Ukraine: WAR BULLETIN December 28, 6.00 pm EST – The three hundred and eighth day of the russian large-scale invasion.
WAR BULLETIN
December 28, 6.00 pm EST
During the day, Russian forces launched 2 air strikes, 2 missile strikes and more than 10 attacks from MLRS systems.
Russia continues offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka areas and tries to improve the tactical position in the Lyman areas. In other directions, Russian forces are defending.
President of Ukraine delivered the annual Message to the Verkhovna Rada and presented state awards to Ukrainian defenders
Since the start of war, 94,000 tenders for UAH 120 billion held on Prozorro
More than 700 critical infrastructure facilities damaged in Ukraine since the beginning of full-scale russian invasion
MFA of Ukraine expresses a strong protest in connection with the illegal entry of the official of the administration of the President of the Russian Federation Serhii Kiriyenko to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhia region, including his stay at the Ukrainian nuclear facility – the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
Comment of the MFA of Ukraine on the decree of the president of the russian federation “On certain issues of acquiring citizenship of the russian federation”
WAR ROOM
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The total combat losses of the Russian forces from 24.02 to 28.12:
personnel ‒ about 103770 (+550) killed,
tanks ‒ 3017 (+1),
APV ‒ 6037 (+13),
artillery systems – 1999 (+1),
MLRS – 418,
Anti-aircraft warfare systems ‒ 212,
aircraft – 283,
helicopters – 267,
UAV operational-tactical level – 1707,
cruise missiles ‒ 653,
warships / boats ‒ 16,
vehicles and fuel tankers – 4660 (+8),
special equipment ‒ 179.
The three hundred and eighth day of the russian large-scale invasion.
The enemy continues offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka areas and tries to improve the tactical position in the Lyman areas. In other directions, the enemy is defending.
The situation remains stable in the Volyn, Polisiya, Siverskiy and Slobozhanskiy directions, no signs of the formation of offensive groups of the occupiers have been detected. On the last one, areas of Veterinarne, Ohirtseve, Gatishche, Vovchansk, Staritsa, Dvorichna, Novomlynsk settlements of the Kharkiv region were subjected to artillery and mortar shelling.
On the Kupyansk and Lyman directions, the enemy shelled the areas of more than
20 settlements. Among them are Sinkivka, Vilshana, Kupyansk, Kislivka and Krokhmalne of the Kharkiv region; Stelmakhivka, Ploshanka, Chervopopivka and Dibrova in the Luhansk region, as well as Yampolivka in the Donetsk region.
Areas of more than 20 settlements were also affected by fire in the Bakhmut direction. In particular, these are Spirne, Bilogorivka, Soledar, Hryhorivka, Bakhmutske, Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut, Kostyantynivka, Mayorsk and New York in Donetsk region.
In the Avdiyivka direction, the enemy fired from tanks, mortars and barrel artillery at the districts of Berdychiv, Avdiyivka, Pervomaiskyi, Maryinka and Novomykhailivka of the Donetsk region.
Vremivka, Velyka Novosilka, Vugledar, and Prechistivka in Donetsk region came under the influence of fire in the Novopavlovsk direction.
In the Zaporizhzhya and Kherson directions, the Russian occupiers terrorized residents of more than 25 settlements with artillery fire. Among them are Gulyaipole, Malynivka, Charivne and Dorozhnianka in the Zaporizhzhia region and Respublikanets, Kozatske and Lviv in the Kherson region. Once again, the civilian infrastructure of Antonivka, Kherson region, and the city of Kherson itself were damaged by enemy shelling. There are victims among the civilian population.
russian occupiers continue to die ingloriously in Ukraine. In the Zaporizhzhya region, the destruction of one S300 anti-aircraft missile system, 8 units of military equipment of various types and types of ammunition was confirmed in the previous days. More than 150 servicemen were injured. The number of those killed is being verified.
At the same time, in the temporarily occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhya region, russian servicemen and mercenaries of the occupation forces are massively leaving their places of service. Separate divisions of the russian guard were sent to the city of Primorsk for search operations. According to preliminary information, more than 200 people are wanted.
