Tag: Russia

Today, in the Donetsk region, near the settlement of Berzovoye, the Ukrainian Mesenites shot down a Russian Su-25 type fighter with a Piorun hand-held anti-aircraft missile system of Polish production.

For information, recently there has been a significant increase in the number of cases of downing of Russian fighter and front-line bomber tactical aviation by Ukrainians directly on the front or in its vicinity, which is explained by the “starvation” of artillery ammunition needed by the Russian forces on the front or by unfavorable and acutely dangerous conditions for Russian defensive positions in specific tactical areas. At such a time, aviation supports combat forces on the one hand, and fortified positions on the other, which directly proportionally increases the chances of shooting down tactical aviation flying at low altitude near the front.

I will also say here that the Russian fighter and front-line bomber aviation has to fly directly in the vicinity of the line of contact because, fortunately, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and not much before, the Russian military-technical industry did not pay much attention to the qualitative development of aviation ammunition, unlike the Western military industry. , due to which the Russian aviation is forced to use mainly unguided air-to-ground aviation ammunition, which is why it is not possible to accurately process Ukrainian positions from a safe distance behind the front, and aircraft have to enter the zone of action of mobile and stationary HSTs,

In order to neutralize this, the Russian aviation starts to fly at low altitude on the contact line, however, Ukrainian mesenites armed with hand-portable anti-aircraft missile complexes are already involved in the case, for whom the Russian aviation flying at low altitude on the front is relatively easy prey, as we have seen in recent days.

Fierce fighting rages over central Bakhmut as Russia’s Wagner mercenaries try to break through Ukrainian defenses in the ruined city, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on March 13. 

Syrskyi, who commands Ukraine’s Ground Forces and made two known visits to Bakhmut in recent weeks, acknowledged that the situation in the embattled city remained difficult as Russia continued to press forward. 

The commander said that the Wagner members were storming into central Bakhmut from multiple fronts, but Ukraine still held on to the “fortress” while inflicting “significant losses” on the invading forces.

“All enemy attempts to capture the city are repelled by artillery, tanks, and other firepower,” Syrskyi said, as quoted by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s media center.

Syrskyi’s statement comes amid an eight-month-long battle over Bakhmut, a largely destroyed city nearly emptied of its 70,000 residents. Russia has intensified its offensive on Bakhmut in recent weeks as it captured neighboring settlements, inching its way into encircling the city. 

Late on March 12, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a Telegram post that his mercenaries began storming into the underground compound of the Artemivskyi non-ferrous metal processing plant, also known as AZOM, in northern Bakhmut.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia officially commented on the situation at the plant on March 13. 

“When a person who is at war escapes and responds to the destructive action held by thousands of people here in Georgia, this is direct evidence,” Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili said on Imedi’s broadcast. Gharibashvili calls Ukrainian politicians, including Zelensky and Klitschko, “losers” and claims that their main goal is to overthrow Georgia.

“You mentioned Zelensky’s appeal… when a person who is at war leaves and responds to a destructive action held by how many thousands of people here in Georgia, this is direct evidence that this person is involved, motivated to make something happen here, to change… Klitschko came out, Feigin came out , some incomprehensible people, others also came out, Ukrainian politicians, Arakhamia and some hand-me-down “losers” who say that change is needed and some scenarios, a coup… It’s direct intervention. I don’t want it, now people are at war. I want to wish everyone success And the timely end of this war and peace and the reunification of the country, but first take care of yourself and your country, we will take care of our country, this is what I want to tell everyone,” said Gharibashvili.

Overnight, Ukraine has shot down 13 out of 15 Iranian-made drones launched by Russia, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on March 6. 

In the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, head of the local military administration Vitalii Barabash said on March 6 that Russian forces attacked the city with six guided air missiles Kh-59 over the past day.

Barabash said that a five-story building was severely damaged. The Russians continue to target administrative buildings, schools, and kindergartens, according to the official. 

“The enemy is destroying the city into pieces,” Barabash said on television. 

In the southern Kherson Oblast’s village of Zelenyi Hai, one person was killed, and another was injured in an explosion caused by an explosive device, the regional military administration reported on March 6. 

The victims were working in a field when their tractor hit the explosive device that the Russian forces left behind before their withdrawal, according to the report. 

