Military commissar Dmitry Steshin draws historical and spiritual parallels and ponders whether the Russian spirit can reason with the West, choked with bile.
The first time German tanks were burned in the Zaporozhye region in 1943 , during an operation to break into the Wotan defensive line. The invaders hastened to call it that in honor of the ancient German god Wotan (in the Scandinavian pagan epic, this is Odin). It helped a little. The alien god was driven away along with his imps, with those who managed to escape.
Indeed, one must lose the remnants of the mind, so that exactly 80 years later, on the anniversary of the liberation of these places from German troops, call on German tanks to help us and paint the same white crosses called "Balkenkreuz" on their sides and start fighting the Russians in Zaporozhye . That is, to completely repeat all the dramaturgy of his old humiliation.
Our Lord, protector and guardian of these lands, must have been terribly surprised at the sight of German tanks again crawling across the Wild Steppe. Well, he helped ours to burn them all, from sin.
If we look for an explanation for these coincidences in the sacred areas, then smart people would have become alert after the shameful surrender of the Azov regiment in Mariupol. They also carried the ancient Germanic rune on the banners, and then they did not know how to save their skins. In general, strange ancient gods on our earth do not go well, our God is firmer, which was revealed to everyone.
Although, at first the Ukrainian offensive, the German press, choking with joy, wrote that “Russian tanks are just a treat for big German cats” (“Stern”) or “the whole world was waiting for this offensive, German tanks are again at war with Russians” (“Bild”).
A week later, the entire German press suddenly became bashfully silent. According to the President of the Russian Federation, at that time 160 tanks and 350 armored vehicles were burned. Of these, according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation - 11 Leopards. It was not possible to declare these sad facts “Kremlin propaganda”.
There are now a lot of pictures and videos on the Web with these burnt "German cats", taken both from the air and from the ground. It turned out very inconvenient, given the cost of these tanks: from 5.7 million euros to 15 million.
Here, too, the shares of the manufacturer of these tanks, Rheinmetall, collapsed by 8.5%, apparently they could not stand the historical analogies. The stockbrokers decided that all this can end traditionally - by storming Berlin and panicking? German politicians, feeling historical memory, began to save the situation.
The task is the most difficult - here it is necessary to somehow get out of the analogies with the Third Reich and, most importantly, to save face in front of the United States and its taxpaying voters. German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock was sent to take the rap. An ancient, but at all times working tactic was chosen: “I am not me, and the horse is not mine”:
- You do not say about your iPhone that it is American. You say it's yours. It's the same story with tanks... Please don't call them German. They are German in Germany, and this is already Ukrainian. And what they do with them is none of our business,” said Frau Berbock.
Although, the whole world saw the "Balkenkreuz" on the sides of the "Leopards".
I suppose that something began to reach the Germans. Some old truths are the only way to get through: after a good crack with sparks from the eyes. Especially the second time. Well, they explained to the Germans in 1941-45 - there is no need to drive tanks to us! So come - tourists, businessmen.
We lived together after that terrible war! Good friends. With good will, without asking for anything in return, Russia united Germany - the GDR and the FRG, showing that the past is forgiven. But not forgotten. Are German politicians really that ungrateful and unteachable? We'll find out soon.
Chernihiv, Odesa, Sumy, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions were affected by the attacks.
by Iryna Lysohor
Russia attacked 10 regions of Ukraine in a day. In Khersonska, flooding continues as a result of the detonation of the hydroelectric power station
In the Chernihiv region, there were six shellings per day - from mortars and artillery in the Novgorod-Siversky district. As a result of shelling in the village of Semenivska hromada, a woman died, and two houses were damaged, according to the summary from the OVA as of this morning.
The Russians launched four shellings (13 explosions) in Sumy at night and in the morning. Four territorial communities were affected: Novoslobidska of Konotop district, Yunakivska, Bilopolska, Mykolaivska of Sumy district. Yesterday, during the day, the Russians carried out 19 shellings of border communities. 122 explosions were recorded. The communities of Bilopolska, Shalyginska, Seredino-Budska, Esmanska, Novoslobidska, Putivlska, Velikopysarivska were affected.
In Esmanska, a water tower on the territory of an agricultural enterprise, a warehouse, and a power line were damaged. Seredyno-Budska: multi-apartment residential buildings, commercial premises, seven private houses, non-residential premises, four private cars, a shop were damaged. One person was also injured and hospitalized.
