Russian invasion of Ukraine: Day 685

Summary for Tuesday, 9th January 2024 - DAY 685

• Russia targeted Ukraine with dozens of missiles, killing at least four civilians early on Monday, Ukrainian authorities said. Two people were killed in the western Khmelnytskyi region, local officials said. In Kryvyi Rih, a 62-year-old was reported to have been killed.
  
  
• Elsewhere, the governor of the Kharkiv region said a 63-year-old woman was killed in a strike on a town south of Kharkiv. Ukrainian forces destroyed 18 out of 51 missiles launched during the wave of Russian airstrikes on Monday, Ukraine’s air force said.
  
  
• Ukraine’s draft mobilisation law will not conscript women or introduce a lottery, according to Yehor Chernev, deputy chairman of parliament’s defence and security committee, which is is due to consider the law on Tuesday.
  
  
• The British former defence secretary Ben Wallace warned his successor, Grant Shapps, that the UK was at risk of “falling behind” in its military support for Ukraine, because ministers had yet to announce a military aid budget for 2024-5.
  
  
• A section of railroad near the city of Nizhny Tagil in Russia’s Urals region was hit by a “bang”, Tass and RBC news agencies reported. Baza, a Russian media outlet, said the blast on the railway took place close to the station of San-Donato, near an oil depot.
  
  
• The Swedish prime minister announced that Sweden – despite not yet being a full member of Nato – will send troops to Latvia next year as part of a Canadian-led force to deter Russian attack.
  
  
• In the Russian-occupied Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, a Russian warplane accidentally released a bomb on the town of Rubizhne, said Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-appointed regional occupation head. He reportedly said the bomb, an FAB-250 that carries a high-explosive warhead, did not cause injuries. His comments could not be independently verified.
  
  
• Ukraine has exported 15m tonnes of cargo through its Black Sea shipping corridor, including 10m tonnes of agricultural goods, the deputy prime minister for restoration, Oleksandr Kubrakov, has said.
  
  
• “Indiscriminately striking” civilians is a war crime because it violates international humanitarian law, Pope Francis was quoted as saying in a speech referencing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
  
  
• Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, said that Russia has “left people homeless” through its attacks on Ukraine, a reality of war she says “can only be changed by weapons”.
  

Ukrainian shelling injured three people in the Russian region of Belgorod late on Monday evening, officials said.

Russia hit multiple settlements in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region over the past 24 hours, injuring two civilians

The death toll from a Russian missile attack against the western Ukrainian region of Khmelnytskyi on Monday has risen to three after another body was found by rescuers

Unfortunately, as a result of rescue operations, one more dead person was found. Male born in 1955. Sincere condolences to the family.
As a result of the terrorist attack, three people died (men born in 1947, 1964, 1955) and two were injured.

Ukraine has been repelling huge Russian cyber-attacks on state payment systems for the second week in a row

Pro-Ukraine hackers claim breach of Russian internet provider

Lunchtime Summary of the day ...

• Ukraine’s power grid operator said severe winter weather has left more than 1,000 towns and villages without electricity in nine regions, as the energy system has been weakened by Russian strikes. Ukraine had to import electricity from neighbouring Romania and Slovakia to be able to meet the demand, Ukrenergo said.
  
  
• Hungary has indicated that it might lift its veto over EU aid to Ukraine if the funding is reviewed each year, Politico reported. Three EU diplomatic sources said Budapest indicated it might withdraw its opposition if the European Council unanimously approves the funding on a yearly basis, meaning Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, could extract concessions from the bloc.
  
  
• The Kremlin said the Russian military would do everything in its power to tackle an increase in Ukrainian shelling of the border city of Belgorod, which has come under extensive shelling and drone attacks for months.
  
  
• Ukraine has a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles, air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat was quoted as saying. “Ukraine has spent a considerable reserve on those three attacks that took place,” Ihnat told Ukrainian TV. “It is clear that there is a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles.”
  

Two drones hit fuel facility in Russian city of Oryol, governor says

During an attack by enemy UAVs on the facilities of the fuel and energy complex of the Oryol region, three people were injured and received moderate injuries.
They are given the necessary help. Two refused hospitalisation. Emergency services are at the scene of the incident.

The governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, has reported the destruction of a drone, which he says did not cause any damage or injury.

An aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicle was destroyed over the Bryansk region by air defense forces of the Russian Ministry of Defence. There were no casualties or damage. Emergency services are working on the spot.

Ukraine Blows Up Russian ‘Solntsepyok’ Heavy Flamethrower with HIMARS, Unleashes Massive Explosion

Recorded footage captures the impressive detonation of the thermobaric ammunition of the multi-million dollar Russian multiple rocket launch system Solntsepyok TOS-1A.

