(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Ukraine Invasion Day 312: hope for a better 2023 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2022-12-31 Russia readies air defenses over Moscow as random flyers with GPS coordinates of major monuments like the Kremlin proliferate on the streets. Cheaper than actually launching a missile. Meanwhile more missile strikes fall on Ukraine cities. Flyers with the coordinates of military facilities began to appear in Moscow x The crowd will have to go home before the 11 p.m. curfew, but they’re still out here… sending a collective middle finger to Moscow. — Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) December 31, 2022 KYIV, Ukraine — Multiple blasts rocked Kyiv and other areas of Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 14 others, in a sign that the pace of Russia attacks had picked up before New Year's. Some Ukrainians defied the danger, however, to return to the country to reunite with families for the holidays. Ukrainian officials claimed Russia was now deliberately targeting civilians, seeking to create a climate of fear to see out the year grimly and usher in a bloody 2023. First lady Olena Zelenska expressed outrage that such massive missile attacks could come just before New Year's Eve celebrations. "Ruining lives of others is a disgusting habit of our neighbors," she said. The blasts also came at an unusually quickened rhythm, one that alarmed officials just 36 hours after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Thursday to damage energy infrastructure facilities. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba highlighted the harsh civilian toll of this latest offensive — that "this time, Russia's mass missile attack is deliberately targeting residential areas, not even the energy infrastructure." The deadly blast in the Ukrainian capital occurred among the multi-story residential buildings of the Solomianskyi district. One person wounded in the attacks is in a critical condition, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. He said two schools were damaged, including a kindergarten. Various residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged in Kyiv on Saturday afternoon as part of massive attacks spanning the country. A top official in the president's office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, published photos and video of a partially collapsed six-story hotel in Kyiv. Mayor Klitschko said a Japanese journalist was among those injured in the capital. Russia launched 20 cruise missiles over Ukraine on Saturday afternoon, of which Ukrainian forces shot down 12, according to Ukrainian military chief Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi. www.stripes.com/… x We hear the rumble of air defenses in the distance, the laughter of 20-somethings who want to live their lives, the sounds of a child playing a video game on a smartphone, the banter of old ladies discussing everything and nothing. This is how 2023 begins in a Kyiv bomb shelter. pic.twitter.com/KNMZ3jDMBs — Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) January 1, 2023 Key Takeaways Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual New Year’s Eve address continued to illustrate that Putin is uncertain of his ability to shape the Russian information space and remains focused on justifying the war in Ukraine and its cost to his domestic audience. Putin delivered his address from the headquarters of the Southern Military District (SMD) as part of his ongoing efforts to portray himself as an effective wartime leader. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu demonized Ukraine and announced that Russian victory is inevitable in his New Year’s Eve speech. Russian forces are likely depleting their stocks of artillery ammunition and will struggle to support their current pace of operations in Ukraine as a result. Russian forces launched another round of missile strikes targeting Ukrainian critical infrastructure but at a reduced intensity compared to previously massive waves of strikes. Ukrainian and Russian sources stated that Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners but differed in their reporting on the number of exchanged personnel. Russian forces continued limited counterattacks to regain lost positions along the Svatove-Kreminna line on December 31. Russian forces continued offensive operations around Bakhmut and Avdiivka-Donetsk City on December 31. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost connection to its last functioning backup power line on the evening of December 29. Russian forces continue operations in eastern Zaporizhia Oblast and along the southern axis. Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov stated on December 31 that he knew “for a fact” that the Kremlin plans to close its borders for men, declare martial law, and begin another wave of mobilization in “one week or so.” Russian occupation authorities continue to intensify law enforcement crackdowns in occupied territories in response to Ukrainian partisan activities. Russian occupation officials continue to create unbearable living conditions for residents of occupied territories. understandingwar.org/... Ukrainian forces are holding their positions against Russian troops in the eastern Donbas region and making small advances in some areas , Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said. The Ukrainian president added in his nightly video address that Kyiv had strengthened its anti-aircraft capability and would further strengthen it in the new year to protect itself and the entire European continent. It was not possible to verify his claims. Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Vladimir Putin had not given up his plans to “control Ukraine” and warned everyone to “prepare for the long haul”. Stoltenberg told the dpa news agency that Russia had mobilised “many new troops” and “demonstrated a willingness to endure painful losses”. “This is not over,” he said. “We should not underestimate Russia.” Vladimir Putin has invited his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to make a state visit to Moscow next northern spring, as Russia seeks to deepen its ties with China amid growing international isolation over the war in Ukraine. Speaking to Xi via a videoconference, Putin said Russia’s ties with China were the “best in history” and expressed his wish to extend military collaboration. The call between the two leaders came hours after Ukraine was again attacked by Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones. The Ukrainian military said it shot down all 16 drones, which it said were sent from the south-east and north. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said there were no casualties from the strikes. Belarus has summoned the Ukrainian ambassador, saying it shot down a Ukrainian air defence missile in Belarusian territory. Alexander Volfovich, the secretary of the Belarus security council, has accused Ukraine of trying to “provoke a regional conflict”, claiming it was “unlikely” that the Ukrainian air defence missile downed on Thursday had entered Belarusian airspace by accident. A Ukrainian military spokesperson said the incident was “the result of air defence”. Zelenskiy repeated his earlier warnings that Moscow could be planning to plunge Ukraine into darkness before the New Year’s Eve holiday. The latest drone attack comes at the end of a week in which Russian forces launched a series of deadly bombardments of the recently liberated city of Kherson. Moscow’s exiled chief rabbi says Jews should leave Russia while they still can , before they are made scapegoats for the hardship caused by the war in Ukraine. Pinchas Goldschmidt told the Guardian: “When we look back over Russian history, whenever the political system was in danger you saw the government trying to redirect the anger and discontent of the masses towards the Jewish community … We’re seeing rising antisemitism while Russia is going back to a new kind of Soviet Union.” Goldschmidt resigned from his post and left Russia in July after refusing to back Putin’s war. The self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR), both of which are occupied areas of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed, have adopted new “constitutions”, the Russian state-owned Tass news agency reported. Denis Pushilin, who is styled as the acting leader of the DPR, was quoted as hailing “the return of Donbas to the bosom of the Russian cultural and historical tradition”. www.theguardian.com/… Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual New Year’s Eve address continued to illustrate that Putin is uncertain of his ability to shape the Russian information space and remains focused on justifying the war and its costs to his people. Putin stated that “Russia’s sovereign, independent, and secure future depends only on us, on our strength and determination” and that 2022 “was a year of difficult, necessary decisions, of important steps toward achieving the full sovereignty of Russia and the powerful consolidation of our society.” [1] He added that the events of 2022 “became the milestone that laid the foundation of our new common future, our new true independence.” He continued: “That is what we are fighting for even today, we are defending our people on our own historical territories in the new Russian Federation Subjects [the illegally annexed territories of Ukraine].” This speech continued Putin’s rhetorical claims not only that Russia has historical rights to Ukraine, but also that Russia’s independence and sovereignty depend on regaining control of Ukraine. Putin thereby attempts to cast victory in the war as essential to Russia’s continued existence as an independent state. understandingwar.org/... Observed indicators for the MDCOA in the past 24 hours: Nothing significant to report. Observed ambiguous indicators for MDCOA in the past 24 hours: Belarusian Security Council Head Alexander Volfovich stated on DEC 30 that Russian and Belarusian forces can now create a combined grouping of troops of any composition or size per amendments to the 1997 interstate agreement that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin approved during their December 3 meeting in Minsk.[59] ISW previously assessed that Russia pursued efforts to integrate the Belarusian military into Russian-led structures in joint military exercises and permanent joint combined combat training centers before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.[60] The formation of combined military groupings would therefore not be novel, but the removal of restrictions on their size and composition could mark a notable increase in the Belarusian and Russian ability to form more or larger combined military formations. This change does not necessarily indicate that Belarusian and Russian officials intend to do so, however. The Russian military is currently leveraging its participation in the combined Regional Grouping of Forces to augment the training of recently mobilized Russian military personnel, and any potentially new or larger formations of combined groupings of forces may serve similar purposes.[61] The Russian military is currently leveraging its participation in the combined Regional Grouping of Forces to augment the training of recently mobilized Russian military personnel, and any potentially new or larger formations of combined groupings of forces may serve similar purposes.[61] The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) posted a video on December 30 showing unspecified tank units of the Western Military District (WMD) that are a part of the combined Regional Grouping of Forces at an unspecified training ground in Belarus.[62] Observed counter-indicators for the MDCOA in the past 24 hours: The Ukrainian General Staff reiterated that it has not observed Russian forces in Belarus forming a strike group as of December 30.[63] www.understandingwar.org/... [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/12/31/2144684/-Ukraine-Invasion-Day-312-hope-for-a-better-2023 Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/