In Zaporizhzhia, the occupiers launched 80 strikes on 17 settlements: one missile attack, one air strike, and one UAV attack. There were also shelling from volley rocket systems on Olhivsk, Chervony, Kamiansk and 71 artillery shells on Gulyaipol, Zaliznychny, Novoandriivka, Maly Shcherbak and other frontline villages. So far, the destruction of 23 civilian buildings has been recorded. Unfortunately, a 58-year-old woman died during the shelling of Preobrazhenka.
In Dnipropetrovsk that night, the enemy again attacked Kryvyi Rih with rockets. He took aim at two industrial enterprises. A 38-year-old man was injured and hospitalized in a moderate condition. Fires broke out at enterprises, which rescuers have already put out. There are significant destructions of production facilities. Broken gas pipelines. The tire fitting and the bus were destroyed. Our air defense shot down one missile. Debris damaged the car. Also, during the night, the Sokhid Air Force destroyed all five Shahed-131/136 type attack drones in the sky over the region.
In Luhansk, the Russians do not stop shelling the de-occupied villages. Novoselivske, Nevske and Bilogorivka came under the fire of the occupiers. During the day, the enemy fired 98 rounds (467 shells).
Last night, the enemy launched another attack on Kharkiv with the help of Shahed kamikaze drones. Two drones moving in the direction of the regional center were shot down by air defense. In the Slobozhansk direction, during the past day, the enemy carried out airstrikes on the settlements of Vesele, Staritsa and Budarka. He carried out mortar and artillery attacks on the settlements of Odnorobivka, Ivashki, Hoptivka, Visoka Yaruga, Mali Prohody, Staritsa, Krasne, Gatyshche, Vovchansk, Vilkhuvatka and Zemlianka.
In the direction of Kupyansk, the enemy launched an airstrike in the area of Kislivka. Novomlynsk, Dvorichna, Zapadne, Berestov Lyman First and Masyutivka were subjected to artillery and mortar attacks. In Kamianka, Izyum district, a 57-year-old civilian blew himself up in his own yard using an unknown device. He was hospitalized with moderate injuries.
In Donetsk , during the day, the Russians shelled 16 settlements: Kostyantynivka, Kramatorsk, Yasnohirka, Leonidivka, Avdiivka, Zhelanne, Vremivka, Maksimivka, Markovka, Krasnohorivka, Novoukrainka, Shakhtarske, Pereizne, Nelipivka, Vasyukivka. 89 residential buildings, a power line, a gas pipeline, three service cars, premises of the UPP, an economic structure, PrJSC "EMSS", a factory, two civilian cars, a church, the building of AF "Niva" were damaged. In Donetsk region in a day: one dead, two wounded.
Ochakiv was hit by enemy artillery fire yesterday in Mykolaivska , as a result of which residential buildings, a multi-storey residential building and farm buildings were damaged. There were no casualties. Also yesterday, the enemy carried out artillery strikes on the water area of the Ochakiv community. It passed without destruction or casualties.
At night, the Russian invaders attacked Odesa region with Iranian Shahed-136/131 attack drones. Air defense forces and means destroyed 13 unmanned aerial vehicles.
In Khersonskaduring the day, the enemy launched 40 shellings (192 shells), including three artillery shells (11 shells) on Kherson. The occupiers targeted the districts of 25 settlements in the region. Yesterday, people who save others were attacked again - a boat with volunteers was fired upon in Kherson. One female volunteer suffered a leg injury, and a foreign volunteer received a shrapnel wound in the abdomen. He was hospitalized.
During the day, as a result of Russian aggression, two people were injured. Regarding the operational situation of the liquidation of the consequences of the explosion of the Kvkhovskaya HPP: now the water is at the mark of 2.04 meters. 44 settlements remain flooded: 27 on the right bank and 17 on the temporarily occupied left bank. The area of flooded agricultural land in the de-occupied territories decreased by almost 600 hectares. As of this morning, 1,923 houses remain under water on the right bank. 2,782 people were evacuated from the Right Bank, including 309 children and 80 people with reduced mobility. The epidemiological situation in the region is stable. Currently, no cases of infectious diseases have been detected.
Since the beginning of the large-scale war with Ukraine until today, the enemy's army has lost about 217,910 soldiers. Over the past day, the defenders have eliminated about 580 invaders, 12 enemy tanks, a helicopter and many other military equipment.
