Jan 6, 2024 at 3:00 PM Update: 4 minutes ago
NU.nl regularly gives you an overview of the situation in Ukraine. This time: the Russian military casualty toll will rise to more than half a million this year, the British say. Furthermore, there is fighting again in Crimea and Russia wants to produce more drones.
Developments in Ukraine are following each other in rapid succession. We therefore regularly list recent events. Subscribe to the tag ‘Ukraine update’ to receive a notification when we post another overview.
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Russia wants to produce more than 32,000 drones per year by 2030. “That is almost three times more than now,” Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov said, according to Russian media.
Russia and Ukraine widely use drones to carry out attacks. The unmanned aircraft are also used for reconnaissance. Both warring parties continued to increase production during the war.
Russia wants to produce most drones itself. Russian companies should eventually account for 70 percent of that market, the news agency quotes TASS the deputy prime minister. The Russian armed forces still use many Iranian drones of the Shahed type.
Drones are seen as a relatively cheap alternative to rockets. They can also be cheaper than air defense missiles used to defend airspace.
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How Russia wants to obtain 6,000 kamikaze drones
Ukraine reports destruction of command post in Crimea
Ukrainian forces say they have destroyed a Russian command post in Crimea. That didn’t happen with a drone, but with a rocket. Ukraine has been bombarding targets on the occupied peninsula with drones and missiles for some time.
Russia has not confirmed the attack. The Russian Defense Ministry said four missiles were “intercepted and destroyed” over Crimea on Saturday. According to the Russians, dozens of drones were also disabled there a day earlier.
The war in Ukraine will continue unabated in the new year. Like here in Kyiv. Photo: AFP
‘Russia’s losses will amount to half a million this year’
If things continue at this rate, Russia will have lost half a million soldiers in the war in Ukraine by the end of 2024. This is stated by the British Ministry of Defense after a calculation. This concerns both killed soldiers and losses of personnel due to injuries.
“In the past year, the average loss per day has increased by almost three hundred,” the British ministry reports on X. “If things continue like this, Russia will soon have lost half a million people in Ukraine.” The daily average even approached a thousand in the last months of 2023. In the same months of November and December a year earlier, this was just over five hundred.
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Russia wants to help evacuate citizens from border areas
Russia not only has concerns in Ukraine, but also at the border with the neighboring country. According to Russian reports, civilians there are regularly attacked by Ukraine.
Authorities in the border city of Belgorod are offering residents evacuation assistance. A recent attack on the city left 25 dead, according to authorities. It would be the deadliest operation on Russian soil since the outbreak of war.
The violence is causing concern among the local population. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov says residents can go to the towns of Gubkin and Stary Oskol, about 140 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
Russia’s measure is striking, because Moscow is trying to prevent ordinary Russians from noticing anything about the war in their daily lives. “But due to the Ukrainian attacks on border towns, these residents cannot escape the effects of the fighting,” the Kremlin said.
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Delivery of Danish F-16s to Ukraine may be significantly delayed
According to the Danish newspaper Berlingske Ukraine may have to wait longer for Danish F-16 aircraft. Its delivery would take months longer than planned.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had expressed the hope that her country would be able to deliver the first F-16s around the turn of the year, but that does not seem to be happening. The six fighter planes are not expected to be transferred to the Eastern European country until the second quarter.
According to the newspaper, the Danish Ministry of Defense says that the timing of the delivery depends on a number of factors. For example, Ukrainian pilots must be trained in the use of Western F-16s. The airports in Ukraine must also be ready for the aircraft.
Photo: AFP
Nepal bans fighting and makes demands on Russia
Residents of Nepal are no longer allowed to fight in Ukraine, the government has decided. Too many men died or went missing. At least ten Nepalese men recently died. Dozens of others went missing, writes The Guardian.
The majority of Nepalese men fought on the Russian side. Nepal demands that Russia return remaining Nepalese fighters and compensate the families of dead soldiers.
According to government data, about two hundred Nepalese residents have joined the Russian army. About a hundred of them are currently missing. A small group of Nepalis are fighting on the Ukrainian side.
2024-01-06 14:00:00
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