Day 686 of the Invasion of Ukraine: The Russian Defense Industry Is Slowing Down, Says Zelensky

Day 686 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• The Russian defense industry is visibly slowing down, Zelensky said
• Ukrainian President Zelensky arrived on a surprise visit to Lithuania
• Russia uses missiles from North Korea to shell Ukrainian cities
• Navalny ironically praised the polar conditions in his prison
• "They call us gypsies and beat us" - a Serbian mercenary complained from the Russian command

The Russian defense industry is visibly slowing down, Zelensky said

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were "clear signs of a slowdown" in Russia's defense industry and called for further action to close loopholes in sanctions imposed on Moscow.

In his overnight video address, Zelensky did not provide any evidence for his claim about the state of Russia's defense industry. Russian officials said production of military equipment was ramped up.

"There are clear signs of a slowdown in Russia's defense industry, Zelensky said. But for the results of the sanctions to be 100%, loopholes in the sanctions must also be blocked 100%."

Sergei Chemezov, the head of Russia's state-run defense conglomerate Rostec, told President Vladimir Putin last month that production of many key pieces of equipment had increased significantly over the past two years. In comments posted on the Kremlin website, Chemezov said the production of small arms and artillery ammunition had increased 50 times, the production of light armored vehicles five and a half times, and tanks seven times.

In his comments, Zelensky said that at a meeting of commanders and ministerial staff, arms deliveries and an increase in local production were discussed. Logistics, he said, "must be accelerated." "Despite all the problems in the world, our careful, clear approach to every need, to every opportunity is able to provide the defense forces with everything they need," he said.

The participants also discussed air defense - often cited as a priority for Ukraine - a day after 18 of 51 Russian missiles were destroyed, a much lower takedown rate than normal. Authorities attribute that number to the large number of ballistic missiles launched by Russia, which are more difficult to intercept.

"We analyzed separately and in detail the work of our Air Force, the forces that protect our skies," Zelensky said. "The results of shooting down Russian missiles and drones. What we managed to do. And what we need to do."

Zelensky said last month that Ukraine intends to produce one million drones by 2024.

Ukrainian President Zelensky arrived on a surprise visit to Lithuania

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived today on a visit to Lithuania, and then he will visit Estonia and Latvia, Reuters reported, referring to his post on the X social network.

"Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are our loyal friends and principled partners. Today I arrived in Vilnius before heading to Tallinn and Riga," Zelensky wrote on the X social network.

Zelensky and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda will hold a joint press conference at 11:25 a.m. local time, Lithuania said in a separate statement, adding that the Ukrainian president will also give a speech. The surprise visit to Vilnius, a strong advocate for Kyiv, comes as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine nears its second anniversary.

"The presidents will discuss the war in Ukraine, support for Ukraine and its integration into the European Union and NATO," Nauseda's office said in a statement.

Russia uses missiles from North Korea to shell Ukrainian cities

Russia fired multiple missiles from North Korea into Ukraine on January 6, the White House said on Tuesday.

The United States will ask the UN Security Council to hold Russia accountable, Reuters reports.

Washington and its partners oppose arms transfers between North Korea and Russia, according to a joint statement also signed by the EU, UK, Australia, Canada and other countries.

The statement made it clear that Russia used North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine and in airstrikes against Ukrainian cities on both December 30 and January 2.

"We are deeply concerned about the security implications this cooperation has in Europe, on the Korean Peninsula, in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world," the joint statement said.

Russia stepped up airstrikes over Ukraine in the final days of 2023 and continued to shell cities across the country in the first days of the new year and on New Year's Eve.

At least 31 people were killed and more than 160 wounded in an attack on December 29 that was described as the deadliest since the start of the war. An air attack on cities and military sites with cruise and ballistic missiles was also carried out by Russian forces on January 6.

Navalny ironically praised the polar conditions in his prison

The most famous Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny ironically praised the polar conditions in the prison located beyond the Arctic Circle, where he was transferred shortly before Christmas, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.

