Foreign media reported that Ukraine’s use of expensive missiles to attack cheap Russian drones would cost Ukraine and its allies a heavy price over time. The Ukrainian Intelligence Agency said that it is estimated that the Russian army will launch a major offensive from multiple directions at the beginning of this year, and may lose 70,000 soldiers in the next four to five months.
The attack on the Russian military camp was raised to 89 dead
“The number of our dead comrades has risen to 89,” Russian Lieutenant General Sergei Sevryukov said in a video statement from the Ministry of Defense on January 4, according to Agence France-Presse. More bodies were found below.
Shevliukov said that Ukraine attacked a temporary camp in Makiivka at 0:10 am on January 1 with the US-made “High Mobility Multiple Launch Rocket System” (HIMARS, referred to as Haimas).
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Ukrainian side used the Seahorse to launch 6 rockets. Although the Russian army shot down 2 of them, 4 of them still hit the school building where the Makeyevka conscripts were hiding. The building collapsed and caused serious casualties.
Earlier, Russia made a rare announcement on the 2nd that 63 soldiers were killed in an airstrike on Makeyevka. This is the highest number of casualties reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense in a single attack since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 last year. This incident also ignited anger in Russia. Military experts questioned the Russian military’s combat methods, and some members of Congress demanded that the command class should take legal responsibility. However, the Ukrainian military claimed that about 400 Russian troops were killed and 300 were injured in the attack.
CNN reported that on December 20 last year, Semyon Pegov, a well-known Russian military blogger who was awarded the “Order of Courage” (Order of Courage) by Russian President Vladimir Putin, posted on his Telegram channel WarGonzo as “Makeye The Makiivka tragedy (Makiivka tragedy) called the attack, emphasizing that the total number of Russian troops killed may be far higher than the official figure of 89.
“Unfortunately, the missing persons list is significantly higher than this,” he said.
In a statement from the Ministry of Defense, Shevliukov also said that the deadly attack was caused by the use of mobile phones by soldiers, emphasizing that the “main cause” of the incident was that the Russian army “violated the ban” by opening and using mobile phones in large numbers within the range of enemy weapons. Only then did the Ukrainian army “track and determine the coordinates of the Russian army’s position.”
However, Pigoff pointed out that the use of mobile phones near the front line is obviously not a good thing, but the so-called use of mobile phones to cause harm is “not convincing.” He said: “This is not a personal opinion, but an objective fact.”
Pigoff criticized the Defense Ministry’s statement as “a blatant attempt to divert focus,” stressing that officials should perhaps shut up until the investigation is over. He also questioned how the Russian army used school buildings as barracks. How could the Ministry of Defense be so “sure” that the soldiers’ locations would not be locked by drones or local informants.
He said, “The target coordinates have been leaked, and the actions of important personnel are often tipped off to the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU),” and “(the opponent’s) intelligence network is operating, not sleeping.”
“The Ukrainian drones over Donetsk and Makeyevka are not sleeping either, providing not only intelligence but also visual evidence of the increase in mobile phone usage.”
In addition, the Russian Ministry of Defense also claimed that in “return”, Russia has launched an air strike on the infrastructure near the Druzhkivka (Druzhkivka) railway station in Donetsk, killing as many as 200 Ukrainian personnel and Destroy 4 Hippocampus systems and over 800 rockets. Reuters said it could not verify the Russian Ministry of Defense’s statement, and Ukraine has not yet responded to it.
Another major blow to the Russian stronghold, the Ukrainian army raided Kherson, causing 500 Russian casualties
The Russian Ministry of Defense rarely admitted the death of 89 Russian soldiers, which is also the heaviest casualty publicly acknowledged by the Russian army since the start of the war. Not only that, CNN reported that the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces pointed out on the 3rd that the Ukrainian army carried out a raid on the Russian military stronghold in the Chulakivka (Chulakivka) area of (Kherson) Unan Kherson on December 31 last year, causing There were about 500 Russian casualties.
Natalia Humeniuk (Natalia Humeniuk), spokesperson of the Southern Military District Command of Ukraine, pointed out that this operation is one of the achievements of the Ukrainian army on the southern front, and there will be more similar victories in the future, because the Ukrainian army has determined the location of the enemy.
Publicity campaign?The Russian Soldiers’ Widows Group Calls for Another Million to be Mobilized
Reuters reported on the 3rd that recently, a group of widows of Russian soldiers who died in battle jointly petitioned Putin, asking him to order another large-scale mobilization of millions of men to the battlefield as soon as possible, and to close the border so that service-age men cannot escape. They also suggested that Following the example of Stalin, the former Soviet leader, the authorities organized a supervisory team to shoot Russian soldiers who refused to attack.