During the current 24 hours, the Ukrainian aviation carried out 4 strikes on the areas where the invaders were concentrated, and units of the missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit 2 control points, 2 areas of concentration of manpower and the enemy’s ammunition warehouse.
POLICY
President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine delivered the annual Message to the Verkhovna Rada and presented state awards to Ukrainian defenders
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered the annual Message to the Verkhovna Rada on the internal and external situation of Ukraine.
From the rostrum of the Parliament, the Head of State emphasized that this year, thanks to Ukraine, the world believed that values give strength, and was convinced that tyranny will lose, and freedom will definitely be victorious.
“It was Ukraine that united the European Union. It turned out that it is possible! And now Europe defends itself. Europe overcomes crises. And this is despite the colossal resources thrown by Russia to break our continent,” he said.
According to the President, now the world is interested in what else Ukraine can give to it and to Europe.
“Ukraine cements. It cements the European Union and the entire free world with the struggle for freedom and peace. This is our main achievement in foreign policy for the past year,” the Head of State noted.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the majority of citizens in the countries of the European Union supported the idea of Ukraine joining the EU, so the time has come to start negotiations on our country’s membership in the European Union.
He urged to thank the Ukrainian warriors who are gaining peace for Ukraine and who are the hope of millions of people for life, Europe’s hope for peace, and the world’s hope for the fact that the time of empires has passed.
The President noted that the Ukrainian army managed to liberate more than 1,800 cities and villages from Russian occupation. The Head of State noted that the world helps Ukraine, in particular by providing advanced weapons.
“A year ago it seemed impossible that our country would have Patriot air defense systems. Now we have such an agreement. I am grateful to our strategic partners! This is a special sign of trust in Ukraine. This is a true alliance with the United States of America. We have achieved this,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
At the same time, the President expressed his conviction: the time will come when Ukrainian weapons brands will be of interest to the world as well.
“We are capable of producing our missiles, our naval drones, we are already doing it, armored vehicles, aircraft and other types of weapons. We are already doing it,” he said.
In order to achieve all the set goals and to realize all the possibilities of Ukraine, the President called to preserve the unity of society despite any personal emotions and interests.
In order to strengthen security, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine must constantly look for new friends and alliances, new growth for the economy and society.
In particular, according to him, the Ukrainian state should become a leader in the development of modern “green” energy, which will make it possible to create a decentralized energy system that cannot be destroyed by missile strikes.
Also, according to the Head of State, Ukraine should become a leader in the digital transformation of the state and society: complete the total digitization of all permits and public services and start spreading positive experience in the world, which will help our country secure new alliances, new political and economic ties, in particular with African states and other countries of the Global South.
In addition, Ukraine will be a leader in global efforts to guarantee the world’s food security. This will be facilitated by the implementation of the grain export initiative and the “Grain from Ukraine” program, which have already returned vital food stability to the world and made it possible to save millions of jobs for Ukrainians, the President stated.
Another important security element, according to the Head of State, is business and taxes. Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked everyone who maintains the functioning of their business, provides jobs and pays taxes. He emphasized that the financing of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is primarily an internal resource from Ukrainian taxes, duties, bonds and other similar sources.
“Of course, the existing tax system is convenient neither for those who pay taxes nor for those who collect taxes. It is also not convenient for those of our people who receive salaries and pensions from these taxes. But it is extremely important for us to reach a national agreement on this issue,” the Head of State noted.
The President emphasized that the reconstruction of Ukraine after hostilities is a component of justice.
“We have to raise from the ruins the territory entered by the Russian invaders after February 24. In the same way, we will restore the normality of life in the territory of Donbas and Crimea, which were illegally occupied in 2014 and have been brought to the point of disaster by the occupiers over the time that has passed,” he stressed.
In this context, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on people’s deputies, together with the government and the President’s Office, to develop a legislative framework for giving priority participation in reconstruction projects to those companies and businesses that were in Ukraine or came to our country during the war, or left the Russian market after the start of a full-scale invasion.
In the context of ensuring justice, the Head of State mentioned the creation of a tribunal for the crime of aggression, as well as the development and implementation of an international compensation mechanism.