22:45 The 13th meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine has ended in Brussels. The priorities were the provision of the Ground Forces, air defense systems, as well as the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters. In addition, the defense ministers of Luxembourg and Estonia agreed to take on a major role in building a new "coalition". Read more in the material Results of the meeting at Ramstein .
22:37 A bill on the confiscation and transfer of assets of the Russian state to Ukraine as reparations has been registered in the United States, Zelensky said in an evening video message and thanked US senators "for the strong bipartisan support for this issue of justice for Ukraine and all victims of Russian terror."
22:06 Journalists from the Russian independent publication Nestka talked to a number of sources close to the Kremlin, the Russian parliament and regional authorities. They all claim that most of the staff members known to them, representatives of the government, and even more so public politicians and members of the elite, have "swelled more" over the past year. More details - in the material How the top of the RF gets drunk .
21:34 As part of the meeting in the Ramstein format, a new group will be created to support Ukraine - this time in the IT sphere, Reznikov said: "Today my colleagues, Minister of Defense of Luxembourg Francois Bausch and Minister of Defense of Estonia Hanno Pevkur, supported my idea of creating an IT coalition within Ramstein. They are ready to take a leadership role in the creation of this group."
21:08 Zelensky said that he had a conversation with President of Costa Rica Rodrigo Chavez Robles, thanked for regional leadership in the work of the coalition to create a special tribunal on the crime of aggression and support for the resolution on the Formula of Peace.
20:37 The African delegation is going to offer Russia to withdraw troops in exchange for easing sanctions, Reuters reports with reference to the draft document. The delegation is also going to propose the suspension of the International Criminal Court warrant for the arrest of Putin and the withdrawal of Russian tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus.
20:32 The Russians fired at Berislav, Kherson region, one person died. Also, Russian aircraft hit Kazatsky, one person was injured, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin.
20:29 The Croatian government recognized the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
19:47 Canada and Italy have announced new packages of military assistance to Ukraine, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said following the Ramstein meeting. According to him, Canada has pledged to send another $500 million to support Ukraine, including by providing 200 critical air defense missiles. Italy has announced the latest tranche of aid, which includes "the most important weapons systems for the defense of Ukraine."
19:44 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with Belizean Prime Minister Juan Antonio Briceno, invited him to take part in the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula and in the organization of the Global Peace Summit, to join the coalition to create a special tribunal. We discussed the possibility of holding a Ukraine-Latin America summit.
19:39 Reznikov announced that he was taking part in the meeting of defense ministers of the Ukraine-NATO Commission in Brussels, which is taking place for the first time since 2016. "We managed to overcome certain barriers and revive the format," the minister said. According to him, the dialogue between NATO ministers will give impetus to the political, military and bureaucratic mechanisms that exist within the partnership between Ukraine and the Alliance.
19:18 As of now, offensive and defensive operations are continuing in different directions, said Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar. In the east, the enemy continues to concentrate a significant amount of forces and means and pulls up reserves from other directions. In particular, a division of air assault troops was moved from south to east.
In the Bakhmut direction, offensive operations continue in the areas of Razdolovka - Krasnopolovka and Brekhovka - Yagodnoe, there is success. Offensive operations continue in the Berdnyansk and Mariupol directions. There is advancement on all directions of advance - about 1 km on each. In the Berdyansk direction, fighting continues in the Makarovka area. In the Mariupol direction, fighting is taking place in the areas of Novodanilovka and Novopokrovka.
19:09 Russian upgraded Kh-35U missiles to the division of the coastal anti-ship missile system Bal in the Bryansk region have an increased range of destruction, besides, they are smaller compared to other cruise missiles, so they are more difficult to detect, Air Force speaker Yuri Ignat said.
At the same time, he expressed doubt that the range of these missiles is really 500 km: “We can’t know for sure what the range of destruction is. which they want to hit from the Bryansk region. A missile from this complex has a warhead of up to 150 kg. Compared to the Kh-101 or Kalibr, it is 400-450 kg."
According to Ignat, the missile itself is smaller, and therefore more dangerous, because it is more difficult to detect. In addition, it is designed to fly over water, so it is pressed lower to the ground. In addition, Kh-35U missiles are used from air-based aircraft and helicopters. At the same time, Ignat noted that the Russians had already used such missiles for attacks on the Odessa and Nikolaev regions, some of them were shot down.
