Russia-Ukraine war live: frontline troops suffering from ‘exceptional rat and mice

Both Ukrainian and Russian troops are suffering from “exceptional levels of rat and mice infestation” in some sectors of the frontline, according to UK intelligence.

“,”elementId”:”ccb59b8b-1642-4e81-b3b1-a74ad57768bf”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Ministry of Defence says rodent populations have risen due to milder temperatures in recent months and plenty of food.

“,”elementId”:”651bee64-1c03-4f81-801e-64b6b347fef2″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

It said:

“,”elementId”:”0278b75f-83cb-414b-bd69-414ea8e3811a”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”

\n

This year’s mild autumn, along with ample food from fields left fallow due to the fighting, have likely contributed to the increase in the rodent population.

\n

As the weather has become colder, the animals are likely seeking shelter in vehicles and defensive positions. Rodents will add further pressure to frontline combatants’ morale.

\n

In addition, they pose a risk to military equipment by gnawing through cables – as recorded in the same area during the second world war.

\n

Unverified reports also suggest Russian units starting to suffer from increased sickness cases which the troops attribute to the pest problem.

\n

“,”elementId”:”20a79c53-f994-4a0f-963d-db64354f70cd”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:true,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1703322544000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”04.09 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1703322982000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”04.16 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1703322717000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”04.11 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”04.11″,”title”:”Frontline troops experiencing ‘exceptional levels of rat and mice infestation'”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sat 23 Dec 2023 05.14 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 23 Dec 2023 03.04 EST”},{“id”:”6586991a8f08dc9aada0d2e6″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Every week we wrap up essential coverage of the war in Ukraine, from news and features to analysis, opinion and more.

“,”elementId”:”5fb8e75a-810f-4f43-933a-f652beb9d430″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

You can read a selection below:

“,”elementId”:”da718714-c52c-4f2c-a8d7-0448788116a2″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Mr Fifty Percent: the former Ukraine mayor doing Putin’s work

“,”elementId”:”9ee5fca1-37a0-44e8-8523-7e5eb737ecaf”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Russians were Volodymyr Saldo’s salvation. The wealthy Ukrainian in his 50s had done a stint in the national parliament and won three terms as the mayor of the southern city of Kherson, but at the start of 2022 police had opened a case against him for ordering a contract killing.

“,”elementId”:”485814a4-99d3-44bc-87ab-adf72332d48e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

“I wanted to jail him,” Oleksandr Prokudin, Kherson’s police chief at the time and now the city’s governor, told Tom Burgis as he sat in the basement he uses for meetings since the Russians blew the roof off his office.

“,”elementId”:”c46af747-4c26-4e23-9b74-d6fb4f5fed17″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Detectives had found the intermediary they suspected of sending gangland assassins to shoot one of Saldo’s enemies. And the intermediary had told them it was Saldo who had paid for the hit, Prokudin says. “Then the war happened.”

“,”elementId”:”5d0112a4-1173-4b11-8874-e021e778fc99″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Today, Saldo is beyond the reach of Ukrainian law. He is once again a powerful politician – Vladimir Putin’s chosen ruler of the occupied territory that lies across the river from Kherson. From there, shells, bombs and mortars rain down ceaselessly on the city he used to run.

“,”elementId”:”7b9778b9-45b8-4cb0-a957-31bb34febb4f”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

A Guardian investigation into Saldo’s regime reveals that, under the banner of Russian nationalism, the invaders and their collaborators appear to be using terror tactics to construct on Ukrainian soil an extension of the gangster state Putin has built at home, where cronies grow rich and dissent is punished.

“,”elementId”:”3e175877-0889-4690-91de-eb75df09fe0e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Continue reading here:

“,”elementId”:”5c8a5c5f-efd4-42bb-a886-bbe4e7f024c1″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/23/what-happened-in-the-russia-ukraine-war-this-week-catch-up-with-the-must-read-news-and-analysis”,”text”:”What happened in the Russia-Ukraine war this week? Catch up with the must-read news and analysis”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”role”:”thumbnail”,”elementId”:”43f4d2b3-5a7f-4d09-8248-e39ad4fe5f57″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1703319834000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”03.23 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1703320013000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”03.26 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1703320013000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”03.26 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”03.26″,”title”:”What happened in the war this week?”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sat 23 Dec 2023 05.14 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 23 Dec 2023 03.04 EST”},{“id”:”658661018f08dc9aada0d230″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and military officials said the country’s forces shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber aircraft on the southern front on Friday, hailing it as a success in the 22-month-old war.

“,”elementId”:”a8b5e84e-4643-4aac-a792-a3a1a3ced85c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Reuters reports that the Russian military made no mention of the incident. But Russian bloggers acknowledged the loss, and analysts suggested US-supplied Patriot missiles had probably been used.