The previously little-known patriotic group of widows posted on the social platform Telegram: “We ask our President Putin to allow the mass mobilization of the Russian army. We ask our President, our Supreme Commander, to ban service-age men from leaving Russia. “
“We have every moral right to do this: our husbands died protecting these people, but if they escape, who will protect us?” the petition stresses.
On September 21 last year, Putin ordered a “partial mobilization order” to recruit about 300,000 soldiers. This was Russia’s first mobilization since World War II. However, hundreds of thousands of Russian men fled abroad to avoid being drafted into the army.
A representative of the widows’ group told Reuters that all healthy Russian men should be mobilized to stand up and defend their country. She said the group began helping the wives of soldiers killed in Ukraine about two months ago and contacted the Kremlin.
“We are in constant contact with the presidential palace and, if necessary, we will pass on requests to it for support of one kind or another,” the representative said.
The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the widows’ group’s appeal. Putin said last month that no additional mobilization was necessary.
However, at the end of the year on December 31, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov specifically called out Russians who meet the age requirements for conscription to flee. He said that in early January 2023, the Russian authorities will close the border. Men are banned from leaving the country, followed by the declaration of martial law, another wave of mobilization, and the closure of Belarus’ borders. The analysis of the Washington think tank “Institute of War” (ISW) also believes that Russia’s second wave of mobilization will occur.
On this occasion, this little-known patriotic organization of widows suddenly appeared in Russia. It is not known whether the request for the mobilization of millions of people it claims is spontaneous, or is it paving the way for a possible second wave of mobilization. .
In addition, the organization also quoted Soviet leader Stalin as saying that now is the time to take tough measures against the evil forces gathered on the Russian border.
In 1942, Stalin issued Order No. 227, which later became known as the “No Retreat Order”. Thousands of Soviet Red Army soldiers were shot and killed by Soviet supervisors on the battlefield because of their so-called cowardice.
According to the group, Stalin “did not think about the ratings or dissatisfaction of dissidents, he only thought about victory, this is not the time to be timid!”
“Today all evil forces in the world are united against Russia, and the entire West is turned against us. Only one side can win, there is no other choice,” the group concluded in its petition.
Is Russia’s trick likely to succeed?The New York Times: Ukrainian Army Uses Expensive Missiles to Hit Cheap Drones
The “New York Times” reported on the 3rd that the Ukrainian army used anti-aircraft artillery and small arms to shoot down some drones. However, the Russian army has recently changed its tactics, mainly adopting “shooting missiles during the day and dispatching drones at night.” “National Advanced Air Defense System” (NASAMS).
The report mentioned that over the New Year’s weekend, the Ukrainian military stated that all of the more than 80 Iranian-made “Shahed-136” suicide drones sent by Russia to the country were shot down. But with this outcome there is a question: How long can Ukraine’s efforts last when many of its defenses cost far more than drones?
Ukraine has deployed a host of weapons to shoot down Russian drones, including MiG-29 fighter jets, Soviet-era S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, NASAMS ground defense systems and small arms firepower.
Artem Starosiek, chief executive of Ukrainian consultancy Molfar, estimates that the cost of shooting down drones with missiles is seven times the cost of launching them. Iranian drones can be produced for as little as $20,000, while the cost of launching a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile ranges from $140,000 for an S-300 to $500,000 for NASAMS.
The report cited analysts as saying that over time, the imbalance could favor Russia at the expense of Ukraine and its allies.
Ukrainian intelligence estimates that the Russian army will launch a major offensive at the beginning of the year and may lose 70,000 soldiers in the future
“Kyiv Independent” reported that Andrii Cherniak, a spokesman for the intelligence service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, said on the 3rd that the Russians knew they would lose on the battlefield, but they did not intend to end the war. , Russia is still trying to seize the Donetsk Oblast (Donetsk) and is fully committed to holding the occupied area of Ukrainian southern coast leading to Crimea.
Chernyak pointed out that the Russian army may launch a major offensive from multiple directions in the north and east at the same time at the beginning of this year, but the actions of the Russian army are all expected. “The Ukrainian army is ready.” 70,000 soldiers could be lost in a month.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that Russia could not maintain the intensity of its offensive in the early stages of the invasion, but Russia still has a lot of manpower to wage war. As the Ukrainian army is still holding on to the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region and fighting fiercely with the Russian army, Marial also admitted that although the Ukrainian army still holding on to a part of the Donetsk region is an outstanding achievement, these battles are still very serious. difficult.
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