The Russian military is on course to lose 500,000 personnel within the next year, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence. The MoD tweeted: “The average daily number of Russian casualties in Ukraine has risen by almost 300 during the course of 2023. If the numbers continue at the current rate over the next year, Russia will have lost over half a million personnel in Ukraine.”
The UK’s Ministry of Defence says Russia is continuing to struggle to establish air superiority over Ukraine. Three Russian combat jets were shot down just before Christmas and that affected ground forces’ tactical objectives later in the month, the MoD said. It added that Russia has been increasing its aerial strikes in recent days “but at a lower level than before the shootdowns”.
A Russian missile strike killed 11 people and injured 10 in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, the governor of the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk region said. Five of the dead were children. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, said the attack “quite simply targeted ordinary, private homes”.
Denmark’s transfer of 19 American-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will take place in the second quarter of 2024, once Ukrainian pilots have completed training, the defence ministry has said. The Danish ministry said in a statement: “Based on the current timetable, the donation should take place in the second quarter of 2024. It’s mainly an issue of finishing the training of Ukrainian personnel who will operate the planes.”
Polish farmers suspended their blockade of a major crossing into neighbouring Ukraine following the signing of an agreement with the Polish government. Truckers continue to blockade three other main border crossings into Ukraine in protest at “unfair competition” from Ukrainian counterparts and against the relaxation of access rules to the European Union for Ukrainian firms.
Reuters reports that the Kharkiv region prosecutor’s office has provided further evidence that Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles supplied by North Korea, showcasing the fragments. On Friday, a senior adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia hit Ukraine this week with missiles supplied by North Korea for the first time during its invasion.
