Russian invasion of Ukraine: Day 682

Summary for Saturday, 6th January 2024 - DAY 682

• Russia hit Ukraine with missiles supplied by North Korea for the first time during its invasion, a senior Kyiv official said, corroborating an earlier assertion by the White House. Grant Shapps, the British defence secretary, said: “We’ll make sure North Korea pays a high price for supporting Russia”.
  
  
• Russian air defence units downed missiles and drones in a series of night-time attacks over the Crimea peninsula and the western part of the Black Sea, Russia’s defence ministry said early on Saturday. There was no report on the incident from the Ukrainian military, which does not consistently disclose its actions in Crimea.
  
  
• The government of Nepal has banned its citizens from travelling to Russia or Ukraine for employment after 10 young men were killed and dozens more reported missing while fighting, predominantly in the Russian military. More than 200 Nepali soldiers are believed to have enlisted in the Russian army since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Nepal’s foreign ministry has said.
  
  
• A British defence intelligence update on Ukraine noted that “over the last week, ground combat has continued to be characterised by either a static frontline or very gradual, local Russian advances in key sectors”.
  
  
• Russian officials in the southern border city of Belgorod offered to evacuate residents after waves of fatal Ukrainian attacks. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov’s offer came a day after overnight shelling wounded at least two people and knocked out glass from high-rise buildings.
  
  
• Ukraine released images of what it said was a Russian Kinzhal ballistic missile, which it claimed earlier in the week to have downed using the US Patriot anti-aircraft system. The Guardian was not able to verify the claim.
  

Russia says it downed four Ukrainian missiles over Moscow-annexed Crimea overnight

Air defence on duty intercepted and destroyed four Ukrainian missiles over the Crimea peninsula.

Nepal bans citizens from working in Russia or Ukraine after deaths in military

Work permits to leave Nepal for those countries halted as 10 men killed and dozens more reported missing

The government of Nepal banned its citizens from travelling to Russia or Ukraine for employment after 10 young men were killed and dozens more reported missing while fighting, predominately in the Russian military.
More than 200 Nepali soldiers are believed to have enlisted in the Russian army since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Nepal’s foreign ministry had said, and more than 100 of them have gone missing. A smaller number are believed to be fighting in the Ukrainian army.
“Work permits for Russia and Ukraine have been temporarily halted until further arrangements are made to minimise potential risks and losses for Nepali nationals entering these war-ravaged countries,” Kabiraj Upreti, a director at the department of foreign employment, told the state broadcaster RSS.

Russia set to lose 500,000 military personnel by year end, says British MoD

The UK’s Ministry of Defence says Russia is continuing to struggle to establish air superiority over Ukraine.

Fears Russia using North Korea-supplied ballistic missiles to attack Ukraine

Washington and Kyiv claim Moscow turning to other states under sanctions to sustain its war effort

Reuters reports that the Kharkiv region prosecutor’s office has provided further evidence that Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles supplied by North Korea, showcasing the fragments.

Southern Defense Forces report significant losses of Russian personnel and military equipment on Dnipro River’s left bank

Russian missile attack on Donetsk region kills 11, including five children

Polish government signs agreement with farmers to end blockade at Ukrainian border

Czesław Siekierski, Poland’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and representatives of the Oszukana Wieś (Deceived Village) movement have signed an agreement to end the blocking of the border crossing point with Ukraine at Medyka.

Russians storm positions of Ukrainian forces on Kherson Oblast's left bank 18 times – General Staff

Russian troops have mounted 18 unsuccessful assaults on Ukrainian forces' positions on the Dnipro River's left bank in Kherson Oblast on 6 January, with 14 more Russian attacks repelled on the Avdiivka front.

• On the Volyn and Polissia fronts, there have been no significant changes to the operational situation.
  
  
• On the Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna fronts, the Russians launched airstrikes near the settlements of Oleksandrivka, Vovchansk, Prykolotne and Chuhunivka (Kharkiv Oblast). Russian artillery and mortars targeted about 15 settlements, including Kliusy, Yeline, and Popivka (Chernihiv Oblast); Znob-Novhorodske, Iskryskivshchyna, Myropilske, Hrabovske, Popivka, and Ponomarenky (Sumy Oblast); Chervona Zorya, Chervona Zoria, Kozacha Lopan, Lukiantsi, Vovchansk, Bochkove, and Budarky (Kharkiv Oblast).
  