The explosion of the Solntsepyok. PHOTO: Screengrab Telegram SSO.

Using the American-made HIMARS rocket launcher, the Ukrainian military destroyed a Solntsepyok (Blazing Sun) – a Russian heavy flamethrower – in southern Ukraine that a team of drone operators had discovered hidden in a forested area.
The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) released a video on Telegram showing the rocket launcher getting hit by a missile and sending a mushroom-shaped flaming smoke cloud above the treetops.

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1744763462339920317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1744763462339920317%7Ctwgr%5E2e82b2642c7801992a3e64ac1aaffbbfe387ba99%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kyivpost.com%2Fpost%2F26524

While conducting reconnaissance, the crew of the unmanned aircraft complex of the 73rd Maritime Center of the SSO discovered the Russian “heavy flamethrower system” (TOS-1A) Solntsepyok camouflaged under the treetops. The Russians had brought the Solntsepyok to Ukraine as part of their ongoing full-scale invasion.
The SSO aerial reconnaissance operators sent its coordinates to HIMARS operators.

“As a result of the fire damage, Solntsepyok was completely destroyed (watch the video to witness its spectacular flames),” reads the caption to the footage.
In the video, a series of explosions is visible, culminating in one massive explosion. This is what the detonation of Solntsepyok's thermobaric ammunition looks like.

What is known about Solntsepyok

This heavy “flamethrower” system is employed to destroy light armored vehicles, enemy personnel in open terrain, and fortified buildings through powerful volume explosions.
The system has been in service with the radiation, chemical, and biological defense forces of the Russian army since April 2001.

Firing from this flamethrower system is executed by unguided rockets of caliber 220mm, weighing up to more than 200 kg.
Solntsepyok's thermobaric munition forms a cloud of explosive mixture and then detonates it. After the instant of detonation, the atmospheric pressure in the cloud jumps sharply, and then drops just as rapidly by about 160 mm Hg.
So, even if the enemy manages to survive after the explosion itself, such a sharp pressure drop almost guarantees death from the rupture of internal organs.

The high accuracy of Solntsepyok's salvo fire is achieved through automatic targeting at a target located up to seven kilometers away. Cost estimates vary for the system. It's been reported that the system costs in the range of $6.5 million to $15 million.
In July 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Ukrainian troops were hunting the system due to its effectiveness.
A representative of the department stated that Solntsepyok uses thermobaric rockets. After its strikes, a fireball with a temperature of about 3,000 degrees Celsius appears, making hiding in dugouts impossible, the Russian Ministry of Defense says.
The Russians also asserted that there are no analogs to this heavy flamethrower system in the world.

Disadvantages of this weapon

Solntsepyok is large and weakly armored. Thus, the system is vulnerable to strikes from anti-tank missile systems and grenade launchers. Additionally, damage to the system poses a danger to its own troops.
On the battlefields of major engagements, Solntsepyok loses to rocket salvo systems in terms of range and effectiveness. According to information from various sources, the range of this flamethrower system is 6-10 kilometers, making it a close-quarters weapon.

Closing summary

• Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, will deliver a “special address” to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos next week, the WEF said. The conflict in the Middle East is set to dominate the annual forum, held this year under the theme Rebuilding Trust, AFP reported.
  
  
• Two drones hit a fuel facility in the Russian city of Oryol, 230 miles south of Moscow and 137 miles from the Ukrainian border, the local governor has said. Andrei Klychkov said on Telegram that a fire at the complex caused by the drone attack had been contained.
  
  
• Ukraine’s power grid operator said earlier that severe winter weather has left more than 1,000 towns and villages without electricity in nine regions, as the energy system has been weakened by Russian strikes. Ukraine had to import electricity from neighbouring Romania and Slovakia to be able to meet the demand, Ukrenergo said.
  
  
• Hungary has indicated that it might lift its veto over EU aid to Ukraine if the funding is reviewed each year, Politico reported. Three EU diplomatic sources said Budapest indicated it might withdraw its opposition if the European Council unanimously approves the funding on a yearly basis, meaning Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, could extract concessions from the bloc.
  
  
• The Kremlin said the Russian military would do everything in its power to tackle an increase in Ukrainian shelling of the border city of Belgorod, which has come under extensive shelling and drone attacks for months.
  
  
• Ukraine has a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles, air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat was quoted as saying. “Ukraine has spent a considerable reserve on those three attacks that took place,” Ihnat told Ukrainian TV. “It is clear that there is a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles.”