Death of Gonzalo Lira, Crumbling Ukrainian Air Defenses, Growing Russian Military Capabilities

Update on the conflict in Ukraine for January 15, 2024…

- US-Chilean citizen Gonzalo Lira is confirmed dead by the US State Department, having died in a Ukrainian prison with serious health issues neglected by his jailers. He was imprisoned for criticizing Kiev;

- Russia continues using a strategy of attrition across the line of contact, particularly in places like Avdeevka where Ukrainian positions are steadily degraded;

- Russian forces continue carrying out large-scale drone and missile strikes on targets across Ukraine;

- Ukraine admits a growing crisis in terms of air defense capabilities with its Western sponsors unable to supply an adequate number of interceptors for launchers transferred to Ukraine;

- Russia is continuing to expand production of existing drones and missiles while also developing new drones and missiles with greater capabilities, further stressing Ukraine’s already stretched combat capabilities;

- Previous dismissal of Russian-Iranian defense cooperation has now led to a demonstrable strategic crisis for Ukraine and the collective West;

- Ukrainian commanders are requesting what amounts to an entire army’s worth of equipment including an entire air force worth of replacement aircraft;

References:

Newsweek - Who Is Gonzalo Lira? Pro-Putin American Expat Dies in Ukrainian Jail (January 13, 2024):
https://www.newsweek.com/who-gonzalo-...
TASS - Russia to focus on provisioning of troops (January 9, 2024):
https://tass.com/defense/1730017
Alexander Mercouris - Rus Air Offensive, Heavy Drones; Attacks All Front Lines; Zelensky Curse; Protests France, Germany (January 10, 2024):
Rus Air Offensive, Heavy Drones; Atta...
Mediazona - Russian casualties in Ukraine. Mediazona count, updated (December 2023 - January 2024):
https://en.zona.media/article/2022/05...
NY Times - Ukraine’s Patriot Defenses at Work: Shuddering Booms and Bursts of Light (January 6, 2024):
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/wo...
Al Jazeera - Saudi Arabia may run out of interceptor missiles in ‘months’ (January 2022):
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1...
BBC - Japan to send Patriot missiles to US which may aid Ukraine (December 22, 2023):
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-6...
Australian Defense Magazine - Lockheed Martin says Patriot missile could ‘replace anything and everything’ (November 2023):
https://www.australiandefence.com.au/...
Reuters - Ukraine has deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles - air force (January 9, 2024):
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/...
CNN - Missile blitz, jet drones, night camouflage: Kyiv warns how Russia could overwhelm air defenses (January 11, 2024):
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/11/wo...
The Drive - Russia May Have Started Using Jet-Powered Shahed Drones In Ukraine (January 7, 2024):
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...
CNN - Russia appears poised to purchase ballistic missiles from Iran, official says (January 4, 2024):
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/04/po...
IISS - Ansarullah’s missile and munitions launches flex Saudi responses (March 2021):
https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/...
Reuters - Ukraine needs more attack aircraft for war effort - ground forces commander (January 12, 2024):
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/...

Where to Find My Work:

Website: https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/
Telegram: https://t.me/brianlovethailand
Twitter: Twitter: BrianJBerletic

Odysee (YouTube alternative): https://odysee.com/@LandDestroyer:8
Rumble (YouTube alternative): https://rumble.com/c/c-1459863

Weibo: https://weibo.com/u/7726044004
ไบรอัน แฟนคลับ (Facebook): Facebook: BrianThaiFanclub
Line Group: https://lin.ee/JIxTpKe
Gab: https://gab.com/BrianBerletic
VK (Facebook alternative): https://vk.com/brianberletic

How to Support my Work (and thank you!):

Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheNewAtlas
Patreon: Patreon: landdestroyer
PromptPay: 0851547235

Cryptocurrency Donations:  
Ethereum (ETH): 0xee6ed93c3adc474450011e9af22939a0b9b312c7
BitCoin (BTC): 1AfGnbmHxA6cy9YKUSxysXvpJPyecpBKrr
Monero (XMR): 845TCXx3pchSBXuDL7FHG679gbWD2wkHS6MJxuq7jFVsVFj7T6xsry747uhhGZUdkaRXbbrMfo5c8RnGfzGZ13KxQUdHVLR