  
• On the Kupiansk front, Ukrainian Defence Forces repelled three Russian attacks near the settlements of Synkivka, Petropavlivka and Ivanivka (Kharkiv Oblast), where the Russians, backed by aircraft, unsuccessfully attempted to improve their tactical position. The Russians also launched an airstrike near the settlements of Tabaivka (Kharkiv Oblast). Russian artillery hit about 10 settlements, including Dvorichna, Synkivka, Petropavlivka, Ivanivka, and Berestove (Kharkiv Oblast).
  
  
• On the Lyman front, the Russians carried out no offensive (assault) actions. They delivered airstrikes near Serebrianka Forest in Luhansk Oblast and near the settlements of Terny and Spirne (Donetsk Oblast). Over 10 settlements suffered from Russian artillery and mortars, including Nevske and Bilohorivka (Luhansk Oblast) and Torske, Serebrianka, Verkhnokamianske, Spirne, and Rozdolivka (Donetsk Oblast).
  
  
• On the Bakhmut front, Ukrainian Defence Forces repelled a Russian attack near the village of Klishchiivka. The Russian army conducted an airstrike near the village of New-York (Donetsk Oblast). Over 10 settlements came under artillery and mortar fire, including Vasiukivka, Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka, Andriivka, and New-York (Donetsk Oblast).
  
  
• On the Avdiivka front, the Ukrainian defenders repelled five Russian attacks near the settlements of Novobakhmutivka, Stepove, and Avdiivka and nine more attacks near Pervomaiske and Nevelske (Donetsk Oblast), where the Russians, supported by aircraft, unsuccessfully sought to improve their tactical position. The Russian forces also conducted an airstrike near the town of Oleksandropil (Donetsk Oblast). Russian artillery and mortar attacks targeted about 10 localities, including Berdychi, Stepove, Lastochkyne, Avdiivka, and Pervomaiske.
  
  
• On the Marinka front, the Ukrainian troops are continuing to hold back the Russians near the settlements of Marinka and Novomykhailivka, where the Russians, supported by aircraft, attempted to break through the Ukrainian defence five times. The Russian artillery and mortars hit such settlements of Donetsk Oblast as Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka, Novomykhailivka, and Kostiantynivka.
  
  
• On the Shakhtarsk front, the Russians engaged in no offensive (assault) actions. The Russians conducted an airstrike near the settlement of Staromaiorske. Over 10 settlements, including Vuhledar, Urozhaine, Staromaiorske, and Rivnopil (Donetsk Oblast), came under artillery and mortar fire.
  
  
• On the Zaporizhzhia front, Ukrainian Defence Forces repelled two Russian attacks near the village of Robotyne and south of Novodarivka, where the Russians, supported by aircraft, sought to improve their tactical position. The Russian army conducted airstrikes near the settlements of Mala Tokmachka and Piatykhatky. Over 15 settlements came under artillery and mortar fire, including Poltavka, Huliaipole, Charivne, Orikhiv, Novoandriivka, and Piatykhatky (Zaporizhzhia Oblast).
  
  
• In the area of responsibility of the Odesa Operational Strategic Group of Forces on the Kherson front, the settlements of Tiahynka, Kherson, Oleksandrivka (Kherson Oblast) and Kutsurub, Ochakiv (Mykolaiv Oblast) were subjected to Russian artillery strikes.
  
  
• Ukraine's Air Force struck 19 clusters of Russian military personnel over the past 24 hours.
  
  
• Ukraine’s Rocket Forces and Artillery hit one command post, one ammunition storage point, one artillery unit, one air defence radar and one Tor missile system belonging to the Russians.
  

Russia thwarts Ukrainian missile attack over Black Sea

Russian air defense systems destroy 6 Ukrainian missiles in northwestern part of Black Sea, says Defense Ministry

MOSCOW
Russia said on Saturday an attempt by Ukraine to launch Neptune anti-ship missiles over the Black Sea has been thwarted.
"Attempts by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using Neptune anti-ship missiles against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation were thwarted around 5 p.m. Moscow time," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Russian air defense systems detected and destroyed six Ukrainian missiles in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, according to the statement.
The ministry announced on Friday that Ukraine had attempted an attack with Neptune missiles in the northwest of the Black Sea.

