Russo-Ukraine War - 13 December 2022 - Day 293

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A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

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The UK Ministry of Defence reported that on 12 December 2022, the Kremlin confirmed that President Vladimir Putin will not hold his traditional end-of-year press conference. This will be the first time in 10 years that Putin has not held the annual event, while the usual public phone-in also did not take place this year.

The press conference has become a significant fixture in Putin's calendar of public engagement and has frequently been used as an opportunity to demonstrate the supposed integrity of Putin.

Although questions are almost certainly usually vetted in advance, the cancellation is likely due to increasing concerns about the prevalence of anti-war feeling in Russia. Kremlin officials are almost certainly extremely sensitive about the possibility that any event attended by Putin could be hijacked by unsanctioned discussion about the 'special military operation'.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day, Russian forces launched 2 missile strikes on the civilian infrastructure of Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv oblasts, and also carried out more than 20 MLRS attacks.

There remains the threat of Russia launching air and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure throughout Ukraine.

In the Volyn and Polissya directions, the situation remains without significant changes, no signs of the formation of Russian offensive groups have been detected.
On the Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi directions, Russian forces shelled the areas of Seredyna-Buda and Ryasne settlements of the Sumy oblast, as well as Strilecha, Starytsa, Ambarne, Vilkhuvatka, Dvorichna and Krasne in the Kharkiv oblast.
In the Kupyansk direction, the areas of the settlements of Kupyansk, Kislivka, Kotlyarivka, Tabaivka, Berestove in the Kharkiv oblast and Stelmakhivka and Myasozharivka in the Luhansk oblast were hit by tanks and the entire spectrum of artillery.
In the Lyman direction, Russian forces fired tanks and artillery at the areas of populated areas: Hrekivka, Ploshchanka and Nevske of the Luhansk oblast, as well as Terny, Yampolivka of the Donetsk oblast.
In the direction of Bakhmut, Russian forces fired at the positions of the Defense Forces from tanks, mortars and rocket artillery in the areas of settlements: Verkhnokamianske, Spirne, Bilohorivka, Vesele, Soledar, Bakhmutske, Bakhmut, Opytne, Chasiv Yar, Druzhba, Zalizne of the Donetsk oblast.
In the Avdiivka direction, Russian forces fired tanks and artillery of various types of districts of almost twenty settlements, in particular: Avdiivka, Nevelske, Heorhiivka, Maryinka, and Novomykhailivka of the Donetsk oblast.
On the Novopavlivka direction, Russian forces shelled areas near the settlements of Vremivka, Vuhledar, Neskuchne, and Prechystivka in the Donetsk oblast with mortars, barrel and rocket artillery.
In the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions, Russia continues to shell Ukrainian positions and the civilian infrastructure of the settlements along the right bank of the Dnipro River. It carried out shelling from tanks, mortars, barrel and rocket artillery in the areas of more than 25 settlements, in particular: Plavni, Hulyaipole, Dorozhnyanka, Olhivske, Zaporizhzhia oblast, as well as Chornobayivka, Antonivka, Mykilske, Tokarivka, Mylové, Kherson oblast and the city of Kherson.

For the purpose of replenishing the losses and replenishing the units of the first army corps of the occupying forces, measures of forced mobilization were intensified in the territory of the Donetsk oblast. Therefore, in the city of Horlivka, men are subject to conscription, in particular those with the "armor" mark on their military tickets.

On December 11, Russian forces lost up to 60 servicemen killed and up to 100 wounded in the area of Kadiivka settlement of Luhansk oblast as a result of the destruction of the personnel deployment point of the Russian occupation troops.

The defeat of Russian forces by the Defense Forces of Ukraine in the previous days in the Zaporizhzhia oblast was confirmed. Thus, in addition to the destruction of the command staff of the 58th Army in the city of Melitopol, three artillery systems, up to 10 units of military equipment of various types were destroyed in the areas of Enerhodar, Tokmak and Hulyaipole settlements, and about 150 Russian servicemen were wounded.

Units of missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit 2 areas of concentration of personnel of the Russian occupiers.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that, in Melitopol, they began to build a road around the bridge, recently blown up by Ukrainian saboteurs. It is reported that the total length will be about 300 meters, the laying will take approximately two weeks, adjusted for weather conditions. So far, vehicles are driving along a dirt road that runs not far from the bridge.

The Ministry of Defense reported that artillery units of the Russian Armed Forces hit clusters of Ukrainian nationalists and foreign mercenaries in the Kupyansk direction. At least 40 militants, two armored vehicles and four vehicles were destroyed.

In addition, today employees of the Wagner PMC were able to release Archpriest Andrei Pavlenko from Ukrainian captivity. For eight months, the clergyman was in the territory controlled by Kiev and was sentenced there to 12 years in prison for treason.

He was accused of transferring data on the number of movements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to Russian units. Nevertheless, in reality, the clergyman provided assistance to civilians affected by the shelling and conducted divine services.

In addition, the bodies of pilots Alexander Antonov and Vladimir Nikishin, who died heroically in the battles for Bakhmut on December 2, were returned to their homeland. Their plane was shot down, but the pilots were able to stop the enemy's breakthrough by sending their burning Su-24M bomber to the APU convoy.

The situation in the Donbass

Positive changes have taken place in the Soledar direction: according to unofficial sources, earlier Russian fighters broke through the defenses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut, establishing control over two factories. In addition, several Ukrainian strongholds were captured in the area of the village of Podgorodnoye, and one more in the vicinity of Soledar. Now the fighters of PMC "Wagner" operating there are strengthening their positions and do not lose the initiative.

This information appeared against the backdrop of a partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Bakhmut, which was repeatedly reported earlier. Trying to contain the Russian units, the army of Kyiv is actively firing on nearby settlements.

Also, the nationalists again fired at the peaceful cities of Donbass. Donetsk, Chestnut, Mayorsk, Novoselovka, Yakovlevka, Mineralnoe and Panteleymonovka became the targets of the strikes.