Current War Situation in Ukraine (December 16 Update)

Current War Situation in Ukraine

Total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.2022 to 15.12.2023

  • personnel ‒ about 343890 (+1090) persons,
  • tanks ‒ 5706 (+14),
  • APV ‒ 10654 (+38),
  • artillery systems – 8099 (+11),
  • MLRS – 920 (+0),
  • anti-aircraft warfare systems ‒ 605 (+0),
  • aircraft – 324 (+0),
  • helicopters – 324 (+0),
  • UAV operational-tactical level – 6226 (+20),
  • cruise missiles ‒ 1608 (+2),
  • warships / boats ‒ 22 (+0),
  • submarines – 1 (+0),
  • vehicles and fuel tanks – 10699 (+24),
  • special equipment ‒ 1189 (+4)

Ballistic missiles on Kyiv

 

  • Around 3 a.m. (December 13), russia attacked Kyiv with 10 ballistic missiles.
  • Targeted civilian infrastructure objects of Kyiv.
  • Ukrainian defenders destroyed 10 out of 10 missiles.
  • Fallen debris damaged residential buildings, a hospital, a kindergarten, and cars in 4 districts of the capital.
  • 53 people were wounded, including 6 children.

 

Photo: https://www.slovoidilo.ua/

Kinzhal strike

  • On December 14, during the take-offs of MiG-31K, russians launched aeroballistic missiles Kh-47M2.
  • There were also false targets.
  • One Kinzhal hypersonic missile was shot down by air defence in Kyiv oblast.
  • One missile struck Khmelnytskyi oblast .

 

Drone attack on the port

7-hr siege of Odesa

  • Around 7 p.m. (December 13), russia attacked Odesa with waves of drones.
  • It was lasting for over seven hours.
  • russia launched 39 Shahed-136/131 drones. Ukraine knocked out all.
  • Attacked port infrastructure, as sending drones along the Ukrainian-Romanian state border. The falling wreckage damaged the storage facilities of two grain silos.
  • Dormitory, houses, and warehouses in Izmail District were damaged.
  • Total of 11 people, including three children, were injured in the attack.

 

Massive drone attack on Kyiv

  • On the night of 15-16 December, russia attacked Kyiv in groups, waves and from different directions.
  • Air defence downed 30 (out of 31).
  • That was the sixth air raid on Kyiv since the beginning of the month.

"Judging by the weapons used, the enemy seems to have returned to the tactics they had in May 2023. Back then, they constantly changed, combined and alternated the types of airstrikes. Kyiv residents experienced the same scenario in the first half of December. Attack UAVs, cruise missiles from strategic bombers, and Iskander and Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles attack Kyiv one after the other, replacing each other."

                                                                                                                                          Source: Serhii Popko, Head of Kyiv City Military Administration, on Telegram

Export

 

  • In November, 1.6 mln tons of agricultural products were sent for export through the ports of Great Odesa, and 2.7 mln tons through the ports of the Danube.
  • In total, 4.3 mln tons were exported by water transport, which is the highest figure since April of this year.
  • December 5 -200 ships have already passed through the temporary export sea corridor.
  • 7 mln tons of goods were sent for export.
  • 70% – agricultural products.
  • 226 vessels passed to the ports of Great Odesa.
  • December 1: from the beginning of the 2023/24 MY, grain exports fell by almost a third compared to last year’s figure.
  • December 1: 13 mln tons of grain were sent to foreign markets.
  • December 12: Ukraine exported 2.4 mln tons of rapeseed since the beginning of the season.
  • Export of wheat from the beginning of the 2023/24 MY amounted to 6.1 mln tons.

 

December WASDE (wheat 23/24 MY):

  • production 22.5 mln tons (22/23: 21.5 mln tons)
  • export 12.5 mln tons (22/23: 17.12 mln tons)
  • Since the beginning of the year, 23 new terminals and 20 new cargo transshipment points have been opened in the Danube Ports.
  • A total of 52.8 mln tons of products were transshipped through the ports of Great Odesa and the Danube in 11 months.

May 1 – December 4: 13.12 mln tons of Ukrainian agricultural products transited through Romania:

  • wheat – 5.4 mln tons
  • corn – 4.2 mln tons
  • sunflower oil – 1.9 mln tons
  • rapeseed – 1.3 mln tons
  • sunflower – 130 K tons
  • wheat flour – 14.7 K tons

Border blockade

  • December 1 – Slovak carriers began to block one of the checkpoints on the border with Ukraine.
  • December 4 – checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Slovak border was unlocked.
  • December 11 – one of the Polish checkpoints was unlocked.
  • Other Polish checkpoints have been blocked since November 6.
  • December 11 – Slovak activists continued to block the checkpoint.
  • December 14 – passage of trucks from Ukraine to Slovakia was partially resumed.
  • Exports through checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border fell by 40%.
  • In November, losses from blocking the border by Polish carriers were estimated at 9.3 billion UAH.

 

Photo: https://tsn.ua/

Demining of agricultural land

  • More than 257 K ha of land have been surveyed since the beginning of the year.
  • Since the beginning of the year, nearly 195 K ha have been returned to farmers for economic use.
  • In November, pyrotechnic units surveyed more than 17 K ha of agricultural land.
  • Over the last week of November, more than 3K ha were surveyed and over 1,500 ha were cleared or demined.
  • In November, the largest area of 12,400 ha was surveyed in Kherson oblast to bring agricultural land back into use.
  • In Kharkiv oblast, pyrotechnics surveyed more than 3,500 ha of farmland over the month.
  • More than 1,300 ha were surveyed in Mykolaiv oblast.

    Source: Ministry of Economy of Ukraine

 

Photo: https://texty.org.ua/

Harvesting
Two regions of Ukraine have completed the 2023 harvest

  • Corn harvesting is still in the process in Ukraine. Currently, it has been collected on 88% of the area.
  • Harvesting of other agricultural crops has already been completed. As of mid-December, 78.3 mln tons of the new crop were collected (on an area of 10,471 K ha).

Planting season
Eight regions of Ukraine have finished planting of winter crops

 

As of November 14, 2023

Ukrainian farmers planted almost 5.7 mln hectares of winter crops:

  • wheat – 3968 K hectares;
  • barley – 469 K hectares;
  • rye – 77 K hectares;
  • winter rapeseed – 1,15 mln ha.

 

More than 90% of planned winter crops have already been planted in Ukraine.