Page 9 - UKRRptDec22

aide to President Zelenskiy suggested at the time that the man could be exchanged for Ukrainian POWs held in Russian custody.
In 2017, Boguslaev sold his share in Motor Sich to Chinese investors, but the US pressured Kyiv to block the sale, as the companies engines are considered to have a high military potential. Last year, Zelenskiy ordered the company’s nationalization, amid a legal battle over ownership with the Chinese buyers.
2.4 What comes after Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson?
Another massive missile attack on Ukraine’s residential and energy infrastructure on 15 November was likely Moscow’s retaliation against the humiliating retreat from the Kherson region and, potentially, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement at the G20 summit.
After the pullout from the western Kherson region, Russia is reinforcing defensive lines in the occupied territories and stepping up offensive operations in Donbas.
Inspired by recent successes on the battlefield, Kyiv is unlikely to agree to any territorial concessions and is set to continue its counteroffensive operations.
Neither Russia's withdrawal of its forces from the right bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region last week nor its retaliatory missile strikes earlier today came as a surprise. Russia’s military position in the western Kherson region was becoming increasingly untenable and various officials have been long signaling upcoming “difficult decisions”. While the withdrawal was a sound decision from a military standpoint, it nevertheless constituted another humiliating defeat for Russia, especially as Moscow had deployed some of its best units to the region and suffered significant losses defending it.
In recent months, Russia’s setbacks on the battlefield have been generally followed by retaliatory actions. The latest round of missile strikes will likely aggravate the supply of electricity, heating, and hot water at a time when temperatures are set to drop below freezing point. The situation at the damaged Nova Kakhovka dam in the Kherson region should be watched too, especially after Russian occupation authorities have started leaving the area.
Russia sets eyes on Donbas Russia’s withdrawal from the western Kherson reaffirmed the negative trajectory of the war for Moscow, with Ukrainian forces making major territorial advances for the third consecutive month. As a result, Moscow will likely redouble its efforts to secure the already occupied territories. There are already reports that the Russian troops are setting up multiple defensive lines on the left bank of the Dnipro River, along the northern Crimean border as well as in the Luhansk region.
Besides the reinforcement of the defensive positions, the regrouped forces from the Kherson region, along with the newly mobilized troops, could contribute to Russian offensive operations elsewhere. In the past few days, there has been an intensification of attacks in the Donetsk region, the only area where Russian troops have been able to achieve some minor gains in the past few months. Recall that control of the entire Donbas region is one of the main stated objectives of the so-called special military operation.
Russia’s retreat from the only occupied regional capital located in the recently
9 UKRAINE Country Report December 2022 www.intellinews.com