On December 25, his supporters reported that Navalny, 47, was in the IK-3 prison colony in Kharp, Yamalo-Nenets Okrug, about 1,900 km northeast of Moscow.

In a new post on "Telegram", Navalny reports that because of his behavior, immediately after he came out of quarantine in the "Polar Wolf" prison colony, he was sent to the penitentiary.

"It hasn't been colder than -32C yet," Navalny said in a sarcasm-laced post. "Nothing invigorates like a walk in Yamal at 6:30 in the morning. Even in this temperature, you can walk for more than half an hour if you manage to grow a new nose, new ears and new fingers," adds the opposition leader.

Navalny also mentioned the scene from the 2015 film The Revenant in which Leonardo DiCaprio hides in the corpse of a dead horse.

"I don't think that would work here. A dead horse would freeze in 15 minutes," Navalny said. "An elephant is needed here, a hot elephant, fried."

The "Polar Wolf" colony is considered one of the worst prisons in Russia. Most prisoners there are convicted of serious crimes. The winter is harsh and over the next week temperatures there will drop to around minus 28 degrees Celsius.

According to information from the Moscow Komsomolets, the prison, which is located about 60 km beyond the Arctic Circle, was established in the 1960s as part of the former Soviet Gulag system of forced labor camps.

"They call us gypsies and beat us" - a Serbian mercenary complained from the Russian command

The commanders of the regiment call us "gypsies" and that they do not understand why we came to Russia to take part in the hostilities against Ukraine.

At first, the attitude of the regiment towards the Serbs was bad, the commanders did not provide us with anything and we had to find our own cars, drones, boots and even water.

Before the New Year, the command of the 119th regiment ordered us to storm the Ukrainian positions, but they gave us only 2-3 magazines each and told us that "the other weapons will be captured during the battle".

Such and other details were described in a video message by the Bosnian Serb Dejan Beric. A well-known mercenary in Donbas, he published it on his profile on the social network "VKontakte".

Beric, who recently joined the ranks of advocates for Vladimir Putin's re-election to the presidency once again, serves with his countrymen in this parachute regiment where they are enlisted. But according to his words, "the command of the regiment is an organized criminal group." After which he added that "I now expect to be put in prison for discrediting the army".

As a confirmation of his words, he also published an address to the Serbs who refused to go to battle under such conditions that they would no longer serve in this regiment and wanted to transfer them to another. "We are Serbian volunteers, we came to fight for Russia, for the Russian people, and we are driven out by drug addicts, alcoholics...", one of them declares. "Except for the machine guns, we bought everything with our personal funds. They told us that normal officers serve here, we want to go home to our families or die with honor," he added.

"We received passports, but that's not why we came," says another, who lists that they were at Avdiivka, Bakhmut, Soledar, but they haven't seen any kind of leave so far, while in normal armies at least they gave a person 15 days to see each other the family. "There is zero respect for volunteers."

Beric also says that the reaction of the military was to declare the Serbs deserters and war criminals. They were taken out of the dugouts, kept in the cold for several days, after which representatives of the military police offered them to sign confessions that they were spies.

"Military police came this morning, broke into the dugout, shot in the air, beat the fighters with the backs of rifles, some even smashed their heads," the Serb's story continues.

Today, however, he said that after his address, he had contacts with the prosecutor's office, with the Chechens, etc. and that if someone digs into the command of the 119th regiment, "certainly some people will be in prison for life". In the same recording, Beric specifies that those who beat his compatriots were not military police at all, but "people from the 119th regiment". They were handed over to the military police of Luhansk.

"Nowhere in the world is there an ideal army, an ideal country, there is nothing ideal", the Serb justifies and adds that he wants to live in a country where the law is respected, not in the West or in "Nazi Ukraine".

Serbs recruited by Russia complain they are treated like cattle & sent on assaults under threat of being shot! If they refuse to fight & ask to be transferred to another unit, they are kicked out of the dugouts into the cold & can sign papers "recognizing themselves as spies" ???? pic.twitter.com/CGCqM9r4vo

— Sharky ???????? ???? ???????? (@Jamie04381095) January 9, 2024

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