Day: January 2, 2025

Balakliia and Izium are considered key targets for the enemy because of their strategic location. Through these areas, Russia could attempt flanking maneuvers to advance on the Donetsk region, stated Ivan Tymochko, head of the Council of Reservists of the Ground Forces, in a commentary to the RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel.

“Balakliia and Izium are in the way. From the north, they lead towards Chuhuiv and Kharkiv, and from the southwest, they open the way to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk,” Tymochko explained.

He noted that these cities hold significant strategic importance for the further advance of Russian forces.

Tymochko emphasized that controlling these territories would enable the enemy to launch offensives from two directions simultaneously. According to him, Russian forces had planned their campaign in the Kharkiv region with the goal of regaining lost positions.

The enemy’s strategy, according to Tymochko, was to bypass defense positions and renew the advance on the Donetsk region. He highlighted that the Russian army realized it could not capture Chasiv Yar through a frontal assault and might resort to flanking maneuvers.

“This was their calculation. They saw they couldn’t take Chasiv Yar through a frontal assault. The fighting continues now, as it lies on the route towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. So they tried a flanking maneuver – or, rather, they might try again,” Tymochko stated.

He also stressed that current discussions about such enemy actions indicate that this scenario is once again being considered.

Earlier today, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said that the cities of Izium and Balakliia in the Kharkiv region were being prepared for an all-around defense.

According to him, the construction of fortifications continues and these are planned activities.

Moreover, yesterday, Andrii Rubtsov, the communications officer of the 116th separate mechanized brigade, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces recorded attempts by Russians to cross the Oskil River in the Kharkiv region on inflatable boats, but all attempts were unsuccessful.

Finnish law enforcement suspects another crew member of a Russian shadow fleet tanker in the severing of underwater cables, bringing the total number of suspects to eight, Yle reports.

The list of suspects has grown to include another crew member, who has also been barred from leaving Finland.

“The number of individuals prohibited from traveling may change as the preliminary investigation progresses,” police clarified.

The crew includes citizens of Georgia and India, but the authorities have not disclosed the nationalities of the suspects.

Police also emphasized that the crew members of the Eagle S tanker, suspected of cutting underwater cables, are forbidden from leaving the vessel.

According to law enforcement, the active initial phase of the investigation will last several weeks, and the overall investigation will take at least a month. Technical investigations and crew interrogations are currently underway on the vessel.

Cable cut in the Baltic Sea

Recently, underwater cables between Finland and Estonia were damaged in the Baltic Sea.

After that, Finland detained the Eagle S, a tanker of the Russian shadow fleet that was sailing in the area where the cables were broken.

Recently it became known that Finland suspects seven crew members of aggravated vandalism. They were banned from leaving the country.