The Russian army is now advancing relentlessly in the directions of Donetsk and Kherson and fighting positional battles on other fronts, while thousands of its soldiers are attacking Chasov Yar as the Ukrainians evacuate villages to mount an effective defence.
NATO is at the same time moving troops into Poland.
Social networks are spreading information about the transfer of military equipment to the Belarusian border via Poland. In the video published by Sputnik Belarus, an entire train of US-made Stryker armored vehicles is shown.
The main conclusions of the American Institute for the Study of War:
Russian troops advanced west of Donetsk.
The geolocation video posted on 15 January shows that the Russian Armed Forces headed towards the eastern suburbs of Georgievka (west of Donetsk).
The Russian army advanced to western Krynki on the eastern (left bank) of the Chersonas region.
Geolocation video released on 15 January shows Russian troops fighting north towards the coastline in western Krinki.
Positional fighting continued: along the Kupiansk-Sviatovo-Kremenaya line and near Bakhmut and Avdiika in the west, northwest and southwest of Donetsk, near the border with Zaporizhzhya.
25 villages evacuated by panicked Ukrainians
"Due to the situation, we are implementing a mandatory evacuation for the population of the communities of Kintrakivska and Kirilivska in Kupiansk province," Ukrainian regional governor Oleg Sinekhubov said on social media.
Chasov Yar is under attack by 80,000 Russians
"80 thousand orks are ready to crush the defenders of independence," Ukrainians say of the Russians as they prepare a defense along the Seversky-Donets-Dobas canal.
In particular, the representative of the 26th independent brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine I. Daskevich , said that 80 thousand soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces are advancing in Chasov Yar.
According to him, "here the Russians dropped the main forces of the volunteer assault corps. We can say that they will try to drive us back".
He added that the tactic of the Russian troops is to attack with small infantry assault groups, which overwhelm the Ukrainians.
Since the end of December, the Ukrainian side has already reported that the Russian command has reportedly assembled 19 divisions, 21 regiments and a number of other units with a total of about 80 thousand military personnel in the direction of Bahmut.
On 14 January, a statement by Ukrainian expert Stanislav Kurhchuk aired on Inter TV. reported that "the Seversky-Donets-Donbas canal is a natural obstacle for [the Russians] and now Ukrainian soldiers are preventing the Russian Armed Forces from crossing it."
The Ukrainians have a big issue with recruiting new recruits
Kiev is unable to gather reserves to save the lot, while the Russians are now advancing without interruption in at least two directions.
Speaking to a channel , Ukrainian expert Tarasenko said it was "strange and confusing" to hear that some people doubted the need for another mobilisation.
"The army is eagerly waiting for new reinforcements because the situation in many units is critical in terms of personnel," he explained. "Even those that are arriving are not the best option. Mostly, they are mostly older men with a lot of problems that usually arise."
The army desperately needs "younger men" because those who joined the army at the beginning of the conflict have mostly "left," he said, adding that the average age of soldiers is over 40.
Tarasenko's remarks came after the Ukrainian parliament asked the government for further revisions to a much-debated bill that would expand the number of men available for conscription.
The proposed legislation would lower the upper age limit from 27 to 25, limit deferments and increase penalties for tax evasion. Critics say the bill contains provisions that violate the constitution and pave the way for corruption.
Last month, President Vladimir Zelensky revealed that the army had called for the mobilisation of between 450,000 and 500,000 people.
Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's top army commander, denied that the army was seeking a specific number of new fighters.
The governor of the Mikolayiv region, Valery Kim, warned that recruiting half a million people is "not enough" and that Ukraine should recruit at least 2 million.
Ukraine never discloses the number of casualties. According to Russian estimates, some 400,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed or wounded during the conflict, including 125,000 during Kiev's failed counteroffensive from early June to late November.
