‘We Do Not Forget Anyone’ – Ukraine at War Update for Dec. 31

Ukraine and Russia swap over 300 prisoners ahead of New Year’s Eve

In a prisoner exchange brokered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Moscow and Kyiv on Monday swapped more than 300 prisoners of war ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations, AFP reported.

“We are working to free everyone from Russian captivity. This is our goal. We do not forget anyone,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the prisoner swap.

Both forces have exchanged thousands of war prisoners since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.

Moscow responded: “On 30 December, as a result of the negotiation process, 150 Russian servicemen were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In return, 150 Ukrainian [military] prisoners of war were handed over,” the Russian Defense Ministry wrote in a statement.

Zelensky reported that Kyiv had reclaimed 189 captured Ukrainians as part of the deal, including two civilians from the invader-destroyed city of Mariupol, in the embattled southern parts of the country. Kyiv also noted that the aggressors had released a total of 3,956 people including soldiers and civilians in such negotiations since the start of the illegal land grab that the Kremlin launched about ten years ago.

The UAE brokered Monday’s exchange. This mostly neutral party has offered to host several such talks between the two capitals since Moscow’s latest full-scale invasion that has killed thousands of innocent Ukrainian civilians.

Other Topics of Interest

Souvenirs Made from Downed Russian Drone Raise Funds for Ukraine’s Defenders

A company created by young Ukrainian aviation enthusiasts has turned parts of the Russian S-70 “Okhotnik-B” UCAV shot down in October into souvenir key chains.

Zelensky on Monday posted photos showing the now-familiar scene of released men sitting on a bus holding Ukrainian flags. 

Crimean beaches reach emergency-level oil pollution, thanks to sunken Russian tankers

In occupied Crimea, following several Russian oil tanker accidents in the Kerch Strait, Moscow’s sources said that 226 tons of soil contaminated with petroleum products have been collected and removed from the coastline, Kyiv’s state-run media Ukriform reported.

Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations in Crimea said, “Oil products have been found on the municipal beach of Arshintsevska Spit. 861 kilometers of coastline have been inspected, including repeated inspections, with 127 kilometers covered in a single day. Over 226 tons of contaminated sand and soil have been collected and removed, including more than seven tons in the past day.”

According to local activists from Koktebel Bay, Ukrinform said, residents have organized to address the disaster, while Russian occupational authorities in Koktebel and Feodosia are “reportedly not responding adequately,” activists said.

Russian authorities in annexed Crimea have declared a regional-level technological emergency due to massive fuel oil spills in the Black Sea, Ukrinform reported.

The state-run media also wrote that on Dec. 15, two Russian oil tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, began sinking near the shore in the Kerch Strait. The accident, state media continued, was caused by a severe storm, which broke one of the tankers nearly in half. Over 4,000 tons of fuel oil spilled into the Black Sea. Some 1,700 tons of oil-contaminated sand were collected from the coastline in Krasnodar Krai, the Kyiv-controlled media outlet reported.

Last week, a sea mine was discovered floating off of Turkey’s Black Sea coast, northeast of İstanbul, Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency reported, saying the device would be destroyed. It was found off the coast of Ağva, a small resort area 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of the point where the Bosporus Strait meets the Black Sea.

Earlier this month, international ship broker BRS said there are now 850 “grey” vessels operating worldwide, described as “aging vessels carrying Russian, Iran, Syrian, North Korean or Venezuelan oil, and operated by companies either under sanction or with little previous experience in shipping.”

International sanctions have cracked down on such illegal trade, and Ukrainian drones and other craft have targeted these Russian “shadow fleet” vessels throughout the full-scale invasion.

Russian foreign minister repeats Kremlin demands of territorial capitulation, as Biden launches another $2.5B aid package

In an interview with Kremlin newswire TASS on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated Moscow’s demand that Ukraine renounce its right to sovereignty and territorial integrity as a precondition to start peace talks.

He repeated the Kremlin line that Russia will not participate in any negotiations to end its war in Ukraine unless Ukraine renounces its right and objective of liberating its territory up to its internationally recognized 1991 borders. Lavrov added that Russia considers Ukraine’s objective of liberating its territory to its internationally recognized 1991 borders an “ultimatum.”

According to Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analysts, “The Kremlin is likely attempting to impose unrealistic demands on Ukraine that violate international law to stymie legitimate good faith negotiations. Russia is also likely attempting to force the West into coercing Ukraine into acknowledging and accepting territorial concessions that will benefit Russia in the long term... ISW continues to assess that Russia is not interested in good faith negotiations with Ukraine and will continue to pursue Ukraine’s total capitulation.”

Simultaneously, US President Joe Biden announced $2.5 billion in additional military aid for Ukraine, with a combined $1.25 billion from the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) and $1.22 billion from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). The aid will include thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of missiles, and hundreds of armored vehicles.

The US Department of Defense reported that the package includes: ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS); TOW missiles; HAWK air-defense ammo; Stinger missiles; counter-drone munitions and Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems.