Kiev, Moscow prepares military escalation in February | Ukraine Russia, latest war news

• The war in Ukraine reached the 316th day.
• Putin inaugurates a frigate with the Zircon hypersonic missile.
• The path to peace in Ukraine, according to the Financial Times (and the keyword: Crimea).
• The head of Ukrainian intelligence: Putin has cancer and will die soon. Kiev’s 007s: Moscow sends new military units to Crimea.

07:59 – Usa: Russian soldiers in Makiivka are legitimate targets

There is absolutely no hand rubbing from the US administration regarding the soldiers who died in the attack on the Makiivka base by US supplied artillery, this is a war, the Ukrainians have been invaded and are fighting back and defending themselves, ha said US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. Russian soldiers on their territory are legitimate targets for Ukrainian military action, period. It will not enter the body count. a war. And there is fierce fighting right now. And war is a bloody business, he said.

07:50 – USA evaluate sending Bradley armored vehicles

The United States is considering sending Bradley armored vehicles, equipped with powerful cannons, to Ukraine. This was announced by US President Joe Biden. The US military possesses thousands of Bradleys, which it has used since the mid-1980s to transport troops to battle sites and which would increase the capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces. These vehicles do not have the power of the Abrams tanks, which Ukraine has repeatedly asked for.

07:47 – Dnipropetrovsk Governor: New Russian attacks on Nikopol

A new attack by Russian forces launched during the night against the city of Nikopol, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, caused several damages. The regional governor, Valentyn Reznichenko, reported this on Telegram. Several residential buildings and outbuildings, social infrastructure and power lines were damaged. There would be no injuries, reads the governor’s message. The governor added that a 64-year-old man died in hospital, injured by Russian bombing yesterday.

04:23 am – ISW, Moscow wants to strengthen military cooperation with Iran

Russia will try to strengthen its cooperation with Iran to obtain more precise weapon systems for use in Ukraine: the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes in its report published yesterday, Wednesday 4 January. The ISW recalls that on December 28 Iranian state media stated that Iran would soon receive 24 Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, probably in exchange for Iranian-made drones and ballistic missiles.

According to a Russian blogger, these precision weapons systems would allow Russian forces to more effectively strike the Ukrainian rear protected by Western anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems. Earlier, senior US officials announced that Russia is providing an unprecedented level of military and technical support to Iran in exchange for Iranian-made weapons systems. In this context, according to ISW experts, Russia and Iran are studying a new transcontinental trade route to circumvent sanctions and carry out more substantial arms shipments between the two countries.

03:43 am – Kiev, over 60% of the city of Bakhmut destroyed

More than 60% of the city of Bakhmut in southeastern Ukraine has been destroyed in fighting and the Russian offensive, which has been going on for six months, the head of the region’s military administration said at a press conference. of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, as reported by RBC-Ukraine. No matter what attempts the enemy made to enter the city, he was unable to advance. No matter how successful they were, they were pushed back to their previous positions outside the city, Kyrilenko commented, adding that the Russian forces are now in a flat and devastated area, which is also contributing to the huge loss of soldiers. Kyrylenko also said that two civilians died yesterday in Russian shelling of the city.

02:37 – Kiev, Moscow is preparing for military escalation in February

Russia is preparing for an escalation of the situation at the front in February and at the same time moving behind the scenes to push Kiev to sign peace agreements on the model of those of Minsk: the secretary of the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne told Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksii Danilov. February will be decisive for them – said Danilov -. Why are dates important to them, anniversaries, etc. They are preparing for an escalation.

Now a man named (Taras) Kozak (collaborator of the pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician and personal friend of Putin, Viktor Medvedchuk, ed.) has become more active – he continued -. He is organizing meetings with European representatives to force us to sign some peace agreements, or so they believe, a sort of Minsk 3. Naturally we will not accept.

01:10 – Filorussi, strong explosion in Melitopol

A strong explosion was heard last night in Melitopol, a city occupied by Russian forces in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine, Vladimir Rogov, a Moscow-appointed member of the regional administration board, said, according to the news agency Russian Ria Novosti. There are currently no reports of any injuries or victims.

11.40 pm – Zelensky, we must put an end to Russian aggression this year

We need to end Russian aggression exactly this year and not postpone any of the defensive capabilities that can hasten the defeat of the terrorist state, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening Telegram message. Today we have new and powerful results of our diplomatic marathon – he said referring to his telephone conversation with the French president -. France takes European defense support to Ukraine to a new level and I thank President Macron for this leadership.

We will receive more armored vehicles and especially French-made wheeled tanks. This is what sends a clear signal to all our other partners: there is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with Western-style tanks. And this is very important to restore security for all Ukrainians and peace for all Europeans.