News blog about the Russian war of aggression
Ukrainian army chief: “The situation is extremely tense”
From dpa, afp, Reuters, csi, mam, cc, sic, ts, te, das, lim, cck
Updated on January 23, 2024 – 12:25 a.m. Reading time: 46 min.
Ukraine War: Ukrainian and Russian troops were infested by mice and rats a few weeks ago. (Source: t-online)
Russia has captured a small village near Kharkiv. Latvia’s army chief wants NATO in the Baltic Sea. All information in the news blog.
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Ukrainian army chief speaks of difficult situation at the front
0.23 a.m.: According to the military leadership in Kiev, the Ukrainians are exposed to heavy Russian attacks in the north of the country and around Bakhmut. “The situation is extremely tense and characterized by intense fire from artillery, mine throwers and combat drones as well as storming actions by the enemy,” wrote the commander in chief of the Ukrainian army, Olexander Syrskyj, on his Telegram channel on Monday evening. He coordinated further defense with the brigade commanders on site.
In northeastern Ukraine, the defenders have been on the defensive for months. Russia has reported several small gains in terrain in recent weeks.
Bakhmut and the sector of the front in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv also appear in the General Staff’s evening situation report. The Ukrainian army repulsed four Russian attacks near the town of Synkivka, near the strategically important small town of Kupyansk. The enemy is trying to “break through the defenses of our armed forces,” the situation report says. Seven attacks were repelled in the area around the completely destroyed city of Bakhmut.
According to the situation report, the focus of the Russian attack efforts was once again Avdiivka and also the area around the small town of Maryinka, which was reported to have been taken by Russia weeks ago and is also in ruins. Both cities are located a little further south in the Donetsk region and border directly on the regional capital Donetsk, which has been controlled by Russian forces since 2014.
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Drinking water supply failed in the port city of Sevastopol
6:56 p.m.: The Russian authorities have temporarily stopped the drinking water supply in the port city of Sevastopol in Crimea, which has been annexed by Moscow since 2014. “There has been a drastic influx of dirty water into the Chornaya River, the groundwater level has risen,” said the governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvoshayev, explaining the measure on Telegram. The regular water supply could only be resumed from Wednesday evening. Until then, he has ordered days off from work in the city, says Razvoshayev.
The background is heavy snowfall and a simultaneous melting of snow a few days ago. According to official information, these have led to the water reservoirs overflowing and the drinking water filters becoming contaminated. Even at the weekend, the residents of a large part of Sevastopol only received drinking water for a few hours. However, Razvoshayev admits that despite these restrictions, not all households can be provided with running water, even in the limited time period. Therefore, in many parts of the city, citizens have to get their water from mobile cisterns.
Sevastopol is the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is actively involved in Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Military objects in the city itself have therefore increasingly become the target of Ukrainian drone and missile attacks in recent months.
London: Ukraine’s agricultural exports higher than ever since the beginning of the war
5:40 p.m.: According to British figures, Ukraine exported more agricultural products in December than at any time since the start of the war almost two years ago. This emerges from the daily intelligence report from the Ministry of Defense in London on the war in Ukraine. Accordingly, export volumes are now higher than at the time of the grain agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
“Ukraine achieved this by largely deterring the Russian Black Sea Fleet from operating in the western Black Sea, where it faces risk from Ukrainian missiles and maritime drones,” the statement said.
Ukrainian soldier reports a plague of mice in the trenches
5:34 p.m.: On the front line in Ukraine, soldiers’ trenches are reportedly crawling with mice. “Imagine going to bed and the night begins with a mouse crawling into your pants or sweater, chewing on your fingertips or biting your hand,” a Ukrainian soldier with the call sign “Kira” reported in an interview with the British broadcaster CNN. “You sleep two or three hours, depending on how lucky you are,” she continues.
The soldier fought in the southern Zaporizhia region last fall. There were apparently dozens of mice in their trench. “We had a cat named Busia who initially helped out and ate mice. But later there were so many that she refused. A cat can catch one or two mice, but if there are 70, that’s unrealistic,” she said soldier. Even ammonia or poison didn’t help.
