Kherson / Photo: Associated Press
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By Pavlo Vitenko
Summary by regions
Luhansk Region
According to the Regional Military Administration, heavy fighting continues in the direction of Kreminna, but success there is on the side of the Defense Forces. Near Svatove, the Russians tried unsuccessfully to counterattack – the fighting there took place at a distance of 40 meters from one side to the other.
The occupiers shell the liberated settlements. In Nevske, two civilians were killed and two were wounded as a result of yesterday’s shelling.
In Novoselivske, the Russians deliberately destroyed all the houses and buildings, without exception, so that the Ukrainian fighters had nowhere to gain a foothold, the Regional Military Administration noted.
Donetsk Region
On January 9, the Russians wounded 6 civilians of Donetsk region: 4 in Bakhmut and 2 in Kurakhivka, wrote the head of the Regional Military Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Kharkiv Region
Yesterday, the enemy continued to shell the civilian population of the border towns and villages of the Kupiansk, Chuhuiv and Kharkiv districts of the region.
At approximately 9:00 a.m. on January 9, the occupiers launched a rocket attack on the market in the village of Shevchenkove, Kupiansk district. As a result of the shelling, two women were killed, and 6 more people were injured. In particular, a 10-year-old girl was injured – doctors currently assess her condition as moderate.
During the day, the Russians shelled the settlements of Kupiansk, Strelecha, Dvorichna, Kislivka, Kotlyarivka, etc. A 43-year-old man was injured in Dvorichnaya and was hospitalized.
Dnipropetrovsk Region
The Russians shelled the Nikopol district twice during the night, reported the head of the Regional Military Administration Valentyn Reznichenko. The MarHanets community came under enemy fire – more than 30 deadly shells landed there.
No one was injured in the attack. Houses and cafes were damaged. Other consequences are still being investigated.
Zaporizhzhia Region
Over the past day, the occupiers shelled civilian infrastructure in the areas of Stepove, Mala Tokmachka, Lugivske, Bilohirya, Chervone and Omelnyk settlements.
Also under fire were Novopavlivka, Novodanylivka, Zaliznychne, Gulyaipole, Novoandriivka, Bilohirya, Olhivske, Dorozhnyanka, Malynivka, Shcherbaki, Poltavka, Orikhiv, Plavni, Kamianske, Mali Shcherbaki, Magdalinivka.
21 reports were received about the destruction of houses (apartments) of citizens and infrastructure objects as a result of shelling by Russian military personnel, reports the Regional Military Administration press service.
Mykolayiv Region
Yesterday, January 9, and today, the Russians struck the coastal strip of the Ochakiv community and the town of Ochakiv. As a result of yesterday’s shelling at 14:08, 15 people were injured, including a two-year-old child. Four people were taken to Mykolayiv for treatment.
According to preliminary data, the blast wave significantly damaged the windows and roofs of more than 200 residential buildings, administrative buildings, and social infrastructure facilities. In general, windows and roofs of buildings were damaged in most parts of the city.
Also, roofs and windows were damaged by the blast wave in Chornomorsk, Kutsurub and Berezanka communities, writes the head of Regional Military Administration Vitaliy Kim.
Kherson Region
The Russian occupiers shelled the territory of the region 46 times per day. They were fired from artillery, rocket launchers, mortars, and tanks, said Yaroslav Yanushevych, head of the Regional Military Administration.
The Russians shelled Kherson 14 times – once again they attacked the residential quarters of the city. Enemy shells hit critical infrastructure facilities, private and apartment buildings.
Yesterday, two people were killed by Russian shelling, and two more residents of the region were injured in varying degrees of severity.
UKRAINE: During the day, the Armed Forces eliminated more than 700 occupiers and sank an enemy ship – General Staff
The Russians are mobilizing people with disabilities in Donetsk – General Staff
The Armed Forces repelled attacks near Soledar and Bakhmut, the Russians unsuccessfully tried to capture Donetsk region – General Staff
WORLD: Scholz named the conditions for the transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine – Reuters
ISW told why Prigozhin uses reports about Wagner’s «successes» in Soledar
The US may transfer Stryker combat vehicles to Ukraine – Politico
Putin’s efforts to divide the West over Ukraine are failing – The New York Times
«Wagner» threw its elite into battle: the Armed Forces told what was happening in Soledar and Bakhmut
The Bakhmut direction remains the site of the fiercest battles.
In the Bakhmut direction, in particular near Soledar, the Russian group «Wagner» threw its best units into battle – not former prisoners, but veterans with war experience in Syria, Libya and other hot spots.
Colonel Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said this on the air of the All-Ukrainian telethon, which is broadcast by the TSN YouTube channel.
According to Cherevatyi, during the day in the Bakhmut direction, there were 281 shellings of positions and infrastructure along the entire length of the front, 43 combat clashes, the enemy lost 107 killed and 123 wounded.
«This is the hottest part of the front, where the enemy’s fiercest, most aggressive actions are taking place, where he has concentrated his combat-ready units as much as possible, including the most prepared groups of the organized criminal group «Wagner». It is really difficult there, but it is controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine,» the spokesman said of the Eastern group of troops.
According to him, compared to the personnel army of the Russian Federation, the «Wagners» have «somewhat better equipment in terms of weapons and equipment.»
«But the most important thing is that they are much more professional servicemen, members of «Wagner», who were recruited as special forces for missions in Syria, Libya and other dangerous places. Therefore, they have special training in such units as the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Previously, for such raids and mass attacks, they mostly used former prisoners, and at Soledar they gathered the most professional part, which they used to break through our defenses,» the representative of the Armed Forces said.
As the colonel said, Soledar has long been one of the hotspots of the Bakhmut front:
«All this time, for many months, the occupiers, with the help of both regular troops and the organized criminal group «Wagner», tried to find a weak point in all populated areas and systematically break through our defenses. Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Ivanhrad, in particular, Soledar was constantly under enemy attack. Therefore, now he managed to concentrate more of his units there and constantly put more systematic pressure on our defense.»
Cherevatyi added that the «Wagnerians» usually do not surrender:
«There are very tough combat encounters there. They do not surrender, but are captured. To surrender – the Wagner system is very strict there. There are several principles for which the death penalty is imposed, in particular for surrendering, or throwing down the weapon, or to retreat without an order. The very combat conditions there, when there are such tough battles at close range, especially do not surrender in comfortable conditions – you will either be destroyed by your own people, or by the enemy.»
By Pavlo Vitenko, Ukrainian Freedom News
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