“No crime committed by the occupiers in Ukraine can go unpunished,” he stressed.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also emphasized: The goal of restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine always goes hand in hand for us with another goal of freeing all Ukrainians who are held in Russian captivity or in prisons, as well as all those who were forcibly deported from our land. The President reminded that after February 24, Ukraine managed to free 1,456 people from Russian captivity, but there is much more work ahead.
In addition, according to the Head of State, Ukraine should ensure that millions of our citizens, who found refuge from the war abroad, do not become refugees, but want to return home.
“We have to make sure that when the world sees the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag of ours, they will know that it is about freedom and about people who have a strong home and who will always be helped – no matter what happens to them. Because we are all Ukrainians,” the President said.
The Head of State also presented commander of the HIMARS battery, Captain Pavlo Cherniavskyi, who was present in the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada, who presented his award “Cross of Combat Merit” to President of the United States Joseph Biden, with a special symbol – Command Coin, which the leader of the United States gave to the Ukrainian military in return.
“Mr. Captain! Pavlo! I have to give this Command Coin to you now. Once again, I want to thank President Biden, both parties of Congress and every American family for the historical support of Ukraine and our citizens,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
After delivering the Message, the President of Ukraine presented state awards to Ukrainian defenders who were invited to the Parliament.
Full speech: https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/vistup-prezidenta-zi-shorichnim-poslannyam-do-verhovnoyi-rad-80113
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
Since the start of war, 94,000 tenders for UAH 120 billion held on Prozorro
Despite the difficult economic conditions during the full-scale war, the electronic procurement platform Prozorro remains an effective tool. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Nadiia Bigun, commenting on the annual results of the Prozorro electronic public procurement system.
“The results of work in 2022 show that, despite all the difficulties and challenges, the Prozorro electronic procurement system works without failures and demonstrates flexibility and ability to change, even in wartime. Moreover, international partners also highly appreciated the efficiency of Ukrainian public procurement. The Prozorro e-procurement system, including the Prozorro Market electronic catalogues, was recognized as meeting the requirements for e-procurement for World Bank-financed operations,” said Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Nadiia Bigun.
As for financial results, since the beginning of the war, Prozorro platform can boast with the following achievements:
94,000 tenders for UAH 120 billion have been held;
more than 23,000 enterprises became participants of competitive procurement;
the difference between the total amount that public procurers planned to spend on their procurements and the amount for which contracts were concluded through tender procedures amounted to UAH 6 billion;
in total, more than 2 million contracts for UAH 311 billion were reported in the electronic system.
After the Government returned mandatory procurement to Prozorro in July 2022, about half of the pre-war level of procurement takes place in the system. This reduction can be explained both by the reduction of expenditures for non-critical needs and by the fact that procurement for defense and critical infrastructure is carried out without the use of Prozorro.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Cabinet of Ministers has changed the rules of public procurement to adapt them to the new reality, which requires faster provision of needs. Thus, thanks to the new procedure – open bidding with specific features, which was introduced by Resolution No. 1178, it was possible to reduce the average duration of the tender by almost half – to 22 days.
Instead, the procedure of requesting the price of the offer in Prozorro Market can be carried out even faster, its average duration is 11 days. Thanks to the new rules, procuring entities can use Prozorro Market without any limitations on the amount, which significantly reduces the administrative burden on procuring entities. As a result, the volume of procurement in the electronic catalog has tripled compared to 2021 – up to UAH 1.2 billion.
More than 700 critical infrastructure facilities damaged in Ukraine since the beginning of full-scale russian invasion: Yevhenii Yenin
In total, more than 35,000 facilities have been destroyed as a result of russian attacks. This was stated by First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Yevhenii Yenin on the air of the UAtogether telethon.
“More than 35,000 facilities in Ukraine have been destroyed as a result of russian attacks. Out of almost 30,000 recorded attacks since the invasion, 702 critical infrastructure facilities have been damaged. We are talking about gas pipelines, power substations, bridges,” Yevhenii Yenin said.
He noted that in just one day the police received information about shelling of 27 settlements.
“Most attacks were recorded in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. More than 5,000 attacks have been recorded there since the beginning of the war. Kharkiv region suffers the most, with more than 11,700 attacks,” said Yevhenii Yenin.
