Russia seeks to make more men eligible for draft; ‘fierce battles’ rage near Soledar

Russia’s commander of land forces visited Belarus a day after his superior, Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff, took over the combined forces in the invasion. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in Washington that Russia has had a lot of changes in its command as it tries “to overcome their own difficulties” in a war it shouldn’t have started.

Ukrainian forces were fighting to keep control of Soledar and Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region. “Fierce battles” raged near Soledar on Thursday even as a top Ukrainian official said Russia’s bid to take the town was failing.

Key developments

• Generators help shops keep lights on for Ukrainians hit by war


• Russia oil-price cap defies sceptics with so far, so good start


• Frozen mud may not be enough for big offensives in Ukraine


• Russia taps general staff chief as new commander in Ukraine

On the ground

Fierce fighting continued in Soledar as Russian attempts to capture the town in the eastern region of Donetsk were failing, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said during a video briefing. Russia was likely to increase efforts to capture part of the Zaporizhzhia region on the left bank of the Dnipro River, said Ukrainian General Staff representative Oleksiy Hromov. Russian forces hit Zaporizhzhia with missiles overnight, damaging private buildings and infrastructure facilities.

To the east, Ukrainian troops repelled attacks near 12 settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including Bakhmut. One person was killed as Russian units shelled a settlement near the city of Kherson on Thursday afternoon, regional Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Telegram.

Erdoğan ‘plans talks with Putin, Zelensky’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may speak separately with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “today or tomorrow” about the establishment of a humanitarian corridor, the Ihlas news agency cited Seref Malkoc, the Turkish ombudsman, as saying.

More than 2.4 million Ukrainians live in damaged properties, says minister

More than 2.4 million Ukrainians live in homes and apartment blocks damaged or ruined as a result of Russia’s aggression, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook.

More than 316,000 Ukrainians have already applied for state compensation via a digital government service, he said.


 

Russia may raise draft age this spring in push for more troops

Putin last month not only endorsed boosting the size of Russia’s army to 1.5 million from the current 1.15 million but also approved a plan to raise the draft age to between 21 and 30 from the current 18 to 27.

In the transition period to the new system starting as early as this year, the upper limit may be raised before the lower one, meaning men from 18 to 30 who don’t have exemptions will be subject to the draft, Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the Defence Committee in the State Duma, told a state newspaper.

Russia’s chief of land forces inspects troops in Belarus

Oleg Salyukov, commander-in-chief of Russia’s land forces, arrived in Belarus on Thursday to inspect Russian troops training there, the Belarusian defence ministry said on Telegram.

Russia and Belarus are also scheduled to hold joint air force drills starting on 16 January and running to 1 February. Ukrainian officials have warned that the Kremlin plans another attack this winter staged out of Belarus, including a potential assault on Kyiv.

Lithuania seeks to boost production of anti-drone weapons  

Lithuania needs to increase production of anti-drone weapons to assist Ukraine and to meet its own military needs, said President Gitanas Nauseda.

Nauseda also said Nato should find formulas on how to offer Ukraine security guarantees before membership in the military alliance can be considered.

He said he hopes to find a way to move forward on that at the Nato leaders’ summit in Vilnius in July.

US’s Power in talks Ukraine infrastructure minister

Samantha Power, head of the United States Agency for International Development, spoke to Oleksandr Kubrakov on “the need to create small-scale power generation”, Ukraine’s infrastructure chief said on Twitter.

International Atomic Energy Agency head to visit Ukraine next week

Vienna-based Russian diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov commented on a planned visit to Ukraine next week by Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency — the latest bid to establish a security zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Grossi announced his trip earlier in the week while in Rome and said he hoped to travel on to Moscow. He told the Italian public television station RAI that talks about a safety deal were becoming harder.

While Grossi held out the prospect of meeting with Putin, the Kremlin said on Wednesday there were no plans for talks “so far”. Grossi and Putin met in October.

Generators help shops keep lights on for Ukrainians hit by war  

The roar of diesel generators is a symbol of how Ukrainians are adapting to war.

After months of blackouts caused by Russian attacks against the country’s energy infrastructure, everyone from mom-and-pop companies to international retailers is keeping the lights on with machines chugging away on sidewalks and cables snaking indoors.

Ukraine imported more than half a million generators in 2022, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.


 

Ukrenergo implements emergency power outages 

The grid operator Ukrenergo implemented emergency power cuts on Thursday as consumption exceeded limits in several regions.

Ukraine’s ongoing energy deficit is a consequence of massive Russian missile and drone attacks that started in October, as well as the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by Russia since the earliest days of the Kremlin invasion.

Power producers and distribution system operators are constantly working to restore damaged facilities.

EBRD invested a record €13bn, including €1.7bn in Ukraine 

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development invested €1.7-billion in Ukraine out of record investments of €13.1-billion in 2022, and organised another €200-million from partner banks to support Ukraine’s infrastructure, energy and food security, the London-based development bank said in a statement.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the EBRD had earlier committed to invest €3-billion in Ukraine by the end of 2023.

Russian troops haven’t fully seized Soledar, says military think tank 

Kremlin troops haven’t fully captured Soledar despite numerous claims from the country’s sources, according to the daily note from the Institute for the Study of War.

Even capturing the town would be unlikely to enable Russian forces to seize the more strategic city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, it said.

Russian offensive operations to capture Bakhmut had probably culminated due to degraded operational capabilities, it said. The increasing shortage of munitions may also be one of the main issues that would probably hinder the ability of the Russian army to sustain offensive operations in eastern Ukraine this year, the institute said. DM