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"Russian soldier!"
The martial appeal of a Ukrainian soldier.
“I'm your chance to get home alive. Give me the coordinates of places where armored vehicles, headquarters and ammunition are located, and I will hit only those places. In this way you save lives and the lives of your friends.«
In the background, a Himar weapon system fires missiles.
Claudia Major, Science and Politics Foundation
“The Himars is one of the weapons systems that the United States and then other Western countries have supplied that have made a real difference in the war effort since early summer and ultimately enabled Ukraine to launch and ultimately the successful late summer offensive in September to liberate the Carson area."
Several such Himars rockets hit a school that had been converted into a military camp in the eastern Ukrainian city of Makiivka on New Year's Eve and cost the lives of many Russian soldiers.
On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense had to correct the information it had initially provided about soldiers killed.
Sergei Sevriyukov, General
“Unfortunately, the number of our comrades who died in the incident increased to eighty-nine when they saw the rubble of the reinforced concrete buildings. Among the dead is the regiment's deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel Bachurin. All victims and the families of the dead soldiers will be given all the help and support they need.«
Claudia Major
,
Science and Politics Foundation
“The attack on this Russian position is a sign of the incompetence and failure of the Russian military leadership. Because apparently the Russian soldiers, so it is said, gave up their mobile phone data and were therefore a very easy one
Aim for the Ukrainian attack.
That's a sign of incompetence.
It's a failure.
Above all, however, it is a very big blow to the morale of the Russian troops that there is a great loss and on the troops who are being transferred there and who obviously cannot rely on their own leadership.«
Anger and sadness about the death of many Russian soldiers on New Year's Eve became apparent at a commemoration ceremony in the Volga region of Samara with around 200 participants and at similar events in other cities in Russia.
Against the background of ongoing problems in his war of aggression against Ukraine, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin put the new Zirkon hypersonic missile into service on Wednesday.
In a televised video link from the Kremlin, Putin gave the go-ahead for the commissioning of the new missiles on the frigate Admiral Gorshkov.
The warship is to be sent on a voyage to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to demonstrate Russia's naval power.
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
"
I'm very glad.
My congratulations.
This is a very large, collective work, which ended with a good result, as expected.
Begin your task.”
Claudia Major, Science and Politics Foundation
»
Since the beginning of the war, Russia has repeatedly made reference to modern and new weapons in order to give the impression to the western states, but also to its own population, that they are far from defeated and that they still have large stocks to have.
I think you have to put that into the overall narrative that shows Russia, we're not giving up, we're still strong, we're not going to let us down.
But we shouldn’t let that blind us either.”
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia is still shelling Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.
But the Ukrainians have repeatedly defended themselves against the Russian attacking warriors with attacks far behind the front - and that, it seems, more successfully than the Russian army with its widespread drone attacks, which the Ukrainians intercepted in droves.
Claudia Major, Science and Politics Foundation
“The big challenge with these drone strikes is that they come in very large numbers. Ukraine has air defenses, that is, it sees them, it also intercepts them excellently, but they arrive in extremely large numbers. And the interceptor missiles of the Ukrainian systems are extremely expensive compared to the really cheap Iranian-made drones, which cost around €20,000. Russia carries out these drone attacks primarily on the urban infrastructure in Ukraine. That means in practice you destroy the power plants, the water supply, the power supply of the big cities or the Ukraine itself and you deprive the civilian population of their livelihood. Russia is thus increasingly bombing Ukraine into economic bankruptcy, into economic ruin, because it is becoming increasingly difficult for the country to continue to function. Let me remind you again that attacks on civilians are a war crime because civilian livelihoods are at stake.”
After more than ten months since the Russian attack on Ukraine, the war has abruptly resumed.
One end is not foreseen.
Claudia Major, Science and Politics Foundation
“Most experts assume that the war will end when both sides see more gain in quitting than in continuing. At the moment this is not the case. Ukraine is making progress and has been able to liberate several areas since early summer. That is, for the Ukrainians there is no reason to stop. As long as Russia believes it still has something to gain from this war, it's hard to see an end to it. That said, for the western states or for us, I think the conclusion is that we have to enable Ukraine to be strong enough militarily, but also backed up with political and economic support, to be able to push Russia back.«