18:54 Denmark and the Netherlands have ordered an additional 14 Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine, Handelsblatt writes, citing sources. The first cars should arrive in January next year, and the contract must be completed in full before the end of 2024.
18:28 Speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ignat denied Stoltenberg's statement about the start of training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16: "I honestly don't know what he had in mind. Perhaps it's somewhere in the statement there are translation difficulties. Because that the statements of various leaders are taken and taken out of context ... We have already said more than once: this is a difficult and lengthy process. It’s just that everyone really wants this, so they constantly update information that the pilots supposedly left just about and will arrive soon. We will wait for let's go faster."
18:16 The Russians many times show the same five units of equipment destroyed in Ukraine from different angles, said the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, commenting on the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the offensive. He added that "this is a war, there will be casualties on both sides." Austin also stressed that Ukraine should be able to repair damaged equipment in order to return it to battle.
17:30 Lukashenko said that Belarus allegedly began to receive Russian tactical nuclear weapons, which, according to him, are three times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. In Ukraine and NATO, they are talking about a certain information-psychological operation of the Kremlin to deploy a "nucleus" in the Republic of Belarus. For more details, see the article Russian "nucleus" in Belarus: why the world is silent .
17:09 Since the beginning of June, the air defense forces have destroyed 74% of cruise missiles fired by Russia and about 60% of UAVs, said Alexei Gromov, deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, during this period, the enemy used more than 140 missiles of various types and more than 250 attack drones.
Gromov also said that in June MiG-29 fighter jets received from Poland and Slovakia entered service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
16:42 The EU countries have completed the training of 24,000 Ukrainian soldiers, Borrell said.
16:23 The United States, Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands will send hundreds of air defense missiles to Ukraine, the countries said in a joint statement. Deliveries of missiles and other equipment have already begun and should be completed within a few weeks.
16:20 Zelensky, during an appeal to the deputies of the Swiss parliament, called for unblocking the export of weapons to Ukraine to bring peace closer.
16:12 As part of the Army of Drones project, the second stage of training for UAV operators begins, during which another 10,000 people will be trained, said Mikhail Fedorov, head of the Ministry of Digital Development. He recalled that at the first stage, 10,000 drone operators have already been trained, most of them successfully carry out combat missions at the front.
The minister noted that during the first stage, future operators were mostly taught to fly reconnaissance-class copters, and now new categories are opening up - FPV drones and bomber aircraft. In particular, it is planned to train 7,600 operators of conventional reconnaissance copters, another 2,000 FPV drones, as well as 400 bomber pilots.
16:03 In the Kherson, Nikolaev and Odessa regions, swimming and fishing will be banned from June 19 due to a significant deterioration in the indicators of river and sea water, said chief medical officer Igor Kuzin. At the same time, he added that while the epidemic situation in Ukraine is stable and there is no outbreak of infectious diseases. However, in the Odessa region, according to him, "the situation is quite risky."
Kuzin also noted that water from wells and supplied centrally in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions is safe, and water in individual wells can be contaminated.
15:59 Switzerland may sell 25 of its 96 decommissioned Leopard tanks to Germany for further modernization and shipment to Ukraine, Bild reports. This proposal was supported by the upper house of parliament, but it has yet to be discussed in the lower. Zelensky is also expected to speak in the Swiss parliament today.
15:56 According to the NBU, the undermining of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station will cause an additional increase in prices in Ukraine at the end of the year at a level of about 0.3 percentage points due to complications in the work of a number of enterprises and partial loss of crops, especially vegetables.
15:51 According to Greenpeace, as a result of the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, 32 objects with chemicals, oil and gasoline were flooded - these are oil refineries, gas stations, thermal power plants and warehouses. At least 150 tons of engine oil leaked into the water in the early days of the disaster.
15:45 Over the past week, the Defense Forces have liberated seven settlements in the Zaporozhye direction, restoring control over 103 square meters. km of Ukrainian territory. The advance of Ukrainian units deep into the enemy’s defenses ranged from 3 to 6.5 km, said Oleksiy Gromov, deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff.
In particular, according to him, in the Melitopol direction, the advance of Ukrainian troops south of the village of Malaya Tokmachka amounted to 3 km, 22 square meters were taken under control. km and the village of Lobkovoe was liberated. In the Berdyansk direction, Ukrainian forces liberated six settlements: Levadnoe, Novodarovka, Neskuchnoe, Storozhevoe, Makarovka, Belogorivka. Control resumed over 81 sq. km.
