Tracker: Ukraine War Casualties (Updated Jan 2024)
Wednesday saw the greatest prisoner of war exchange since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began, raising optimism that the exchanges may resume after they ceased last summer. Russia confirmed the trade, claiming to have received 248 POWs from Ukraine, while Ukraine claimed to have received back 230 military members as well as civilians who had been taken prisoner.
The United Arab Emirates mediated the prisoner swap, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The exchange takes place in response to the halt in prisoner exchanges at the end of the previous summer, which prompted frequent demonstrations by the relatives of POWs demanding a return to the exchanges. Since their loved ones were taken prisoner by Russia early in the conflict, many families have not heard from their loved ones.
Geographical Context
The commander of the ground forces of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Russian troops were still advancing in Bakhmut and Kupyan on the eastern front, with the combat in Bakhmut being especially fierce. According to Syrskyi, Russian soldiers were reorganizing ahead of a potential fresh attack after suffering casualties in Lyman.
Russia said that four people were hurt when one of its planes unintentionally attacked Petropavlovka, a hamlet in southwest Russia, on Tuesday. Along with cars, homes, a school, and a few administrative buildings also sustained damage.
Timeline and Historical Context
In an effort to severely curtail Russian cash streams, the European Union levied sanctions against Alrosa, the largest diamond mining company in the world. Pavel Alekseevich Marinychev, the CEO of the business, was also punished. The EU claims that over 90% of all Russian diamond output comes from Alrosa. Denys Shmyhal, the prime minister of Ukraine, stated that his nation will require about $37 billion in foreign aid this year and that Kyiv is reliant on “stable and timely assistance” from its allies to sustain its economy.
Involved Parties
Radoslaw Sikorski, the foreign minister of Poland, stated that Western nations ought to impose harsher sanctions on Russia and provide Kiev with long-range missiles so that it may hit “launch sites and command centers.” In order to provide Ukrainian pilots with training on the US-made aircraft, Norway is scheduled to dispatch two F-16 fighter planes to Denmark. To assist with the pilots’ training, ten Norwegian instructors have already been dispatched to Denmark.
Humanitarian Aspects
Russia unleashed four missiles on the eastern town of Avdiivka, resulting in one fatality and one injury, according to Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin in a Telegram message. The town, which is near Donetsk and is under Russian occupation, has seen weeks of nonstop conflict.
Russia’s military may have modified its assault plan in Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defense, so that it targets the nation’s defense sector rather than its energy infrastructure like it did the previous winter. In its most recent intelligence report, the ministry stated that “Russian planners almost certainly recognise the growing importance of relative defense industrial capacity as they prepare for a long war.”
Military Terminology
According to regional governor Andriy Raikovych, at a briefing on Thursday, there was a missile strike on the town of Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine that resulted in one civilian death and eight injuries, as reported by Reuters. He added that Russia had most likely launched the strike with an X-59 missile. Iran is to supply Russia with short-range ballistic missiles, enabling Moscow to more effectively attack the infrastructure of Ukraine.
International Response
On Thursday, Russian citizenship might be obtained for foreign people and their families by those who fight for Russia in Ukraine, according to a directive signed by President Vladimir Putin. According to the directive, those who entered into agreements during what Moscow refers to as its “special military operation” in Ukraine are eligible to apply for Russian passports for themselves, their partners, their kids, and their parents.
Media Coverage
Following a recent round of intense Russian airstrikes on the nation, NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg will call a meeting between diplomats from the alliance and authorities from Ukraine on January 10, the transatlantic military group announced on Thursday. According to a NATO spokeswoman, Kyiv requested the conference, which would take the shape of the recently established NATO-Ukraine Council, in response to missile and drone strikes on people in Ukraine’s cities and towns. President Vladimir Putin issued a warning that a Ukrainian airstrike on the Russian city of Belgorod, which Moscow claimed killed 25 civilians, would “not go unpunished” as part of Russia’s stepped-up attacks during the New Year’s holiday.
