Ukraine Situation Report

After one more aid package for Ukraine is announced later this week, there will be no more U.S. funding available, the White House says.

A combination of political infighting in the U.S. and allies who are not living up to their commitments are bad omens for Ukraine.

A massive influx of mice, rats and voles is making a harsh existence fighting in winter even more miserable.

During a tour to the front lines in northeastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky offered a blunt assessment of the state of the war.

As we predicted back in December, a report states that Russia targeted emissions from the Patriot system’s radar to locate and attack it.

One man died in Odesa while several people were injured in Kyiv during the latest volley of Russian missile and drone strikes.

Ukraine’s info war is in full swing as “Capt. HIMARS” taunts Russian troops by saying, contrary to Kremlin claims, none have been destroyed.

Ukraine is trying to make the case it needs more air defenses capable of shooting down Russian jets before they can launch guided bombs.

Over 20,000 Russians were killed in Ukraine since December, according to White House National Security Council spokesman.

Donated tanks and other vehicles have given Ukraine an “armored fist” needed to launch an offensive says Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

The fortifications were likely installed due to Russia’s concerns over an offensive that could run through the plant, the U.K. MoD says.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, says Russians are dying needlessly in Bakhmut because of the lack of ammunition.

Ukrainian long-range drones are creeping closer to Moscow, which could become a major issue for the Kremlin as the war drags on.

The main focus of U.S. and allied aid to Ukraine will not be Western fighter jets, but ground-based air defenses like the Patriots.

A Pentagon spokesperson on Monday pushed back against claims that U.S. and Russian forces are directly fighting each other in Ukraine.

A top Ukrainian official hinted that “new types” of weapons may have caused explosions in Crimea, targeted by Kyiv for liberation.

Norwegian tank trainers say Ukrainian troops have been quick to learn how to operate Leopard 2 tanks donated by Oslo.

The fortifications will provide a significant obstacle to Ukrainian forces if Russia can man them, the U.K. Defense Ministry says.

Under attack by Ukrainian drones, Russia is seeking ways to protect its TOS-1A multiple launch rocket systems from overhead attacks.

For Russians, the war in Ukraine continues to have consequences at home as border towns were hit with attacks Thursday.

The U.S. will provide Ukraine with new laser-guided anti-drone rocket systems and anti-drone 30mm gun trucks.

Initiatives to transfer at least some of Poland’s MiG-29s to Ukraine have come and gone for a year, making the delivery a major breakthrough.

While it appears that Wagner has entered central Bakhmut, it may have more psychological than military value.

The first 65 Ukrainian troops training on Patriot batteries at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, returned to Europe this week.

Bakhmut is “a slaughter-fest for the Russians” who “are getting hammered” there, Mark Milley told Congress.

France says it is not looking to transfer Mirage fighters from the UAE to Ukraine after a report claiming that was the case surfaced.

With the arrival of the new Western tanks and other armor, Ukraine’s Defense Minister said “our military zoo is expanding.”

The multi-domain attack 140 miles from the front lines shows Ukraine still has the means to threaten Sevastopol.

The delivery of a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, which has no way to reliably defeat ballistic missiles now, is being accelerated.

Ukrainian and Russian media outlets and Telegram channels reported an attack while Kyiv claims Kalibr missiles were destroyed.

Putin is accused of war crimes for illegally deporting Ukrainian children to Russia, but actually arresting him won’t be easy.

Ukraine says it shot down the Su-34 Fullback jet over Donetsk while Russian sources suggest it could have been downed by friendly fire.

Russia says Ukraine carried out a deadly raid inside its borders, but Kyiv disputes that claim, suggesting partisans caused any trouble.

Military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran is growing, which is bad news for Ukraine, says the National Security Council.

A year after launching its full-on invasion, Russia’s more focused operation is being effectively countered, a top Ukrainian general says.

A successful ICBM test while Biden was in Kyiv would have sent a signal, but the missile test failed, according to CNN.

There are no signs of a buildup of Russian aircraft near Ukraine’s borders and any attacks are likely to be from behind the front lines.

Continuous attacks on Crimea highlight how despite the Russian offensive in the Donbas, the peninsula is still the ultimate goal.

So far, the Russian offensive is largely a “grinding battle of attrition” in and around Bakhmut, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley said.