15:28 The European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on NATO allies to invite Ukraine to the Alliance. It is assumed that "the accession process will begin after the end of the war and will be completed as soon as possible." MEPs also call for the development of security guarantees "which should be implemented immediately after the war, until full NATO membership is achieved."
The resolution states that Ukraine's integration into NATO and the EU will "strengthen regional and global security, contribute to stability and strengthen the bonds of cooperation and common values between Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic community." The document also called the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam by Russia a war crime.
14:54 In the Donetsk region, people are being evacuated from recently liberated villages, OVA speaker Tatyana Ignatchenko told Radio Liberty. At the same time, she added that there are few people there, since the evacuation began much earlier, and a large number of local residents were taken out of there. According to Ignatchenko, the settlements that were under occupation were almost completely destroyed. In total, 97,000 residential buildings were destroyed in the region.
14:30 The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has not yet recorded signs of the Russian Federation preparing for the next large-scale mobilization, said Alexei Gromov, deputy head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff. However, according to him, the enemy continues to recruit mercenaries from among the prisoners. Thus, in May, 460 prisoners were recruited into the RF Armed Forces from places of deprivation of liberty in the Smolensk, Lipetsk and Tyumen regions. Those who refused were threatened with the opening of criminal proceedings under the article "disorganization of the institution's activities."
At the same time, the FSB ordered the administrations of Russian prisons to stop recruiting "special contingents" in PMC Wagner due to "the lack of interaction between PMCs and units of the RF Armed Forces at the front," Gromov said.
14:27 Ukrainian troops are advancing in the Tauride direction, in the Ugledar area in the Volnovakhsky district, the advance was up to 1 km, the Joint Press Center of the Defense Forces of the Tauride direction reported. Yesterday afternoon there were 25 clashes, and seven more tonight. In just a day, the enemy lost more than four companies of personnel, 59 pieces of equipment and a Ka-52 attack helicopter in this direction.
14:12 The Ministry of Defense calls on weapon developers to offer their innovative projects for implementation, said Anna Malyar, deputy head of the department. According to her, now the most relevant for the Armed Forces of Ukraine are unmanned systems, communication systems, intelligence and analytics of the collected data, as well as the modernization and improvement of the effectiveness of ammunition and military equipment.
14:09 Russian troops are increasing the number of tactical groups of missile troops in the regions bordering Ukraine, said Alexei Gromov, deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, we are talking about moving a division of the Bal coastal missile system to the Bryansk region. According to Gromov, because of this, the threat of enemy strikes with X-35 missiles is growing, especially on the territory of Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Poltava, Cherkassy, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
Gromov added that the Russians were focusing on targets related to logistics, industrial facilities, and oil and gas supply.
13:47 For a week and a half, the defense forces have advanced more than 3 km in the eastern direction, said Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar. In the southern direction, according to her, "the Ukrainian Armed Forces are also gradually but surely advancing." She added that the enemy is putting up strong resistance, the Defense Forces are faced with continuous mining of fields, the use of kamikaze drones, and intense shelling.
In the Bakhmut direction, the Russians are pulling up reserves and "trying with all their might to prevent the advancement" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces do not allow the enemy to realize his plans, the enemy cannot advance and cannot effectively deter the Armed Forces of Ukraine there," Malyar added.
13:16 The CEC of the Russian Federation has officially scheduled "elections" in the "DNR", "LNR", occupied Zaporozhye and Kherson regions for September 10.
12:45 Japan is negotiating the supply of artillery shells to the United States so that they replenish stocks for Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing sources. According to the publication, the countries agreed on hundreds of thousands of 155-mm shells, but when Japan will transfer them is still unknown.
12:31 The Russians fired on Zelenovka, Kherson region - one person was killed, one was wounded, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin.
12:10 Training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters has already begun, Stoltenberg said before the Ramstein meeting: "It is already clear that training has begun, and then we will be able to provide aircraft. Because pilots who can fly them will be ready."
12:02 Allies of Ukraine will provide its army at a high pace with everything necessary during the counteroffensive, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said before the start of the Ramstein meeting in Brussels. According to him, a “military marathon” has begun on the territory of Ukraine: “Therefore, today we will consider the most urgent needs that Ukraine has. We will also aim for a long-term perspective and long-term peace for Ukraine, which lives next to such a neighbor.”