The First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs also noted that de-occupation measures continue in Kharkiv region, in particular to identify collaborators.
“In Kharkiv region, investigators of the National Police have already documented more than 4,500 war crimes, and since the beginning of the invasion this figure has reached more than 52,000 criminal proceedings on the facts of crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine by servicemen of the russian federation and their accomplices. In total, over 2,200 criminal proceedings have been initiated in Ukraine on the facts of cooperation with the aggressor state,” Yevhenii Yenin said.
Besides, Yevhenii Yenin spoke about the work of Cyberpolice. According to him, Cyberpolice have processed almost 40,000 dossiers on servicemen of the russian army.
“There are more than 10 projects to collect information about the military of russia and belarus. Cyberpolice is also actively involved in the fight on the information front, one of specific areas is the blocking of enemy disinformation. More than 8,000 russian resources from different spheres have already been blocked. One of the key tasks of the enemy is to create chaos, spread anti-government and anti-military sentiments, attempt to discredit the leadership of the Armed Forces and the State and thus to persuade Ukraine to humiliating negotiations,” said the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Statement of the MFA of Ukraine on Russia’s New Illegal Actions against the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses a strong protest in connection with the illegal entry of the official of the administration of the President of the Russian Federation Serhii Kiriyenko to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhia region, including his stay at the Ukrainian nuclear facility – the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
Such illegal actions by officials of the aggressor state are yet another gross violation of international law and the legislation of Ukraine. This step by the Kremlin also demonstrates its complete disregard for the demands of the three resolutions of the IAEA Board of Governors, that call upon the Russian Federation to immediately withdraw its military and other personnel from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, in order for the competent Ukrainian authorities to regain full control of the plant to ensure its safe and secure operation.
We count on the effective and efficient efforts of the IAEA Member States, as well as IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, in countering Russia’s crimes against Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and cynical disregard for current nuclear safety and security standards.
We call on the partner states and EU institutions to speed up the introduction of effective measures to respond to the ongoing criminal actions of the Russian Federation in relation to nuclear facilities in Ukraine, including the expansion of sanctions against the Russian state corporation Rosatom, its affiliated companies and institutions, as well as other key factors of nuclear energy Russia. We put particular emphasize on the urgency of working out the mechanisms for the complete termination of cooperation with the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear technologies, as well as the suspension of the rights and privileges of the Russian Federation within the IAEA.
We expect a consistent and uncompromising position of all members of the international community in ensuring binding political, economic and legal consequences for the terrorist state for all its crimes and illegal actions. We emphasize the importance of bringing all criminals to justice and the irreversibility of punishment.
Comment of the MFA of Ukraine on the decree of the president of the russian federation “On certain issues of acquiring citizenship of the russian federation”
On December 26, the president of the russian federation signed another worthless decree on the procedure for acquiring russian citizenship by citizens of Ukraine.
This time it concerns Ukrainian citizens who lived or live in the temporarily occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions of Ukraine during the full-scale aggression of russia against our country.
The decree that approves simplified procedures for renunciation of Ukrainian citizenship and acquisition of russian citizenship is null and void, and testifies to russia’s unwillingness to negotiate, its leadership’s desire to continue the war, the absorption of the territory of Ukraine, forced assimilation and genocide of the Ukrainian people.
Forced imposition of russian citizenship on Ukrainian citizens, who as a result of russian aggression found themselves in inhuman conditions and were deprived of the fundamental right to free choice of citizenship, confirms the criminal nature of the totalitarian russian regime.
Particularly outrageous is the procedure of issuing russian passports, without consent of the recipients, to Ukrainian children and adolescents aged 14 to 18 years old forcibly displaced to the territory of the russian federation, which is a flagrant violation of fundamental human rights and proof of genocide of Ukrainians committed by russia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns the enactment of this document, regards it as another crime of russia against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, which grossly violates the Constitution and laws of our country, current norms of international law and international obligations of russia.
The consequences of this and other worthless normative acts of the russian federation in relation to citizens of Ukraine will have no legal effect, will never be recognized by Ukraine or the vast majority of UN member states.
The decree adds to the list of crimes committed during the armed aggression of russia, which will be tried within the framework of the international tribunal against the leadership of the russian federation.
