Summary of the daily livestream with Aleksey Arestovych, Day 302, December 22nd, kindly brought to you by Anastasiya: @Anastasiya1451A
🔥Battlefield overview
Official Ukrainian sources and General Staff do not comment on the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive to avoid compromising the military efforts.
🔥South
🔥Kherson
Russia keeps shelling residential areas of the Kherson region and terrorising civilians. Ukrainian artillery and, sometimes, aviation is targeting the Russian military forces on the East bank of the Dnipro River.
🔥Zaporizhzhia
Russia is attempting to form a defensive line between Vasylivka & Tokmak and performing rotation of units in this direction.
The total number of Russian troops in the South is 50k, which is insufficient for such a big frontline. The realization of this
🔥Vuhledar
No significant movements of the front lines but heavy clashes are ongoing between the Ukrainian and Russian troops.
🔥East
🔥Mariinka
Russian attacks failed and the advance in Mariinka was stopped, with Russian troops experiencing difficulties.
🔥Bahmut
Heavy clashes continue. Ukrainian counteroffensive operation removed Russian troops & Wagner forces from the Bakhmut suburbs. Russian sources confirm this information with Girkin stating that “the Russian forces were expelled [from the suburbs of Bahmut] to the wastelands and garbage dumps”.
🔥Soledar
Heavy clashes continue between the Ukrainian defenders and invading Russian troops.
🔥Svatove-Kreminna
Russian sources report some success of the Ukrainian Army near Kreminna, North of Svatove.
🔥Russian missile attack on Ukraine
Russia continues missile attacks on the Zaporizhzhja, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipro and Kryvij Rih. From tomorrow, there is a risk of another Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian critical infrastructure and civilian population.
🔥Sabotage in Russia & Legion “Free Russia”
Legion “Free Russia” reports several sabotage and service interruptions on the Trans-Siberian training. The increase in railway sabotage is a steady tendency and may reflect growing Russian popular discontent with the mobilization.
🔥Rogozin & betrayal in the Russian ranks
A meeting (party) on the occupied territory of the ex-head of Roskosmos and several top Russian warlords & terrorists from the so-called “DPR” were hit by Ukrainian artillery. Rogosin was wounded (reportedly in the coccyx) and is hysterical about the betrayal from his peers who probably tipped off the Ukrainians on the exact location and time of the Rogozin party. This is similar to what happened in March when the Russian military was sharing the location of Kadyrov forces due to rivalry & lack of comradery in the Russian ranks.
🔥Putin’s pathetic rhetoric
In response to Zelensky’s address to the US Congress, Putin made a series of ridiculous statements, such as claiming “meeting with the Russian military every day”, “being misled by the West ” and “West always wanting to destroy Russia ”.
In reality, the West helped the USSR with industrialization in the 1930s, with the lend-lease during WWII and with numerous financial/food aid and technological handouts and economic cooperation in the last 30 years.
At the same time, more countries joined NATO, reinforcement of Western security, rearming of the Ukrainian army, sanctions against Russia, the failing Russian economy and 100k KIA Russian soldiers are all the achievements of Putin’s regime.
🔥Iran denies supplying weapons to Russia
Iran denies supplying drones to Russia and threatens Ukraine with consequences if Iran runs out of its “strategical patience”. While the use of Iranian drones by Russia is undeniable and still ongoing, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is still trying to understand what Iran meant with “strategical patience”.
🔥Russia is losing Greece
Russia is threatening Greece which wants to transfer S300 to Ukraine. For decades, Russia tried to sway Greece by building political corruption, pretending to create religious ties with the Greek Orthodox Church and sending “ex-KGB” officers to “retire in Northern Greece.
Nevertheless, Greece is reaffirming itself as part of the West and NATO. At the same time, the Greek Orthodox Church still has several problems with Moscow’s Patriarchate and does not approve of the Russian Church’s role in the Russian regime and invasion of Ukraine.
🔥Armenia, Azerbaijan & Nagornyj Karabakh
Pashinyan is fed up with Russian failure to protect Armenian interests. Armenian economic prospects, military security and future are hurt by its patron-client relationship with Russia. Indeed, Russia has repeatedly sacrificed Armenian interests in the name of economic gain for the Russian regime. The separation
🔥Slow murder of Saakashvili
Georgian pro-West ex-president Mikhail Saakashvili (who later received Ukrainian citizenship) is kept in inhumane conditions in the prison and now has been transferred to a hospital setting. His condition, both physical and mental, is rapidly deteriorating. Yet, the Georgian pro-Russian government refuses to give him proper treatment (probably following Kremlin’s instructions), slowly murdering him.
Ironically, the murder of Saakashvili will have deep political and social repercussions for Georgia domestically (where the absolute majority of the younger generation is pro-Western) and internationally.
Next stream is on Friday, 23rd of December.
