Conscription in occupied Ukraine, Russians angry over Makiyivka, $700 billion in damages

• Invading Russian forces are planning a new round of mobilization in southern Ukraine.

According to Ukraine’s Center for National Resistance, this will mean the large-scale forcible conscription of Ukrainian civilians to fight against the Ukrainian Armed Forces – an act internationally recognized as a war crime. The CNR calls on residents of the temporarily occupied territories to ignore Russia's “passportization” campaign and immediately leave the occupied territories so as not to become a resource for the enemy.

• A devastating Ukrainian HIMARS strike on a Russian base in Makiyivka, Donetsk Oblast, on Dec. 31 generated significant criticism of Russia’s military leadership – inside Russia.

The strike, which Ukraine alleges killed at least 400 Russian soldiers and wounded an additional 300, was so large-scale because the location struck is said to have been an ammo dump playing dual-role as a barracks – an oversight so massive it’s prompted Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to start an investigation into the matter.

• Russian troops started shooting civilians after receiving news of Ukrainian strikes at their warehouses and barracks.

“They see that warehouses with ammunition explode, they see that barracks explode with hundreds of soldiers dying there; this makes them lose their minds,” said Luhansk governor Serhiy Hayday. “We have information, which is being verified, about drunk troops shooting at civilians.”

• Key participants of pro-Russian protests in Germany are bound by shared far-right views or ties to Russia.

In a new investigation, Reuters journalists identified some of the most prominent individuals who advocated for “peace” with Russia and for an end to German support for Ukraine. In just one example, a participant in a pro-Russian rally in Cologne in September 2022 was Max Schlund (formerly Rostislav Teslyuk), a former officer of the Russian Air Force. He changed his name after moving to Germany 10 years ago.

• A series of explosions rocked Novy Oskol in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast.

In videos posted online, a thick column of black smoke can be seen rising above the settlement. According to local residents, a military facility is burning in the town, with an ammunition cook-off underway. Local governor Andrey Gridnev claimed the accident was merely a “fire at a temporary construction site,” as a result of workplace negligence.

• The Cabinet of Minister have continued export bans on a number of Ukrainian commodities.

These commodities include natural gas of Ukrainian origin, liquid fuel (fuel oil), edible salt, and gold and silver in unprocessed or semi-processed forms, as well as in powdered forms. Quotas for the export of anthracite, coal and briquettes derived from it, pellets and similar types of solid fuels, as well as waste and scrap of precious metals, are also set at zero.

• The average price of a hectare of Ukrainian farmland is around $1,435.

That sum is derived from around 41,979 in the land market in Ukraine, covering in total 77,668 hectares of farmland, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. This is 38% more than in November and 47% more than in the same period of the previous year. The price of one hectare of land in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, which tops the land price rating, is UAH 292,700, or $8,004.

• Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has already caused $700 billion in damage.

PM Denys Shmyhal stated that Kyiv, together with the World Bank, plans to conduct another thorough verification of exactly how much funding Ukraine would need to recover after the war.

• These massive damages are prompting the U.S. to pressure Switzerland to channel Russian funds frozen there into compensation.

Swiss publication NeueZürcher Zeitung says that these frozen assets total almost $8 billion, and include 15 pieces of real estate. According to the Swiss Bankers Association, Russian assets kept in Switzerland are estimated at $200 billion, but most of the funds belong to individuals who are not subject to international sanctions.

• Germany is also open to the idea of using frozen Russian funds as compensation for Ukraine, but hasn’t taken an official position on the matter just yet.

In particular, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wants Russia to pay for the damages caused in Ukraine. The former co-leader of Germany’s Greens, who is a long-time advocate of a tougher stance on the Kremlin, insists that seizing at least some of the frozen assets needs to be an option. At the same time, Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who heads the pro-business Free Democrats, is more cautious.

• The day’s long read: The towers of the Kremlin come into play: The conditions under which Putin will be removed from power

Former foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin lays out the conditions in which Putin would be faced with an internal revolution.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine