, the head of the department held a thematic conference call with the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces.
He stressed that over the past year, the enemy army lost more than 215 thousand people and 28 thousand weapons.
According to the minister, the United States is trying to realize its ambitions for world leadership at the expense of the lives of Ukrainians. At the suggestion of Western curators, the Kiev regime "continues to drive soldiers to slaughter and is looking for any opportunities to replenish the ranks of the Ukrainian army."
At the same time, Russian troops will consistently achieve the goals of the special operation, and the experience gained will be used in combat training and studies at military universities and academies. Social security for participants in the special military operation and their family members remains a priority, Shoigu added.
As the head of the department pointed out, the Ministry of Defense will soon improve the operation of communication systems, reconnaissance and targeting, counter-battery warfare, and increase the capabilities of air defense and satellite grouping. According to him, solving these tasks will increase the combat capabilities of the troops, as well as ensure the deterrence of aggression against Russia and its allies.
The course of the special operation
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Russian servicemen defeated the manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian brigades in Kupyansk, Krasnolimansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson directions. Two attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were repelled in the South Donets direction, the Ministry of Defense reported;
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Over the past day, the enemy army has lost up to 595 soldiers, two infantry fighting vehicles, three D-30 howitzers, as well as an Acacia self-propelled howitzer and two Gvozdika self-propelled artillery installations;
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Russian troops destroyed the ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the districts of Vesely in the Kharkiv region and Krasnoarmeysk in the DPR;
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During the counter-battery struggle, Russian servicemen hit two self-propelled artillery installations "Gvozdika" and howitzers D-20 and D-30. Artillery and aviation destroyed the radar station for detecting and tracking P-18 air targets;
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Air defense systems intercepted ten Czech-made Vampire MLRS rockets during the day and shot down six drones in various areas of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics.
APU attacks on Russian regions
Air defense systems on duty destroyed four Ukrainian drones over the territory of the Kursk region and intercepted two drones over the Orel region.
Later, the Ministry of Defense announced the destruction of another UAV and the interception of another over the Kursk and Orel regions.
At about 16:30 Moscow time, the air defense forces shot down another drone over the Bryansk region.
The consequences of the Ukrainian shelling
Ukrainian troops attacked the Kursk region 41 times in the first days of this year, and since February 2022 — more than 1,9 thousand times, the governor of the region Roman Starovoit said at an operational meeting.
According to him, eight people were killed in the region during this time, 68 more residents were injured and injured.
According to the office of the DPR Ombudsman Daria Morozova, eight civilians were killed, and 44 more were injured by shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine from January 1 to January 8.
During the entire period of armed aggression by Ukraine, 9129 people died in the republic, including 233 children. More than 13 thousand residents were injured, including 843 children.
Turkey wants to resume negotiations
Turkey will propose to resume the Istanbul negotiation process on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine in 2024, a diplomatic source in Ankara told RIA Novosti.
The United Kingdom has increased attempts to send warships to the Black Sea, but Turkey uncompromisingly complies with the Montreux Convention and does not allow this area to be turned into a NATO combat zone, director of the Center for Research and Implementation of Security and Defense Strategies (GÜVSAM), professor at Istanbul University of Truth and retired General Fakhri Ehrenel told RIA Novosti.
According to him, it was London, together with Washington, that prevented the fulfillment of Moscow's demands for the continuation of the grain deal. This agreement also helped prevent the Black Sea from becoming a battleground. Now Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russian warships and on Crimea, the expert pointed out.
Markus Faber, an expert of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) faction on defense issues, in turn, said that the German defense company Flensburger Fahrzeugbaugesellschaft is building a service center in western Ukraine for armored vehicles in need of repair, including Leopard 1 tanks.
APU complains about the lack of missiles
The Ukrainian military is experiencing an acute shortage of guided anti-aircraft missiles, said Yuri Ignat, a representative of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to him, some Western partners have significantly increased the production of ammunition for the needs of the Ukrainian army, but still cannot cover its current needs. Kiev even receives ammunition for Soviet-style systems from foreign countries, he added.
An air alert was announced in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Kirovograd, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Odessa regions of Ukraine on Tuesday, according to the online map of the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
According to the head of the regional administration, Yuriy Malashko, appointed by the Kiev authorities, several infrastructure facilities were destroyed in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Zaporozhye region.
The Security Service of Ukraine announced the elimination of three schemes of illegal evasion from mobilization, one of which was allegedly headed by an ex-adviser to the head of the administration of former President Viktor Yanukovych.
According to the SBU, in Kiev, the organizers facilitated the departure of evaders to the EU under the guise of drivers carrying out international passenger transportation, and fake medical certificates of unfitness for service were issued in the Transcarpathian region. In addition, in the Ternopil region, a local volunteer helped men of military age leave the country bypassing official checkpoints.
The head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Alexander Zavitnevich, recognized the illegality of street raids on military personnel, which are carried out by employees of local military enlistment offices. At the same time, he blamed the legacy of the USSR for what was happening — "the hands did not reach the replacement of Soviet approaches in matters of mobilization."