Sunday’s Coverage: Germany May Provide Peacekeeping Troops
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 0906 GMT:
Air defenses downed 93 of 141 drones launched by Russia across 13 regions of Ukraine overnight. Another 43 decoy drones were lost to electronic counter-measures, and two returned to Russia.
Russian forces carried out an Islander-M missile strike on the Sumy region in northern Ukraine. There is no information on casualties or damage.
UPDATE 0849 GMT:
More than 80% of Russian lawmakers and officials who vowed to go to the frontline in Ukraine have evaded service.
Of the more than 100 lawmakers and officials at the federal and regional levels, 20 have done nothing and at least 62 have served as volunteers in preferential conditions far from the fighting, according to an investigation by Novaya Gazeta Europe.
The other 18 officials signed up to evade criminal prosecution.
UPDATE 0816 GMT:
Ukraine’s General Staff says Russian forces used ammunition equipped with banned chemical agents on 434 occasions in December.
The Staff has cited 5,389 documented cases since February 2023.
UPDATE 0635 GMT:
Ukraine’s military has launched an investigation into a second newly-formed brigade.
The General Staff said Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi ordered the inquiry into the 156th Separate Mechanized Brigade, one of 14 brigades formed with the assistance of partner countries.
“The purpose of the work is to check the progress of the brigade’s formation and provide comprehensive assistance in organizing and preparing for combat operations,” the General Staff said.
It cited “a number of significant shortcomings”. Planned remedies include replacing the brigade’s leadership; appointing a commander with practical combat and command experience; transferring combat-tested officers and sergeants into the unit; improving practical training for personnel; and increasing training for drone pilots and electronic warfare operators.
Earlier this month, authorities announced an investigation of 155th “Anne of Kyiv” Mechanized Brigade, which has been equipped and trained by France.
The inquiry found “systemic shortcomings” after reports that 1,700 of the 4,500 soldiers had fled, with 50 deserting while in France.
“It should be noted that the mistakes that occurred during the formation and training of the 155th ‘Anne of Kyiv’ Brigade have been taken into account, and measures are being taken to prevent them in the future,” the General Staff said.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine’s military commander-in chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi says Russian invaders suffered 434,000 casualties, including around 150,000 casualties, in 2024.
In an interview with the Ukrainian news outlet TSN, Syrski declared, “In this year of fighting, [Vladimir Putin] lost more than in the previous two years of the war [combined].”
Ukraine’s General Staff said on Monday that Russia has lost 820,430 troops since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
The independent Russia outlet Mediazona and BBC Russian have identified almost 89,000 slain Russian soldiers from public sources such as obituaries, posts by relatives, regional media reports, and statements from local authorities.
The toll includes more than 4,600 officers as well as 20,200 volunteers, 15,300 recruited prisoners, and 10,300 mobilized men.
The Ukrainian military says Russia is regularly suffering more than 2,000 casualties on some days. Syrski estimated last year that the Russians had suffered 125,810 casualties from September to November, in return for about 2,356 square km (910 square miles) of occupied territory — a rate of 53 casualties per square km seized.
British analysts noted that the Russians suffered more than 2,000 casualties in a single day for the first time on November 28. They estimated total of 45,690 throughout the month, far exceeding Russia’s estimated recruitment rate of between 25,000 and 30,000 new soldiers per month.
Syrskyi also spoke of the effect of Ukraine’s strikes on military targets inside Russia, saying Russian use of ammunition has been cut nearly in half.
“For several months now, the artillery ammunition expenditure rates in the Russian army have practically halved. If previously the figure reached up to 40,000 rounds per day, it is now significantly lower,” Syrskyi assessed.