UAF – Ukrainian Forces
UAS – According to Ukrainian Sources
RF – Russian Forces
RS – According to Russian Sources
Summary of the Events
RF under the Wagner Group private army probably captured Bakhmutske and reached the center of Soledar in their goal of encircling Bakhmut on three sides. They already surround Bakhmut on the south and east. Soledar defends the path to encircle in the north. But Ukraine received the good news from the U.S., Germany, and France who have decided to provide offensive heavy weapons for the first time to Ukraine.
Eastern Ukraine: (Eastern Kharkiv and Western Luhansk Oblast – UAF Counter-offensive)
Svatove – RF and UAF both ignored the unilateral Christmas ceasefire declared by Russian President Putin and conducted several positional battles, but no territory was changed during the day. UAF focused on Kuzemivka, and RF focused on Stelmakhivka.
Kreminna – RF and UAF continued heavy fighting around Makiyivka and Ploshchanka. RF also launched an unsuccessful assault on Bilohorivka while UAF conducted sabotage and reconnaissance attacks between Serebrianka and Hryhorivka.
Donetsk Oblast: (Russia’s Main Objective)
Soledar – RS claim that Wagner Group forces broke through UAF defenses and captured all Bakhmutske and reached the center of Soledar before being stopped. Ukraine has not confirmed this, but neither have they denied it. One RS even claimed that the Wagner Groups made it as far as Krasnopillya.
Bakhmut – RF conducted assaults on six communities around Bakhmut but were repelled in all attacks. UAF were able to destroy a Russian grenade launch point in range of Bakhmut.
RF conducted assaults on five locations near Donetsk city but were repelled. The fighting is the fiercest in Marinka with a video being released showing the intensity of the fighting.
Southern Ukraine: (Eastern Kherson, Southern Zaporizhia, and Western Donetsk)
There were no ground attacks along the Zaporizhia/Western Donetsk line, but both sides did exchange artillery.
UAF again made an assault on the Kinburn Spit and have landed troops on Velyki Potemkin Island in the Dnipro River to engage RF on the island.
UAF continue to fire rockets at rear areas in occupied Kherson and Zaporizhia. 100 Russian servicemembers were seriously injured or killed in an attack in Havrylivka Druha. Explosions were heard in Radensk and residents of Berdyansk reported explosions nearby as well. UAS also claimed to have hit Russian troops concentrated around Oleshky, Kakhovka, Tokmak, and Dorozhnianka.
RF continue to fire artillery at Hulyaipole and fire rockets at targets in Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Mykolaiv Oblasts. Kherson city, Beryslav, Nikopol, and Ochakiv were all hit.
Belarus
A trainload of Russian armored vehicles arrived in Belarus on Friday. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko visited Russian troops stationed on the Ukrainian border near Brest as well. But no Russian strike force is yet observed keeping the chance of an invasion from Belarus at low.
Russian Mobilization
Russian authorities are gathering information on all males in the occupied regions who are 17 years old for the purpose of conscripted them into the army. Body armor is being taken away from Russian civil servants in the occupied regions to provide armor for these new recruits.
Life in Occupied Ukraine
Russia took hundreds of Ukrainian children from the occupied regions to celebrate Orthodox Christmas in Moscow and Rostov to show them how peaceful life is in Russia. Russian officials are also going through schoolchildren’s backpacks and confiscating any items that relate to Ukrainian culture.
Russian police are confiscating cellphones from Ukrainian civilians in Starobilsk to see if they have any information that would make them suspicious of being a partisan. Just having a Ukrainian phone server would get them in trouble.
Russian police in occupied territories are raiding businesses and confiscating any Ukrainian currency they have on the site.
International Support
France shocked the world on Thursday when they announced they would deliver an unspecified number of AMX-10 RC light tanks to Ukraine. Up until then, the West had rebuffed Ukraine’s request for offensive weapons, but the West was afraid it would create an escalation of the war and bring them into it. Now, these tanks are old and obsolete and drive on wheels, not tracks. But they do carry a punch with a heavy cannon. When Russia did not utter a word of protest, the U.S. and Germany upped the game by providing 40 German Marder vehicles and 50 U.S. Bradleys. Although technically not tanks, they are offensive armored vehicles commonly referred to has tank killers. Germany also threw in another Patriot anti-missile system to match the one the U.S. pledged earlier. Both the Marders and Bradleys pack a punch with their big 25mm autocannons, and the Bradleys come with an extra bonus as they also carry TOW anti-tank missiles. The U.S. will include 500 TOW missiles and 250,000 rounds of ammunition for the Bradleys. The U.S. also will send 155 armored vehicles, 18 howitzers, artillery ammunition, mortar rounds, air defense missiles, and various small arms valued at $3 billion.
Russia surprisingly has said little about these pledges which shows that their objections are not meant for the West, but for the Russian people. Russia was focusing on the information operation of Ukraine not accepting the Christmas ceasefire as evidence that they are enemies of the Russian Orthodox Church, and any complaint against these recent weapon pledges would take away attention from that story. They only complain about the Western support when they are highlighting the story for the Russian people that NATO and the West are a threat to Russia.