Swathes of lands in the liberated parts of Kherson and Kharkiv oblasts are still covered with explosive devices. Earlier on March 5, the Economy Ministry said it might take up to 70 years to demine the country. 

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine publishes updated information about the military losses of the Russian occupiers. The data covers the period from February 24 to March 7.

According to the General Staff, the military loss of the occupiers is as follows:​

soldiers – about 154,830;
tank – 3 432;
armored vehicles – 6 714;
artillery system – 2 456;
missile system – 488;
anti-aircraft combat system – 253;
Airplanes – 303;
helicopter – 289;
operational-tactical unmanned aerial vehicle – 2,095;
cruise missiles – 873;
Automotive equipment and fuel tanks – 5,323;
ship/boat/boat – 18;
Special equipment – 236.

Most people around the world want peace in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy has taken the first step towards this goal, and outlined a ten-point peace settlement proposal. He has also called for an international peace conference to discuss the plan. Last week, European Union officials visiting Kyiv endorsed both the proposal and the summit. With greater vigor, the rest of the world should follow suit. President Biden should also acknowledge this peace plan and lead the rest of the world in organizing this peace conference, as well as taking other steps towards post-war justice and reconstruction. Zelenskyy has offered a starting point. We should assist in turning the proposal into reality.

Russian propagandists, as well as skeptics in the West, have denounced Zelenskyy’s plan as impractical because it does not offer Putin any concessions. But why should Zelenskyy offer Putin any concessions, especially at the beginning of a negotiation? Putin started this barbaric, unnecessary war. He is now losing, which he understands (Did Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill offer Hitler face-saving “off ramps” in 1943 after Germany lost the Battle of Stalingrad? Did the U.S.-led coalition of countries that pushed Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in 1991 offer to give the Iraqi dictator twenty percent of the country he tried to annex in the pursuit of peace? Zelenskyy’s plan may not be the end point of a peace settlement, but it most certainly is a logical beginning. If Putin doesn’t like Zelenskyy’s ideas, he should publish his own proposal.
To date, he has not done so.When endorsing Zelenskyy’s peace plan and the idea of organizing a conference, Western leaders should refrain from undermining Zelenskyy’s negotiating leverage by publicly suggesting their ideas for compromises and peace settlements. Ultimately, it is only Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian parliament, and the Ukrainian people who have the authority to decide whether to agree to concessions or not. Right now, they are focused on liberating their entire country from Russian occupation. For Ukrainians, this remains the number one priority. And it should be for their international supporters, too.

According to Kyiv-Independence- NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, U.S. Army General Christopher Cavoli, said that Russia has lost more than 200,000 troops since the start of its invasion in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, describing the extent of the war as “unbelievable.”

He added that over 1,800 Russian officers were killed or wounded, German magazine Der Spiegel reported.

Cavoli also said that Russia has lost “far more” than 2,000 large battle tanks and that its army fires an average of 23,000 artillery shells per day.

The U.K. Defense Ministry previously estimated that Russia’s army and private mercenary groups have likely lost 175,000-200,000 people in Ukraine, with up to 60,000 killed. According to a report, prisoners recruited by the Kremlin-backed private mercenary Wagner Group have suffered a casualty rate of up to 50%.

“The Russian casualty rate has significantly increased since September 2022 when ‘partial mobilization’ was imposed,” reads the report. 

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on March 4 that Russia had lost 152,190 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year. 

This number includes 820 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day. 

• The situation around Bakhmut is critical. If in the urban space of the city, the Russian units even in the eastern districts have difficulty moving quickly, in the outskirts of the city, they move relatively successfully from the flanks. The Ukrainians manage and still own the supply artery in the form of the Bakhmut-Chasiv Yari road, but the Russians are quite close to the village of Khromovye, through which the said road passes.

Ukrainians rotate in Bakhmut – some parts leave the city and others enter. It can be preparatory work for retreat or, on the contrary, serve to maintain specific positions in the city with experienced units.

Under the leadership of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Mill, the visit of US defense representatives to the Middle East has begun, the main purpose of which will be to discuss and negotiate common plans regarding threats arising from Iran’s nuclear program.

Mill and Austin will hold scheduled meetings with their Israeli counterparts over the course of several days to discuss Iran’s recent 84% enrichment of uranium and the possibility of a joint Israeli-US response to them.