Day 322 (11 January)
Russian civilians are being contracted to dig trenches for the army. Ukrainian HIMARS killed 80 of them in Lantrativka, Luhansk. This is rather sad as it is a legitimate military target, and the Russians used civilians to carry out army work. The propaganda will be that civilians were killed and targeted, but they were building forts for the army.
Canada will buy Ukraine a NASAMS defence system, the Department of National Defence announced. This is what Ukraine needed about 10 months ago, they didn’t have the funds to purchase the weapons and the allies were slow to provide such weapons. After thousands, perhaps millions of deaths, Canada is leading the way.
No one knows exactly how each country offers weapons—some are donated, others are supplied perhaps as a loan, or money is donated so that Ukraine can purchase them as we have seen from donations from Latvia and Lithuania where crowdfunding allowed Ukraine to purchase drones.
Russia has banned all potential conscripts from leaving the country. To be frank, when the mobilisation officially began in September 2023, most men between 18-60 decided to leave Russia even if they hadn’t been called up. They all knew it would be a matter of time. Reports state that mobilisation has never actually stopped. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman denied the claim as he has done before. However, during the last mobilisation when they tried to stop men leaving the country, they installed soldiers at the borders with call up papers to prevent men from leaving.
Putin has replaced Sergei Surovikin with Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov after 3 months as the Commander of ‘Special Military Operation’ in what analysts see as a sudden move that indicates Putin’s plans are shifting. Surovikin is now his deputy.
As Soledar is being pounded by the Wagner group, the leader of the group Prigozhin claims that the group controls the area. The Russian army seem to be at odds with this, stating that their troops are part of the battle. It seems apparent that the Wagner group had their own motives in attacking Soledar, and when a mercenary group breaks off from their ‘client’ there are internal conflicts, hence why mercenaries are never loyal as they are there for money, or in the case of the former convicts. they seek freedom with a pardon.
Kherson was attacked with phosphorus bombs during the day. That is a war crime, especially as they targeted civilians out shopping for food, and who are queuing for aid.
Zelenskyy addressed the 80th Golden Globes Awards. He was introduced by his friend Sean Penn, where he talks of the struggle for freedom and democracy that Ukraine is fighting for.
The Lublin Triangle Coalition met for their second summit, which is comprised of the Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. Discussions were held on defence issues and cooperation between the states, and the borders. The issue of Belarus was discussed as it seems it will be a matter of time before Russians and Belarusians will cross the border into Ukraine again. Most of the former Soviet states and eastern countries have been taking a more proactive role in assisting Ukraine, and there is an obvious west-east divide. There are countries a little more distant, such as France and Spain who have been assisting but only after being pushed and ‘shamed’ into helping
Poland has offered 2 Leopard tanks, but this can only be realised in coalition with the other countries, and Germany must give permission for any transfers as they manufacture the tanks. There are 2,000 across Europe that are currently in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Hungary.
Zelenskyy attended a ceremony in Lviv (Lychakiv Cemetery ) with President Duda (Poland) to lay flowers for soldiers who were killed in the Polish-Ukranian war (1918-1919) and the Polish-Soviet war (1919-1920). The visit is symbolic of how the countries have fought for peace and that they will endeavour to maintain peace.
Day 323 (12 January)
Satellite images of before and after of Soledar have emerged, or rather what is left of it as the Wagner group boast that they are close to ‘liberating’ the city.
Ukrainian allies are considering more sanctions against Russia, this time to cap prices on petroleum products.
Two British aid workers have been missing in Donetsk, and it is feared they are dead. Andrew Bagshaw,, and Chris Parry has been seen in Soledar, and have been helping to provide food and medical aid to the elderly stuck in the area. The Wagner group claims they have seen the body of one of the men, and image soft their documentation were posted on social media.
Please allow me to feel proud as a Canadian that Canada will finally provide Ukraine the defence system, even though it should have been provided earlier at the start of the war before the horrific loss of life.