As Russia gets closer to capturing Bakhmut, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says its long-awaited offensive in the east is underway.

If confirmed, the attack on a bridge south of Odesa would mark the first known use of this type of weapon by Russian forces.

Ukraine’s parliament says a Russian offensive will likely come from the east or south while one expert says it is likely to come very soon.

Russia reported another attempted Tu-141 drone attack deep inside its borders, the latest in a series of such incidents.

The Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb will enable Ukraine to hit targets at twice the distance of any weapon currently provided.

A Russian official told Putin that thousands of residents from border areas were resettled after Ukrainian attacks and more need to be.

Ukraine captured Kherson City in November, but the two sides are fighting over nearby river islands, used by Russians to attack the city.

The first shipment of more than 60 of 109 Bradley Fighting Vehicles promised to Ukraine has left a port in South Carolina.

Ukraine’s Air Force spokesman says work is underway to upgrade airfields for Western fighter jets even though none have been promised yet.

The Ukrainian Air Force spokesman didn’t say what type of aircraft, but did say money has been set aside for pilot training already.

Taking Kreminna could bust open the lines in Luhansk and put pressure on Russian forces advancing on Bakhmut.

General Milley said the losses on both sides are horrendous and that it will only end via negotiation once Russia has left Ukraine.

The pressure to provide Ukraine with modern tanks has been building and now it seems like the logjam on Kyiv’s request could burst.

Germany won’t allow its Leopard 2 tanks to go to Ukraine unless the U.S. sends Abrams tanks first, which isn’t happening any time soon.

The pulverized city of Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces are still holding on, has been a battleground for nearly a decade.

Russia’s horrific Kh-22 missile attack on a Dnipro apartment complex highlights the need for better air defense systems, Ukraine says.

An announcement is anticipated about British Challenger 2 tanks heading to Ukraine while French AMX-10 RC armored vehicles will soon arrive.

Discussions are underway in Britain and Poland to provide Ukraine with modern tanks, while the U.S. is mulling sending Kyiv Strykers.

Ukraine officials claim Russia has used about 600 Iranian Shahed drones and will soon get several hundred more from Tehran.

Ukraine pushed back on Russian claims that HIMARS were destroyed in a series of attacks, one captured live on French TV.

Russia’s influential military bloggers lambast leadership for packing troops with little security discipline into a building with ammunition.

For the second time this month, air defenses were activated at the Black Sea Fleet’s home, which has come under numerous Ukrainian attacks.

Russia on Thursday claimed a third drone attack this month on or near the Engels Air Base, 300 miles from the border with Ukraine.

The International Field Artillery Tactical Data Systems would make HIMARS even more lethal by providing better awareness of the battlefield.

Ukrainian troops are using tanks and other weapons captured from Russia, but keeping them operating is becoming a major issue.

Russia is fortifying Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, which could become Ukraine’s jumping-off point into Crimea.

After massive losses, Russian, which once expected to conquer Ukraine in days, has further downsized its immediate military objectives.

News of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s planned visit to D.C. came hours after he visited his troops in war-torn Bakhmut.

Lukashenko thanked Putin for handing over nuclear-capable Iskander short-range ballistic missiles and S-400 defense systems.

Despite its battlefield successes, Ukraine is bracing for a new Russian offensive backed by hundreds of thousands of draftees.

Russia, which is running out of fresh ammunition, is increasingly relying on rockets and artillery sheels made 40 years ago, the Pentagon says.

Putin said he is mulling the idea of changing Russian military doctrine to include the potential for a “preventative” nuclear first strike.

After saying Ukraine “started it,” Putin made a veiled vow to continue strikes against its energy infrastructure.

Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones were last seen over Ukraine about three weeks ago and its Air Force says Russian likely has none left.

A missile component, likely from Ukrainian air defenses, fell onto Moldovan territory after another massive Russian attack on Ukraine.

A misstatement during a speech calling for an investigation into Russian war crimes highlighted sensitivity over battlefield body counts.

For a variety of reasons, the ratio of Russian artillery volleys compared to Ukrainian ones is decreasing, a Pentagon official said.

The long fight over Bakhmut has resulted in many casualties, little ground gained, and transformed the area into a WWI-like hellscape.