“,”elementId”:”1907bc87-7ed9-44ff-af6b-b2aad3cf46ec”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Air force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat described the downing on national television as a “brilliantly planned operation”.

“,”elementId”:”c421d7ba-9fa2-402e-937c-b7f10da556bf”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

“There haven’t been Su-34s for some time in our positive statistics,” he said, citing the model as one of Russia’s most modern aircraft for bombing and other assaults.

“,”elementId”:”fb851ad4-3d2c-40ce-8cd9-0ceca4b9563c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Ukrainian air force commander, Gen Mykola Oleshchuk, wrote on the Telegram messaging app:

“,”elementId”:”f5677647-25b0-4a00-a8c6-79dccd458588″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”

\n

Today at noon in the southern sector – minus three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers!

\n

“,”elementId”:”26ef66eb-8048-4ea0-929d-808d8c768184″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.

“,”elementId”:”e329d5c2-59e3-4dd1-8d77-6f8b3944095c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, praised the Odesa region anti-aircraft unit for downing the planes in Kherson region.

“,”elementId”:”dcb94976-3a3e-43af-a73c-78fb2af4282e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The region was occupied in the first days of Moscow’s February 2022 invasion. Ukrainian forces have sought to regain territory and in November established positions on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson.

“,”elementId”:”f9f8f9ab-6e22-47e0-b28a-5681aa4baca3″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Eurasia Daily, a Russia-based journal, said the Ukrainian account was plausible. Kyiv could have launched Patriot missiles, which have a range of up to 160km (100 miles) against high-altitude targets, from the western side of the Dnipro River, it said.

“,”elementId”:”7a2de671-b815-40fb-bc72-ed1c71da7ddd”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1703318693000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”03.04 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1703319426000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”03.17 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1703319426000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”03.17 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”03.17″,”title”:”Ukraine says it shot down three Russian bomber aircraft”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sat 23 Dec 2023 05.14 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 23 Dec 2023 03.04 EST”},{“id”:”6586608d8f08abff3716be8f”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war.

“,”elementId”:”3527a7dd-c27b-48ad-882e-59b496d00256″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

In our top story, Ukraine says its forces have shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber aircraft on the southern front, hailing it as a success in the 22-month-old war.

“,”elementId”:”010c7158-fd42-4875-bc2d-0b9f657e10b3″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Russian military made no mention of the incident. But Russian bloggers acknowledged the loss, and analysts suggested US-supplied Patriot missiles had probably been used.

“,”elementId”:”aeb399e5-f98c-429e-bee8-c2f5a2972185″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The report was unable to be independently confirmed.

“,”elementId”:”fb3c13d0-3709-4f66-85ba-3710976abebe”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, praised the Odesa region anti-aircraft unit for downing the planes in the Kherson region on Friday.

“,”elementId”:”be1c1c9f-43d0-48a8-81cd-90ff92248247″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

More on that story shortly. In other key developments:

“,”elementId”:”f9c85b21-0fa3-4196-8b24-608334042ff8″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

\n

• Ukraine shot down 24 of 28 Shahed drones Russia launched in an overnight attack that damaged residential buildings in Kyiv and an infrastructure facility and grain warehouse in southern regions, officials said on Friday. Drones hit three storeys of an apartment block in the Ukrainian capital, injuring two people and causing lesser damage to several other residential buildings.

\n

“,”elementId”:”cc4fc1e4-f29d-42b6-ab83-5c2362074fc3″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“height”:”3600″,”width”:”6000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/22ae303bd9c36611f761dbca2f55e786c5127791/0_66_6000_3600/6000.jpg”},{“index”:1,”fields”:{“isMaster”:”true”,”height”:”3600″,”width”:”6000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/22ae303bd9c36611f761dbca2f55e786c5127791/0_66_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg”},{“index”:2,”fields”:{“height”:”1200″,”width”:”2000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/22ae303bd9c36611f761dbca2f55e786c5127791/0_66_6000_3600/2000.jpg”},{“index”:3,”fields”:{“height”:”600″,”width”:”1000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/22ae303bd9c36611f761dbca2f55e786c5127791/0_66_6000_3600/1000.jpg”},{“index”:4,”fields”:{“height”:”300″,”width”:”500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/22ae303bd9c36611f761dbca2f55e786c5127791/0_66_6000_3600/500.jpg”},{“index”:5,”fields”:{“height”:”84″,”width”:”140″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/22ae303bd9c36611f761dbca2f55e786c5127791/0_66_6000_3600/140.jpg”}]},”data”:{“alt”:”Part of the destroyed roof of a high-rise residential building after a Russian drone attack on Friday”,”caption”:”Part of the destroyed roof of a high-rise residential building after a Russian drone attack on Friday.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Global Images Ukraine/Getty…