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Ukrainian territory. It is worth recalling the words
of the Russian Armed Forces spokesperson from
the conclusion of the previous part. In response
to allegations (supported by photos and videos)
that Russian missiles were destroying many
civilian targets, at the end of December, he once
again stated that Russian armed forces precisely
target their objectives, and there is no collateral
damage. Karma returned to him on the second
day of January. In the Russian Voronezh region,
approximately 150 km from the Ukrainian border,
a powerful explosion shook a village early in the
morning on Tuesday, January 2nd. The Russian
army had to admit that "there was an abnormal
release of aerial munitions over the village of
Petropavlovka." The spokesperson also added
that there were no losses. The second claim was
not true. Local authorities initially stated that
six houses were damaged, and four people were
injured. When a video from the affected village
appeared, they had to admit that nine houses
were damaged, with four of them reduced to
bare walls without roofs. Some Russian media
later reported that four people died in the village.
However, information spread on Russian social
networks that the accident claimed as many as
11 lives and left 21 injured.
On the next day, Wednesday, January 3rd,
a glide bomb FAB-500 was found near Belgorod
in Russia. With deployed wings, it landed in
a field and did not explode.
The same incident as in Petropavlovka was
repeated in Russian-occupied Luhansk region
in less than a week, on Monday, January 8th.
This time, an aircraft dropped an FAB-250
bomb on the city of Rubizhne. Fortunately, no
one was harmed. This is in response to the
official Russian claim that "there is no collateral
damage."
In general, the intensity of the Russian
bombing offensive has been decreasing. Most
of the Kremlin's missiles were used up at the
beginning of the month, and gradually, drones
began to play a significant role again. However,
Ukrainian air defense is also starting to wear out
and is not achieving the same success as before.
All too often, a significant portion of the enemy's
attack assets penetrates the defense and hits
targets. It seems that Ukrainian air defense also
needs to conserve ammunition due to restricted
deliveries from the West.
Attacks on Russian Targets
However, Ukraine did not wait for Russian
airstrikes and initiated its own air offensive.
On January 4th, Ukrainian pilots launched
Storm Shadow low-flying missiles from
Su-24M aircraft targeting locations in Yevpatoria
and Sevastopol in the occupied Crimea. Radar
systems and the communication center of the
31st air defense division were hit.
The Ukrainian secret service released
a video in early January showing the attack of
its drones on two Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense
systems near Belgorod. This was apparently
in response to Russian claims that Ukrainians
were attacking civilian targets in the Russian
city of Belgorod. By the way, as mentioned in the
previous section, residents of Belgorod were
posting photos and videos showing rockets or
their parts from Pantsir-S1 systems hitting their
homes or yards.
On January 5th and 6th, the Saki airbase in
the occupied Crimea was repeatedly targeted.
According to pro-Russian social media, the first
attack killed 23 Russian soldiers. In the second
attack, the penetrating warhead of the Storm
Shadow missile destroyed an underground
command post. The number of casualties varies
in different sources, but it is confirmed that
a lieutenant colonel, Alexander Chernobrivyy,
died in the bunker. He was a Su-30SM pilot and
deputy commander of the 43rd separate assault
Unexploded Russian gliding bomb FAB-500, found in a field near Belgorod on January 3.
Pilot Su-30SM, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Chernobryvy, who died on January 6 during an attack on the command
bunker at the Saki base.
HISTORY
INFO Eduard
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March 2024