24 Dec: Finally! First F-16 squadron already terrorizing Russian aviation - Reporting from Ukraine

Day 669: Dec 24

Today, the biggest news comes from the south.

After Ukrainian forces had conducted a successful aerial ambush on the Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers and multiple Russian military bloggers had confirmed the deaths of their comrades, there was palpable suspense on the front line, and everyone waited for the reaction of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Today, the Russian Ministry of Defense finally published a report, and interestingly, instead of confirming the loss of 3 jets in the south, they claimed that they shot down 4 Ukrainian jets in the south.

Ukrainian fighters operating in Krynky reported that not a single bomb had been dropped on their positions since the reported interception of the Russian jets. Russian sources also did not publish any new videos of the strikes, further confirming that the ambush did happen and the Russian Ministry of Defense is trying to conduct the usual retribution information operation.

Moreover, some of the most prominent Russian sources reported that Ukrainians have already received a squadron of F-16 fighter jets and dispersed them throughout the airfields in western Ukraine. And this is not unlikely because even the Institute for the Study of War noted that based on the recent Estonian Ministry of Defense strategy document, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium had to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine before the end of this year. This gave rise to even more speculation about the recent ambush and why Russian aviation has been really quiet.

The lack of airstrikes alleviated the pressure on the Ukrainian bridgehead on the eastern bank of the river and allowed Ukrainians to increase the pace of their offensives. And such a relief came in handy because, over the previous days, Russian forces had conducted a series of powerful attacks. The main Russian attack was directed towards the central part of the village, where Russians tried to split Ukrainian forces and attack them from multiple sides. A Ukrainian fighter reported that the Ukrainians repelled the supporting flank attacks, however, Russians in the center continued to push and even established their positions. The clashes did not cease, and Ukrainians tried to prevent Russians from expanding their foothold. According to a Ukrainian marine, eventually, they cut off the Russian group from the mainland and forced them to hide from constant fire inside the houses. Once Russians entered them, Ukrainian M777 artillery crews made sure to level these houses with the ground. Russians reportedly sent a rescue unit with 2 armored fighting vehicles and 20 soldiers to distract Ukrainians and give Russians a chance to escape the trap, but it was too late, and Ukrainians destroyed the rescue unit as well. The fight ended around the time the Russian jets were shot down, allowing Ukrainians to reconsolidate control over the central part of the settlement.

Ukrainian reconnaissance drone operators reported that Russians tried to conduct reconnaissance in the forest at night. Ukrainian forces recently strengthened their electronic warfare system even more, and, according to Madiar, just over the last day, Ukrainians intercepted 35 Russian drones. It seems like some Russian units ran out of drones, which is why their commanders forced them to conduct reconnaissance by foot. Unfortunately for Russians, the area was surveilled with mine-dropping drones.

But the main job of Ukrainian drone operators is to destroy as much Russian equipment as possible. The commander of the Madiar’s Birds Drone Detachment posted a video showing how his unit destroyed around 15 more pieces of equipment over the last 2 days. A third of them were armored fighting vehicles, another third were trucks, and the remaining were various cars. The basic tactic used is the following. Ukrainians are identifying the roads and especially intersections that Russians use the most, then distantly mine these areas with drones at night and in the morning go around and finish the immobilized vehicles. The tactic is extremely effective because Russians do not have enough time to organize evacuations.