Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking energy facilities, Kiev says Moscow is running out of missiles

According to RT, on January 2, Bryansk Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz accused Ukraine of using UAVs to attack an energy facility in the area, causing a village to lose power.

Ukrainian soldiers practice controlling UAVs. Photo: WSJ

"The incident took place in the village of Klimovsky, the power plant caught fire, but there were no casualties. Repairs will be carried out as soon as the fire is extinguished. The hospital and essential facilities have been transferred to a backup power line," Mr. Bogomaz said.

On the same day, Russian air defense forces also announced the shooting down of a reconnaissance UAV in Voronezh. "The UAV was launched from Ukrainian territory, no one was injured in the incident," Voronezh authorities announced.

Since the start of the special operation, Russia has recorded numerous drone attacks in regions close to the Ukrainian border, such as Bryansk, Belgorod and Kursk. The attacks have caused human and property damage, but Kiev has often denied responsibility for such incidents.

Kiev says Russia has only enough missiles for two large-scale strikes.

According to Pravda, on January 2, Director of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency Kyrylo Budanov said that Russia is using about 20,000 missiles and artillery shells per day. Mr. Budanov said that Moscow's production speed cannot meet this demand.

"The enemy did not expect the fighting to last so long and used excessive amounts of artillery and rockets. By the end of last year, they realized that their stockpiles were running low, which led to a reduction in the number of missiles in each attack. Currently, the enemy's missiles and artillery shells are only enough for two more large-scale attacks," Mr. Budanov said.

152mm artillery shell in Ukraine. Photo: DE

However, this intelligence official also admitted that Ukraine's level of equipment consumption is "not small". "The amount of ammunition we use is less than Russia, but it is equal to the maximum production rate of several European countries in a month," Mr. Budanov shared.

In addition, the head of Ukraine's intelligence agency said that the situation in Bakhmut was not "catastrophic", although President Zelensky repeatedly shared about the difficulties here.

Russia shot down 5 Ukrainian military planes in 48 hours

According to TASS, on January 1 (local time), the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the country's air force shot down 5 Ukrainian planes in the last 2 days of 2022.

Specifically, the Russian report said that the country's air force shot down a MiG-29 fighter jet and two Mi-8 helicopters on December 29, 2022. On December 30, 2022, Russian fighter jets shot down two more Ukrainian helicopters in the Donetsk region. In addition to military aircraft, Ukraine also lost nine more UAVs before the new year, including one Bayraktar TB2 UAV.