• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Ukraine Invasion
Defense Policy / Programs
Foreign Policy
News Reports

Ukraine Invasion

• Death Toll, Condemnation Mount From Massive Russian Bombardment As Kyiv Declares Day Of Mourning RFE/RL 30 Dec 2023 -- Aerial attacks continued overnight between Russia and Ukraine but appeared to have abated early on December 30, one day after Russia carried out its most intense bombardment of Ukrainian military and civilian targets in the 22-month-long war, sparking international outcry and condemnation at a special meeting of the UN Security Council.
• Russia Launches More Attacks on Ukraine VOA 30 Dec 2023 -- Two Russian missiles hit central Kharkiv on Saturday, injuring at least 21 people, Ukrainian officials said, in the latest in a recent series of back-and-forth air assaults.
• Russia says 14 people killed in Ukrainian attack on Belgorod Press TV 30 Dec 2023 -- A Ukrainian attack on the Belgorod Oblast in western Russia has left at least 14 people dead, including two children, and 108 others injured, according to Russian officials.
• The President has been informed about the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strike on residential areas in Belgorod President of Russia 30 Dec 2023
• Foreign Ministry statement on yet another brutal attack on Russian civilians by the Kiev regime Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 30 Dec 2023
• Statement by Russian Defence Ministry Russia MoD 30 Dec 2023 -- Today the Kiev regime attempted to launch indiscriminate attacks at Belgorod by two Olkha missiles with cluster submunitions and Czech-made Vampire MLRS projectiles.
• Statement by Russian Defence Ministry Russia MoD 30 Dec 2023 -- On 30 December at about 10.00 a.m. Moscow time, an uncrewed surface vehicle of the Ukrainian Navy was located in the northwestern part of the Black Sea heading towards the Crimean Peninsula.
• Statement by Russian Defence Ministry Russia MoD 30 Dec 2023 -- Over the past night, the Russian Armed Forces have thwarted attempts by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack by fixed-wing UAVs against facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation.
• Statement by Russian Defence Ministry Russia MoD 30 Dec 2023 -- On 29 December at around 11.00 p.m., the Russian Armed Forces have foiled another attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack by MLRS projectiles against facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation.
• Russian UN Envoy Calls Ukraine's Strikes on Belgorod Deliberate Terrorist Attacks Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya stated on Saturday that the strikes on the Russian city of Belgorod were a deliberate terrorist attack.
• Russia Requests UNSC Meeting in Connection With Terrorist Attack in Belgorod Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- The terrorist attack on the Russian city of Belgorod will be the subject of proceedings in the UN Security Council and Russia has requested a meeting, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik on Saturday.
• 'Criminal' Belgorod Strikes Designed to Distract From Kiev Regime's Failures at Front - Russian MoD Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Belgorod on Saturday, killing over a dozen civilians and injuring over a hundred others. The settlement of Urazovo was also targeted.
• Russia Repels 2 Attacks By Ukraine in Donetsk Direction, Kiev Loses Up to 350 Soldiers - MoD Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- In early June 2023, Ukraine launched its counteroffensive. Kiev threw into battle brigades trained by NATO instructors and armed with Western equipment. However, already three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Kiev's push had failed, with Ukraine suffering huge casualties.
• Ukrainian Unmanned Boat Discovered and Destroyed in Black Sea Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- An unmanned Ukrainian boat heading for Crimea was destroyed in the Black Sea on Saturday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
• Russian Air Defenses Destroyed, Intercepted 32 Ukrainian Drones - MoD Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- Russian air defenses destroyed in the air and intercepted 32 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk, Oryol, Kursk and Moscow regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Telegram.
• Ukraine 'Thinks Like a Warmonger' - Russian Foreign Ministry Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- Moscow sees no political will for peace either in Kiev or in the West, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Sputnik.
• Donetsk People's Republic Shelled by Ukraine 81 Times in Past Day Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- Ukraine shelled the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) 81 times over the past day, the DPR representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of issues related to Ukraine's war crimes said in a statement.
• Russian Air Defenses Destroy Several Drones Over Russia's Bryansk Region Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- The air defense systems shot down two drones over Bryansk and Bryansk region. No injuries were reported per preliminary information, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Kh-22: Russia's Unstoppable Cruise Missile Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- Russia launched its largest-ever drone and missile barrage against Ukraine since the start of the conflict on Friday, with the MoD reporting the targeting of energy facilities, ammunition depots, airfields, ports, fuel terminals and regional military headquarters. Among the weapons used were Kh-22 cruise missiles. Here's what is known about them.

Foreign Policy

• New Year greetings to foreign heads of state and government President of Russia 30 Dec 2023 -- Vladimir Putin sent Christmas and New Year 2024 greetings to foreign heads of state and government.
• Press release on Russia's main foreign policy results in 2023 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 30 Dec 2023
• Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Receives Greetings from Russian Party Leader KCNA 30 Dec 2023 -- Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, received a message of greeting from G. Zhuganov, chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, on Dec. 28.
• US military may get into direct conflict with Russia: Biden Press TV 30 Dec 2023 -- US President Joe Biden has issued a warning, saying American military forces may enter into a direct conflict with Russia if Ukraine loses the war.
• Russia Open to Dialogue With West on Exchange of Frozen Assets - Foreign Ministry Sputnik 30 Dec 2023 -- Moscow will act symmetrically if the West confiscates the Russian assets it has frozen, the director of the Department of Economic Cooperation at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Dmitry Birichevsky, told Sputnik, adding that the amount of Western funds frozen in Russia that could be affected by retaliatory measures is significant.

News Reports

• 'Private' Meeting With Putin, Public Appearances Stir Talk Of Nazarbaev Comeback RFE/RL 30 Dec 2023 -- Friends who are old faces and friends in high places: Kazakhstan's former leader Nursultan Nazarbaev has proven in recent months that he still has both.
• Russian Teenager Sentenced To Four Years In Prison On Treason Charges RFE/RL 30 Dec 2023 -- A Russian teenager has been sentenced to four years in prison on charges of treason, the latest victim of the Kremlin's sweeping crackdown on citizens opposed to its invasion of Ukraine.