Victory Chronicles-DAY 1414

Ukraine says it struck an oil depot inside Russia’s Belgorod region and a military warehouse in eastern Ukraine overnight as part of a broader effort to disrupt Moscow’s war logistics. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said units hit the Oskolneftesnab fuel depot near the village of Kotel in Russia’s Belgorod region during on Jan. 6-7, triggering a large fire after fuel storage tanks were damaged. The facility supplies fuel to Russian forces operating near the border, the military said.

In a separate strike, Ukrainian forces hit a logistics warehouse used by Russia’s 20th Motor Rifle Division in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s easternmost Donetsk region, aiming to disrupt supply lines. The extent of the damage in both locations is still being assessed.

The General Staff also said earlier strikes damaged two large storage tanks at the Temp strategic oil reserve in Russia’s Yaroslavl region. 

Ukrainian interceptor drone Saliut targets Shahed drones at high speed. Ukraine is deploying a new interceptor drone, Saliut, designed to hunt and eliminate Russian attack drones and have been already tested in combat, according to its developer. Built with direct input from frontline units, the system focuses on small and midrange unmanned aerial vehicles, including Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia has widely used to strike Ukrainian cities, energy facilities and single-family homes.

Saliut can reach speeds of up to 320 kilometers (about 199 miles) per hour, fast enough to catch incoming drones before they reach their targets. It is equipped with either a low-light camera or thermal imaging and can be fitted with automated target acquisition, allowing operators to lock on within seconds during high-pressure intercepts.

The drone has a combat range of up to 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), a flight time of about 20 minutes and an operational ceiling of roughly 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Developers say it went from concept to its first confirmed intercept in less than two months, with engineers working close to the front. The company says Saliut has already eliminated Shahed, ZALA and Gerbera drones and is now available to verified units through Ukraine’s Brave1 defense innovation platform.

Russian overnight attack injures civilians in Dnipro region, officials say. A large-scale Russian overnight aerial attack struck Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, injuring civilians and damaging homes and infrastructure, emergency officials say. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reports that Russian forces also targeted the Vasylkivka neighborhood in the city of Dnipro. The city of Nikopol was also hit on Jan. 7.

Seven people are reported injured in Dnipro, including two children. Several fires broke out across the city as strikes damaged apartment buildings and single-family homes, as well as administrative buildings, passenger vehicles, critical infrastructure and a gas pipeline. Thick smoke and burning debris filled residential areas as firefighters raced to contain the blazes.

Ukraine says it destroyed key radar of Russian S-300V air defense system. Ukraine says it has destroyed a rare and critical radar component of a Russian S-300V air defense system, dealing a costly blow to Moscow’s battlefield air defenses. According to Ukrainian military officials, the strike eliminated the 9S32 radar, a core element of the Soviet-designed S-300V system used to protect major military sites and troop concentrations.

The radar serves as both a tracking and guidance station and is capable of directing up to 12 guided missiles simultaneously against six separate targets. Without it, the S-300V loses much of its ability to detect and engage aircraft and missiles, effectively being blinded.

The S-300V is a self-propelled surface-to-air and anti-missile platform that was developed during the Soviet era and still fielded by Russian forces. Ukrainian officials describe it as old but powerful and expensive equipment. 

Key Takeaways

1. Ukrainian forces continued their long range strike campaign against Russian military and energy infrastructure overnight on Jan. 5-6.
2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with leaders of states in the Coalition of the Willing in Paris on Jan. 6 to discuss possible security guarantees for post-war Ukraine.
3. A German military document reportedly describes how Russia is using covert attacks against German infrastructure to prepare for a potential Russia-NATO war in the future, in line with ISW’s ongoing assessments.
4. Russian forces recently advanced in the Siversk and Hulyaipole directions.

• • Zelenskyy expects his team to discuss territorial issues and Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with US delegation
  • ABC: Trump demands Venezuela kick out China and Russia, partner only with US on oil
  • US commitment to aid Kyiv against renewed Russian aggression removed from Paris Declaration on Ukraine
  • Romanian president signals readiness to strengthen security in the Black Sea after Paris talks
  • Canada may deploy troops to Ukraine after peace agreement
  • Macron: Several thousand troops could be deployed to Ukraine after ceasefire is reached
  • Sweden willing to provide fighter jets and assist in sea demining after peace is secured
  • Belgian PM: Belgium to provide air and maritime capabilities to support peace in Ukraine
  • Italian PM refuses to send Italian troops to Ukraine as part of security guarantees
  • Starmer says we are closer to peace than ever but Putin is not ready
  • WSJ: Russia sends submarine to accompany shadow fleet tanker evading US Coast Guard