Moscow, January 18 – Russian forces have taken control of the village of Veseloe in the Donetsk region, according to a report by the Ministry of Defense on the progress of the special operation. The publication states that “as a result of successful active actions by units of the Southern Group of Forces, the settlement of Veseloe in the Donetsk People’s Republic has been liberated.” In addition, Russian aviation, artillery, and heavy flamethrower systems have struck the live force and equipment of the 22nd, 42nd, and 93rd mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka. The enemy has lost 260 servicemen, a tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, and 17 vehicles. Furthermore, thanks to counter-battery warfare, three artillery systems M777, self-propelled artillery installations Paladin and “Gvozdika”, and the D-30 howitzer have been destroyed. The Western Group of Forces repelled six attacks by assault groups of the 32nd, 60th mechanized, and 95th airborne brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Synkovka in the Kharkiv region and the village of Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic. “The enemy has lost up to 155 servicemen, two tanks, three armored combat vehicles, two vehicles, and the “Gvozdika” self-propelled artillery system,” the department noted. In addition, the Armed Forces of Ukraine conducted three unsuccessful attacks in the area of Chervonaya Dybrova in the Luhansk People’s Republic, Yampolovka and Grigorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Kyiv has lost more than 220 military personnel, six armored combat vehicles, including the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, four vehicles, the M777 artillery system, the “Gvozdika” self-propelled artillery system, the M119 howitzer, and a radio-electronic warfare station. The Armed Forces have struck the live force and equipment of the 33rd mechanized, 82nd airborne assault, and 128th mountain assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhia region. “The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to up to 30 servicemen, a tank, three vehicles, as well as two howitzers: D-20 and D-30,” the summary said. Russian forces repelled an attack by the assault group of the 79th airborne assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Novomykhailivka area on the southern Donetsk direction. In addition, they struck enemy targets near the village of Vodyane. The enemy has lost more than 130 servicemen, two vehicles, two FH70 howitzers, and the Krab self-propelled artillery system of Polish production. On the Kherson direction, the Russian Armed Forces destroyed up to 65 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, three tanks, five vehicles, the M777 artillery system, and three howitzers – “Hyacinth-B”, “Msta-B”, and D-20, as well as the “Gvozdika” self-propelled artillery system. Over the past day, Russian air defense forces have shot down two tactical missiles “Tochka-U”, a JDAM guided bomb, 18 reactive shells of HIMARS and Vampire multiple launch rocket systems, as well as 91 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.
