Victorious news of 692nd day of war: Russia’s Voronezh, Belgorod regions under drone attack, Osa SAM destroyed

Russia claims an attack of 12 UAVs on Voronezh, Belgorod regions

According to Russian media and Telegram channels, on the night of January 16, drones and air defense systems were heard operating in the sky over Voronezh, with about 10 explosions reported.

The Russian Defense Ministry reports that air defense systems shot down three Ukrainian drones.

The Shot Telegram channel reports that the intended target of the attack may have been the Baltimore airfield, situated near a street, where debris from the UAV had previously struck a residential building.

Around 04:00 am, local residents reported new sounds of explosions in Voronezh, Baza reports.

After the drone attack, the authorities declared a state of emergency in the city. Residents of the house that was hit by drone debris were evacuated and placed in a nearby school.

In the morning, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that "five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed and three intercepted by air defense systems over the territory of Voronezh region, and four UAVs were intercepted over the territory of Belgorod region."

Ukraine’s government allocates almost UAH 800 million in additional funding for the military

Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, shared the information at a government meeting on January 16.

"Another important decision on the agenda concerns the state defense, which is the No. 1 priority for all of us. We are allocating UAH 792 million (more than USD 20 million - ed.) from the state budget reserve fund to strengthen defense capabilities," he said.

According to him, these additional funds will be allocated for the immediate needs of the units.

"We are talking about additional funding for each brigade (in proportion to the personal income tax paid in December)," Shmyhal clarified.

In his turn, Taras Melnychuk, the Cabinet's representative in the parliament, described in detail what the money will be used for:

• The Ministry of Defense - UAH 657 million (including UAH 10.7 million for the administration of the State Special Transport Service)
• The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine - UAH 10,524,000
• The Ministry of Internal Affairs - UAH 100,769,000 (including UAH 62.5 million for the National Guard and UAH 38,269,000 for the State Border Guard Service)
• Security Service of Ukraine - UAH 23.8 million

Israel joins the summit on the Ukrainian Peace Formula in Davos for the first time

Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky reported the information.

"For the first time, Israel took part in the discussion of Zelenskyy's Peace Formula, which took place earlier this week. At the fourth meeting of national security advisers in Davos, Switzerland, Israel was represented by the deputy chairman of the National Security Council," the ambassador wrote on Telegram on January 16.

Ukraine’s Parliament approves bill on electronic register of persons liable for military service

MP from the Voice party, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, shared the information on Telegram.

"After long and difficult discussions and the failure of many amendments, draft law No. 10062 on registers for military registration was adopted as a whole," Zheleznyak said. 

249 MPs voted in favor, 3 voted against, 37 abstained and 35 did not vote.

The implementation of its provisions will facilitate the rapid collection, processing and use of military data, and will finally transfer services and processes for the military into a convenient digital format. 

Ukrainian marines help artillery destroy Russian Osa SAM

Ukrainian soldiers were able to detect and destroy a Russian Osa anti-aircraft missile system. The process was captured on video.

"The soldiers of the 140th separate reconnaissance battalion of the Marines discovered an Osa anti-aircraft missile system of the Russian occupying forces, which needed urgent disinfestation," the statement said.

Almost 20 countries have already joined the "drone coalition"

Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds said that the country has made progress in creating a coalition of almost 20 countries to arm Ukrainian forces with "thousands" of new drones.

Bloomberg reported the information.

Sprūds declined to provide further details of the drone project, saying that "we are now at the stage where we are approaching 20 partners" in the "drone coalition."

The Latvian defense minister's statements are the first indication of the scale of the drone initiative since the plan was presented at a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, in December 2023.

According to him, this initiative will help the Ukrainian military in a war where the use of drones has become an important element of combat operations.

Ukrainian aviation strikes Russian troops’ concentration area

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported the information.

During the day, Ukrainian aviation struck an area of Russian personnel, weapons and military equipment concentration. The Ukrainian air defense forces also destroyed one Kh-59 guided missile.

Ukrainian missile troops targeted a group of Russian personnel, a control center and an ammunition depot.