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Russo-Ukraine War - 18 January 2023 - Day 329

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]

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that by the end of 16 January 2023, Ukrainian forces had highly likely withdrawn from the Donbas town of Soledar, leaving Russian military and Wagner Group proxy forces in control. Ukrainian forces have likely established new defensive lines to the west.

Russia's advance on Soledar primarily consisted of Wagner forces and was a supporting operation aimed to enable the eventual envelopment of the larger settlement of Bakhmut. One of Ukraine's two main supply routes into Bakhmut is now under increasing pressure.

Imagery shows that since the start of January 2023, the south and east of Bakhmut has continued to be subjected to intense artillery bombardment. Ukrainian forces almost certainly continue to defend against Russian forces on the outskirts of the city.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day, Russian forces carried out 22 airstrikes and carried out more than 50 attacks from MLRS. The threat of Russian air and missile strikes remains high throughout Ukraine.

Russia does not give up its intentions to capture the Donetsk Oblast within the administrative borders. The main efforts are concentrated on conducting an offensive along the Bakhmut axis. Conducts unsuccessful offensive actions on the Avdiiv axis. In addition, they are trying to improve the tactical position on the Lyman axis.

Zaporizhzhia axis: Russians carried out unsuccessful offensive actions in the areas of the settlements of Orihiv and Gulyaipole. The enemy is defending on the Kupyansk, Novopavlivsk and Kherson axes.
Volyn, Polissya, Siversk and Slobozhansk axes: the situation has not changed significantly, and no Russian offensive groups have been detected. Joint exercises of the Air and Space Forces of the Russian federation and the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of the Republic of Belarus are ongoing on the territory of the republic of belarus. Practical tasks on the interaction of air and ground components in offensive operations are being worked out.
The areas of the settlements of Rivne and Novodmytrivka in the Sumy Oblast and Budarka, Zemlianka, Gatyshche, Vovchansk, Ternova, Chugunivka, Novomlynsk and Dvorichna in the Kharkiv Oblast were hit by mortar and artillery fire.
Kupyansk axis: Russian forces shelled the districts of Petropavlivka, Kyslivka, Ivanivka, Krokhmalne, Synkivka, Berestove, and Tabaivka in the Kharkiv Oblast and Stelmakhivka in the Luhansk Oblast.
Lyman axis: Druzhelyubivka in the Kharkiv Oblast and Novoyehorivka, Nevske, Chervonpopivka and Dibrova in the Luhansk Oblast were under Russian fire.
Bakhmut axis: areas of 13 settlements were affected by fire. Among them are Verkhnokamianske, Bilogorivka, Vesele, Soledar, Krasna Gora, Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Kurdyumivka and Druzhba of the Donetsk Oblast.
Avdiivka axis: Avdiivka, Vodyane, Nevelske, Georgiivka, Maryinka and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast were shelled.
Novopavlivsk axis: Velyka Novosilka, Zolota Nyva and Ugledar of the Donetsk Oblast were hit by Russian fire.
Zaporizhzhia axis: more than 15 settlements were affected by artillery fire, in particular, Vremivka and Novopil in Donnechyna and Orihiv, Poltavka, Malynivka, Gulyaipole, Mala Tokmachka, Stepove, Kamianske and Plavni in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Kherson axis: the areas of Antonivka, Berehove, Vesele, Fedorivka, L`vove, and Kherson were hit by MLRS and barrel artillery. Civilians suffered again.

Russian occupying forces do not stop looting the temporarily occupied territories. Thus, in the settlements of Gornostaivka, Kairy, Bratolyubivka, and Nyzhni Sirogozy of the Kherson Oblast, the Russian occupiers, moving in groups of 10-15 people, search the empty houses of local residents and take away all household appliances and furniture.

During the day, the aviation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces made 13 strikes on enemy concentration areas and 3 strikes on the positions of its anti-aircraft missile systems.

In addition, Ukrainian defenders shot down a Russian Ka-52 helicopter and an experimental russian reconnaissance UAV "Merlin-VR".

At the same time, units of missile and artillery troops of the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit 1 control point, 2 areas of concentration of the Russian occupiers' manpower, and 1 radio-electronic warfare station.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that Ukrainian troops carried out a massive shelling of the village of Mikhailovka in the Zaporozhye region, said Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the regional administration. According to him, the fire was carried out from heavy weapons, the shells hit the school and the current with grain. At the moment, information about the victims and damage caused is being specified.

Law enforcement officers continue to find hiding places in the liberated areas made by the troops of the Kyiv regime and its supporters. In particular, one of the caches was found in the city of Alyoshki, Kherson region. There were several grenades with fuses, uniforms and insignia of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), extremist symbols and military documentation.

Another cache was found in the village of Strelkovoe, where the "trophies" turned out to be more significant: 2 disposable reactive infantry flamethrowers "Bumblebee", about 3 thousand rounds, 10 propellant charges, 3 grenades with 2 fuses, a 30-mm projectile and a smoke bomb.

Events in Donbass

In the Svatovo direction, Russian tankers and paratroopers were able to move about a kilometer deep into the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a week. This was announced by one of the local battalion commanders in an interview with RIA Novosti.

The offensive is carried out with the support of tanks, which, among other things, work from closed firing positions. Thus, in just one day they destroyed about 20 enemy soldiers and 2 strongholds. After "processing" enemy positions with tanks, infantry enters there, clearing the occupied territories.

In the recently liberated Soledar, they found clear evidence of the supply of Bulgarian weapons to Kyiv. and this is on the condition that earlier Sofia actively disowned the provision of military assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the city, among the "Western" exhibits, they found zinc cartridges of 7.62x54 mm caliber with the marking of the Arsenal plant, one of the strategic enterprises of the Bulgarian military-industrial complex.