RIGHT SPEAK: UKRaine General Staff clarified data on night attack by Shaheds: 58 out of 59 drones shot down; RUssia Hits a Dead End in Bakhmut; Anti-Kremlin militia claims to have reentered RU's territory; 100% hit rate for new British-made cruise missiles used by UKR, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

General Staff clarified data on night attack by Shaheds: 58 out of 59 drones shot down:

The General Staff clarified that on Sunday night, Russia used 59 Iranian Shahed attack drones against Ukraine, 58 of which the defenders managed to destroy.

Source: report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Quote: "According to updated information, this day and night, the Russian Federation carried out another large-scale attack on the territory of Ukraine, using Iranian Shahed UAVs, 58 out of 59 were destroyed by our defenders." (Earlier, the Air Force Command reported that 52 out of 54 Shaheds were downed)

Details: In total, during this day, the Russian forces carried out 91 airstrikes and about 25 attacks from MLRSs on the positions of our troops and populated areas. The probability of missile and air strikes throughout the territory of Ukraine remains high.

The occupiers continue to focus their main efforts on attempts to completely seize Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts. During the day, units of the defence forces repelled 18 attacks of the invaders.

On the Volyn and Polissia fronts, the operational situation remains stable, no signs of formation of offensive groups have been detected.

On the Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna fronts, the occupiers continue to maintain a military presence in the areas bordering Ukraine. During the day, airstrikes were carried out in the areas of Kindrativka, Basivka, Mohrytsia, Myropillia and Slavhorod of Sumy Oblast; and Pletenivka and Vovchanski Khutory of Kharkiv Oblast. Russia carried out mortar and artillery shelling of the settlements of Karpovychi, Tymonovychi, Zaliznyi Mist, Muravi in Chernihiv Oblast; Novovasylivka, Seredyna-Buda, Prohres, Demianivka, Manukhivka in Sumy Oblast, as well as Lyptsi, Hatyshche, Pletenivka, Vovchansk, Mala Vovcha and Budarky in Kharkiv Oblast. --->READ MORE HERE

Photographs by Sasha Maslov for The WSJ

WSK: Russia Hits a Dead End in Bakhmut:

Russian forces have succeeded in taking control of the small eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Their costly 10-month assault has left them exhausted and hemmed in with little chance of advancing.

Since the battle for Bakhmut began last summer, observers have puzzled over why Moscow expended lives and equipment to destroy and capture a city with limited strategic value.

Ukraine also drew criticism for devoting resources to its defense of the city, but its leaders have said bogging down Russian forces there was worth the cost.

The protracted battle, in which thousands of Russian soldiers have died, has drawn parallels to past sieges, such as the World War II fight over Stalingrad, in part due to its apparent futility.

“Bakhmut is like Stalingrad because it has attained a symbolic importance far beyond its strategic significance,” said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Whether the price either side paid for the city was worth it will be determined by the next phase of the war.

Victory in Bakhmut has given Russia something to show for its efforts after months without any meaningful gain, but its forces appear unable to capitalize on it.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is poised to strike back against Russian forces in a widely anticipated offensive, as it strives to recapture almost one-fifth of its territory from Russia.

While defending Bakhmut for so long cost Ukraine heavily, Kyiv didn’t deploy to the city any of the brigades trained and equipped by Western allies in preparation for the offensive.

Russia now finds itself bracing for attacks when its forces have been severely depleted in Bakhmut, and by their own winter offensive that failed to make significant progress. The battle for Bakhmut has also widened divisions within Russia’s military establishment. --->READ MORE HERE