The helicopters, which were last used by Britain in 2018, will serve as utility and search rescue platforms for Ukraine.

Ukraine hopes to recapture strategic Black Sea peninsula that serves as a chokepoint for two rivers and a Russian artillery stronghold.

Ukraine hopes that the Patriot battery Germany will send to Poland can protect its skies from Russia as well.

Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave his official point of view on what’s next for the war in Ukraine.

If this latest White House emergency request for Ukraine is passed, the total U.S. aid for Kyiv this year will top $100 billion.

The pause in missile and Iranian drone strikes is being chalked up to Russia’s dwindling stockpile of those weapons.

While Ukrainians are jubilant about the liberation of Kherson City, the road ahead remains perilous.

Reports state that retreating Russian troops are apparently panicking as Ukrainian forces close the noose around Kherson City.

Despite deploying a massive amount of resources to the east and south, Ukraine has beefed up its forces to the north and is reinforcing Kyiv.

Iran will likely try to reverse engineer and attempt to clone the captured shoulder-fired U.S. and U.K. missiles.

The new air defense systems arrive as Ukrainian authorities are trying to cope with massive Russian attacks on their electrical power systems.

Faced with increasing losses on the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the latest tally of mobilized reservists.

There are indications that Russia may be abandoning Kherson City, but Ukraine says they are digging in for a long fight.

After losing many ammo depots to attack, eight months of conflict, and not being able to mobilize its own industry, Russia is in need of ammo.

Ukraine’s ‘partisan’ fighters are disrupting Russian military operations and attacking collaborators, hampering Moscow’s progress.

Vladimir Putin said the strikes on Ukraine power infrastructure were in retaliation of Saturday’s Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol.

Facing drone attacks from Belarus and concerned about Russian troop movements there, Ukraine is bolstering its northern defense.

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence chief expects Kherson to be recaptured by year’s end, but Russia looks like it is preparing to fight for it.

Russia’s ability to move equipment and cargo across the river is critical to supplying its troops in Kherson or evacuating them.

Blowing up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam on the Dnipro River would create a “large-scale disaster” said Ukraine’s president.

With nearly a third of Ukrainian power plants attacked, President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered electricity supply restrictions.

Iranian officials told Reuters the country will sell hundreds of short range ballistic missiles, plus more drones, to Russia

If Ukraine can capture Kherson City and control both sides of the river, it could open the door for liberating southern Ukraine.

Ukraine’s troops have gotten close enough to Russian forces in Kherson and Kharkiv that it’s reduced the use of HIMARS, the Pentagon says.

There are reports that Russians are starting to evacuate residents of Kherson, an indication that Ukraine’s southern offensive is succeeding.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the many lessons learned from it delayed the release of Biden’s new national security strategy.

Ukraine also received its first of four promised IRIS-T SLM air defense systems from Germany and four more HIMARS from the U.S.

Ukraine says Monday’s massive Russian missile and drone barrage on civilian targets is further proof it needs improved air defense systems.

Putin made bellicose speech announcing the annexation of four Ukrainian regions while Zelensky asked NATO to rush its membership application.

Bigger battles are looming in Donbas, where Ukraine hopes to continue its string of victories and Russia hopes to blunt that momentum.

Ukraine has fully captured the city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast as the Pentagon says NASAMs air defense systems will be delivered soon.

Ukraine’s military successes bode well for Commandant David Berger’s new vision for the U.S. Marine Corps.

As Ukraine troops retake large swaths of territory, Ukrainians report Russian brutality during the occupation.

Ukrainian military leaders remain wary of a possible Russian counterattack after their swift drive deep into enemy-held territory.

At least six people were killed and 16 wounded in an apparent Russian Kalibr cruise missile strike on a dormitory.

A new report details the lengths the U.S. went through to convince Ukraines’ president and the world that Russia would attack.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency renewed his call for access to Europe’s largest nuclear power facility.

Ukraine’s effort to deplete Russia’s stock of artillery shells and other explosives where it is stored shows no signs of slowing.

Turkey agreed to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO in exchange for concessions on Kurdish resistance groups.

A clearer image is coming into view of the clandestine aspects of Ukraine’s defense as Russian missiles strike a crowded mall.