Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Monday, January 20, 2025, discover the latest news around this conflict.
Two localities in the East
The Russian army claimed Monday the conquest of two localities in eastern Ukraine, one of which is six kilometers south of Pokrovsk, a key town for the logistics of Ukrainian forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily statement that it had taken control of Shevchenko, south of Pokrovsk, as well as Novoyegorivka, a village in the Lugansk region. Despite heavy losses, the Russian army has been advancing for months against Ukrainian forces lacking men and less well armed.
Two generals arrested
The Ukrainian Investigative Bureau (DBR) announced on Monday the arrest of two generals and an army colonel whose“inaction” and the “neglect” had “permit” for Russia to occupy part of the Kharkiv region (north-east) in May 2024. Russia, which launched the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, also began a surprise offensive at the beginning of May 2024 through the border of the Kharkiv region.
Although the Ukrainian army managed to stop it, it was unable to retake this area where Russian strikes razed several localities and led to the flight of tens of thousands of civilians. Among the imprisoned soldiers are a former commander of the Kharkiv battle group, the former commander of the 125th territorial defense brigade and the former commander of a battalion. Their “careless attitude” had allowed Russia to penetrate up to 10 kilometers deep into Ukraine, which lost control of part of its border, the DBR said in a statement.
-“The actions of the commanders resulted in the loss of personnel and weapons and failed the defense of the state border in their area of responsibility”he continued. The senior officers are notably accused of having poorly coordinated the defense of this sector, of not having organized artillery and aviation support and of not having prepared the fortifications, according to the DBR press release. The ex-battalion commander is separately suspected of having deserted the battlefield, the DBR added. The men risk up to 10 years in prison, according to the same source.
Donations from a Russian production company
The Mosfilm company, established in 1920, donated old Russian tanks to the army to support the war in Ukraine, reports Geo. A welcome gesture since Russia has lost nearly 3,500 heavy vehicles since the start of the invasion, with 2,484 tanks destroyed, 158 damaged, 374 abandoned and 533 captured by the adversary, according to The War Zone.
“In 2023, we handed over to the Armed Forces 28 T-55 tanks, 8 PT-76 tanks, 6 infantry fighting vehicles and 8 trucks that we had in our military department“, Mosfilm director General Karen Shakhnazarov told Vladimir Putin during a meeting in the Kremlin on Wednesday.
As reported The War Zonethis given forty armored vehicles should not really change the situation on the front, the reasons? These are in particular very old tanks dating from the mid-20th century.
