Russo-Ukraine War - 25 December 2022 - Day 305

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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 Russia has augmented its force in Ukraine with tens of thousands of reservists since October. Despite the easing of its immediate personnel shortages, a shortage of munitions highly likely remains the key limiting factor on Russian offensive operations.

Russia has likely limited its long-range missile strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure to around once a week due to the limited availability of cruise missiles. Similarly, Russia is unlikely to have increased its stockpile of artillery munitions enough to enable large-scale offensive operations.

A vulnerability of Russia's current operational design is that even just sustaining defensive operations along its lengthy front line requires a significant daily expenditure of shells and rockets.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day, Russian forces launched a rocket attack on the Kupyansk district of the Kharkiv oblast. More than 10 attacks were also carried out from MLRS.

The threat of Russian air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure facilities remains throughout the territory of Ukraine.

In the Siversky direction, Russian forces fired at the positions of the Defense Forces in the areas of Vyntorivka, Manukhivka, Ryzhivka and Vorozhba settlements of the Sumy oblast.
In the Slobozhansk direction, areas of the settlements of Strilecha, Starytsia, Zemlianka, Ustnivka, and Vilkhuvatka of the Kharkiv oblast were hit by mortar and artillery fire.
On the Kupyansk and Lyman directions, more than 25 settlements were hit by fire from tanks and artillery. Among them - Dvorichna, Kislivka, Kotlyarivka and Berestovka in Kharkiv oblast; Ploschanka, Dibrova and Chervonopopivka of Luhansk oblast and Yampolivka - Donetsk oblast.
In the Bakhmut and Avdiiv directions, the Russian occupiers shelled the districts of more than 20 settlements. In particular, these are Spirne, Berestove, Yakovlivka, Soledar, Bakhmut, Opytne, Ozaryanivka and New York of the Donetsk oblast.
In the direction of Novopavlivsk, Russian forces inflicted fire on the areas of Vugledar, Velyka Novosilka, and Vremivka in Donetsk oblast.
In the Zaporizhzhia direction, Russian shelling was recorded near more than 20 settlements. Among them are Hulyaipole, Chervone, Stepove, Mali Shcherbaky, Shcherbaky and Charivne of the Zaporizhzhia oblast, and Nikopol of the Dnipropetrovsk oblast.

Russian occupiers, for the purpose of intimidation, continue chaotic shelling of the civilian population in the liberated towns and villages along the right bank of the Dnipro River. The city of Beryslav, Kherson oblast, is subjected to systematic mortar shelling. Also, in the Kherson direction, the civil infrastructure of the settlements of Kherson, Respublikanets, Tyahynka, Zelenivka, Inzhenerne, Antonivka, Sadove, and Veletenske was damaged by shelling. There are casualties among civilians.

The damage to the Russian invaders' manpower and equipment in the previous days has been confirmed. So, in the Donetsk oblast, 4 self-propelled artillery systems 2C7 "Pion" were destroyed. And in the Zabaryne district of the Kherson oblast, the Russian forces' headquarters was hit, where a meeting of officers of the southern military district of the armed forces of the Russian Federation was held. As a result, up to 70 servicemen were injured. The number of dead is being clarified.

During the day, the Air Force of the Ukrainian Defense Forces made 2 strikes on the concentration areas of the occupiers, and units of the missile forces and artillery hit 5 control points and the area of concentration of Russian forces' manpower.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reports the defeat in the past day of 58 artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) and 86 areas of accumulation of manpower and equipment. Also liquidated were four Grad and Uragan rocket launchers, three M777 howitzers, and a Polish Krab self-propelled gun.

Air defense systems shot down five drones and seven missiles of the HIMARS and Uragan systems.

Tanks of the new generation T-14 "Armata" appeared in the zone of the special operation. At the moment, they do not take part in battles, but only prepare for them: the crews undergo combat coordination in conditions close to military operations.

The situation in Donbass

Today, the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired at the Stirol chemical plant in Horlivka. The mayor of the city reported damage to the saltpeter warehouse and the carbamide shop. As a result, a fire started, the townspeople talk about the spread of acrid smoke.

Meanwhile, local sources report explosions in the industrial zone of Kramatorsk and in Slavyansk. Presumably, Russian units attacked Ukrainian reserves, which are also located in this agglomeration.