Tuesday, December 19

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A couple enter a cafe with a symbolic Christmas tree made from spent shells casing and other spent ammunition erected in Kyiv on Dec. 18, 2023. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Pentagon: Funds to replenish Ukraine military aid to run out on Dec 30. The Pentagon will run out of funds to replenish arms and equipment sent to Ukraine on Dec. 30 unless Congress passes additional funding, Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord said in a letter to congressional defense committees made public on Dec. 18.

Commander: Ukrainian military scales down some operations over foreign aid shortages. Ukrainian forces face shortages of artillery shells and have to scale down some military operations due to a decrease in foreign aid, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said in a comment for Reuters on Dec. 18.

Umerov unveils new procurement agency as part of anti-corruption efforts.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov introduced in an opening presentation on Dec. 18 the state enterprise State Logistics Operator (DOT), a new procurement agency for Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

Poll: Ukrainians’ trust in Zelensky declines to 62%, trust in military, Zaluzhnyi remains high. Trust in Zelensky declined to 62%, compared to 84% in December 2022. At the same, the percentage of those who said they do not trust Zelensky increased from 5% in December 2022 to 18% in the most recent poll.

SBU detains spy accused of directing Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia. The man was allegedly remotely recruited by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in October and subsequently formed his own group of informants to scour Zaporizhzhia in search of the positions of Ukrainian troops and defenses.

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General Staff confirms recording devices discovered in offices used by Zaluzhnyi, staff. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces confirmed on Dec. 18 that recording devices had been detected in offices used by Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi and his staff.

Zaluzhnyi: Unlikely that secrets were discussed in room with recording device. It was Zaluzhnyi’s first public comment on the news that recording devices had been discovered in rooms used by the general and his staff.

Polish farmers to join blockade on Ukrainian border. Rafal Mekler, an organizer of the protests, also declared a set of demands that included a ban on importing sugar from Ukraine, compensation for Polish corn production, and subsidy payments for farmers.

ISW: Russian forces continue offensive operations along Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line. Russian forces continued attacking along the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on Dec. 18 as a part of their effort to capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment.

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Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian military scales down some operations over foreign aid shortages.

Ukrainian forces face shortages of artillery shells and have to scale down some military operations due to a decrease in foreign aid, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who commands troops fighting on the eastern front lines, told Reuters on Dec. 18.

Photo: Andre Alves/Anadolu via Getty Images

Ukrainian soldiers storming eastern bank of Dnipro fear their mission is hopeless

Nearly half a year into its operation to strike at the occupied bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine has been able to secure a thin, long bridgehead along the coast with a width that ranges from 2.5 kilometers to 300-500 meters in some spots, according to the soldiers and officers interviewed.

Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov & Vladyslava Liberova/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian shelling of Kherson company kills security guard. A Russian artillery strike against a company in Kherson on Dec. 18 killed a 40-year-old security guard, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Mediazona confirms identities of over 39,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. Through open source research, Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, confirmed the names of 39,424 Russian soldiers who had been killed since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

International response

Security experts appeal to US Congress to approve Ukraine aid bill. “Ukraine’s fight is not only in defense of its own sovereignty and territory but also on behalf of the West, its values and way of life, which Russia seeks to replace with an international system more welcoming for dictatorships,” the experts wrote in the letter address to both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

Sweden, Denmark plan to jointly supply additional CV90 vehicles to Ukraine. The defense ministers of Sweden and Denmark signed a memorandum to jointly procure Swedish-made CV90 infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine, the Swedish Defense Ministry announced on Dec. 18.

EU to discuss $55 billion for Ukraine on Feb. 1. The European Council will hold a special summit on Feb. 1, where the EU leaders will discuss the four-year 50-billion-euro ($55 billion) funding package for Ukraine, European Council President Charles Michel said on Dec. 18.

EU adopts 12th package of Russia sanctions. The Council of the EU has adopted the 12th package of sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Council said in a statement on Dec. 18.

Media: Latvia may deport more than 1,000 Russians for failing to meet residence requirements. The Latvian parliament passed an amendment in 2022 tightening residency rules for Russian citizens in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russians living in Latvia are now required to apply for permanent residence and pass a basic-level Latvian language test.

Moldovan PM: Putin’s move to simplify citizenship for Moldovans an attempt to gather ‘cannon fodder’. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s move to simplify the process for Moldovans to obtain Russian citizenship is an attempt to gather “cannon fodder” for Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moldova’s Prime Minister said in a interview on Moldova’s TV8 on Dec. 18.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Nate Ostiller, Francis Farrell, Martin Fornusek, Dmytro Basmat and Olena Goncharova.

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