Introduction of new legal citizenship norms by Russia aimed at depriving abducted Ukrainian children of opportunity to return to homeland – Ukrainian Foreign Ministry

The decree adopted in the Russian Federation regarding "certain categories of foreign citizens" and the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for them "grossly violates the legislation of Ukraine, the norms of international law and the rights of children - citizens of Ukraine, who during the large-scale offensive of the Russian Federation were forcibly moved to the territory of the aggressor state," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has said.

"On January 4, 2024, the President of the Russian Federation signed a decree "On identifying certain categories of foreign citizens and stateless persons who have the right to apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation." The document provides that orphans and children left without parental care and citizens of Ukraine, can obtain Russian citizenship by the personal decision of the President of the Russian Federation, without taking into account all or individual requirements of federal legislation. An application for Russian citizenship can be submitted by the heads of Russian organizations in which Ukrainian children are forcibly detained," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement at its official website on Saturday.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry highlighted that "this latest "regulatory act," in addition to the goal of satisfying the demographic needs of the aggressor country at the expense of migrants..., grossly violates the legislation of Ukraine, international law and the rights of children - citizens of Ukraine, who during a large-scale offensive of the Russian Federation were forcibly transferred to the territory of the aggressor state."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reiterated that all children who are citizens of Ukraine and who were forcibly transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation under the flimsy pretext of so-called "humanitarian protection" remain citizens of Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities continue to take all possible steps to protect their legal rights and freedoms.
"The real value of this decree lies only in the fact that it will serve as further evidence of the crimes of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the forced assimilation of Ukrainian children and the attempt to deprive them of their own homeland," the ministry said.
"We call on the International Criminal Court to take into account these actions of the Russian leadership to transfer Ukrainian children from one national group to another, including by forcibly granting them Russian citizenship, which is one of the signs of genocide, and the international community to implement the ICC warrant as soon as possible to arrest Vladimir Putin, taking the necessary steps to detain him for transfer to international justice bodies," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs concluded.

Closing Summary

• The Russian military is on course to lose 500,000 personnel within the next year, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence. The MoD added that Russia was averaging 300 military casualties each day throughout 2023. It tweeted: “The average daily number of Russian casualties in Ukraine has risen by almost 300 during the course of 2023. If the numbers continue at the current rate over the next year, Russia will have lost over half a million personnel in Ukraine.”
  
  
• The UK’s Ministry of Defence says Russia is continuing to struggle to establish air superiority over Ukraine. Three Russian combat jets were shot down just before Christmas and that affected ground forces’ tactical objectives later in the month, the MoD said. It added that Russia has been increasing its aerial strikes in recent days “but at a lower level than before the shootdowns”.
  
  
• Russian officials in the southern border city of Belgorod have offered to evacuate worried residents – an unprecedented announcement that follows waves of fatal Ukrainian attacks. Reuters reports that the Kremlin has tried to maintain a semblance of normalcy on the home front, but the recent strikes on Belgorod have brought the conflict closer to home for Russians.
  
  
• Russia says it downed four Ukrainian missiles over Moscow-annexed Crimea overnight, Agence France-Presse reports. The attack came a day after Russia said it repelled a Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea, downing 36 drones over the peninsula.
  
  
• Denmark’s transfer of 19 American-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will take place in the second quarter of 2024, once Ukrainian pilots have completed training, the defence ministry has said. The Danish ministry said in a statement: “Based on the current timetable, the donation should take place in the second quarter of 2024. It’s mainly an issue of finishing the training of Ukrainian personnel who will operate the planes.”
  
  
• President Joe Biden’s top budget official stressed that there is no avenue to help Ukraine aside from Congress approving additional funding, as negotiations among US politicians remain stalled. Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said that while the Pentagon has some limited authority to help Kyiv, without new funding from Capitol Hill “that is not going to get big tranches of equipment into Ukraine”.
  
  
• Reuters reports that the Kharkiv region prosecutor’s office has provided further evidence that Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles supplied by North Korea, showcasing the fragments. On Friday, a senior adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia hit Ukraine this week with missiles supplied by North Korea for the first time during its invasion.
  
  
• The government of Nepal banned its citizens from travelling to Russia or Ukraine for employment after 10 young men were killed and dozens more reported missing while fighting, predominately in the Russian military. More than 200 Nepali soldiers are believed to have enlisted in the Russian army since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Nepal’s foreign ministry had said, and more than 100 of them have gone missing. A smaller number are believed to be fighting in the Ukrainian army.