Austin noted that the contact group will focus on ensuring that Ukraine can protect its population and critical infrastructure with air defense systems: “We are talking about Patriot and NASAMS systems that keep Ukrainians alive. And today we will dig even deeper in order to Ukraine received new shells, ammunition for air defense systems."
11:43 IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi announced that he had begun a visit to the Zaporozhye NPP.
11:38 Russia is transferring the remnants of prisoners from the so-called Z assault companies to the "volunteer corps". According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the units manned by the "special contingent" showed extremely low combat capability. Alcoholism, looting, and desertion flourish among the prisoners.
To regroup and replenish the so-called "volunteer corps" with convicts, the military leadership of the Russian Federation created a special commission, which was ordered to select about 2,000 people from among the "special contingent", conduct training with them at training grounds and transfer them to the combat zone. Enhanced security is provided for members of the special commission in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and groups of the military police of the Russian Federation will monitor discipline among "volunteer" prisoners.
11:22 Podolyak said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not yet launched a counteroffensive, but are conducting offensive operations in order to identify weaknesses in Russian defense. According to him, Ukraine is now pursuing three goals: to destroy as many mobilized as possible, "to add psychological pressure on the Russian army"; destroy as much Russian equipment as possible; testing that allows you to move forward, "create panic".
11:19 The African delegation, which will visit Ukraine and Russia on June 16-17, will meet with President Andrzej Duda in Poland today, his office said.
10:56 SBU warns about the preparation of a number of new IPSOs by the special services of the Russian Federation. In particular, the alleged Russian citizenship of Ukrainian government officials, the leadership of the Defense and Security Forces and their families, as well as other officials will be reported. According to operational data, the start of the implementation of the enemy IPSO in the Ukrainian information field is scheduled for the near future.
10:37 In Rostov-on-Don, on June 14, the "trial" of 22 captured Azovians who defended Mariupol and were captured in May 2022 began, AP reports. If they are found guilty, the Azov residents face a sentence of 15 years to life imprisonment. Of the 24 people who were charged, two were exchanged for Russian prisoners of war. Of the remaining 22 defendants who appeared in court, eight were women who cooked food for the Azov battalion.
10:25 In the Kherson region, a steady decline in water continues with an intensity of 2-5 cm per hour. During the day, the water level decreased by 0.4 meters and as of 8:00 am is 2.04 meters, Ukrhydroenergo reported. During the day below the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, the water levels continue to decline by 1-10 cm per hour with the retention of flooding.
10:08 Lithuania, together with its allies, will purchase air defense systems for Ukraine for 107.5 million euros, Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said. This will be the first of five planned assistance packages from the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU). Lithuania, together with the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland, raised almost 608 million euros for him. At the same time, the UK, which manages the IFU, pledged an additional 292 million euros to the fund.
09:57 Denmark and Norway have joined forces to transfer another 9,000 artillery shells to Ukraine, the countries' Defense Ministry said.
09:23 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was killed (in Pereezdnoy), three more people were injured. In the Zaporozhye region, one person died during the shelling of Preobrazhenka. In the Kherson region, two people were injured, in the Kharkiv region, one person was wounded by blowing up on an enemy mine, according to the IVA.
08:55 The defense forces continue their offensive in the Berdyansk and Bakhmut directions, spokesman of the General Staff Andrey Kovalev said. In the Berdyansk direction, fighting is taking place near the village of Makarovka, and fighting is also continuing in the areas of the villages of Novodanilovka and Novopokrovka in the Zaporozhye region. In the Bakhmut direction, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine conducted assault operations in the directions Razdolovka - Krasnopolovka and Berkhovka - Yagodnoye, and were successful. Where Ukrainian forces are on the defensive, no position is lost.
08:41 The Pentagon expects that the Ukrainian military will complete training on Abrams tanks before the end of summer. The end of the training program roughly coincides with the expected fall delivery of 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks, writes CBS News.
08:24 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of June 15.
personnel - about 217,910 (+580) people liquidated,
tanks - 3955 (+12),
armored combat vehicles - 7667 (+14),
artillery systems - 3793 (+10),
MLRS - 604 (+1),
air defense systems - 364 (+0),
aircraft - 314 (+0),
helicopters - 301 (+1),
UAV operational-tactical level - 3333 (+9),
cruise missiles - 1199 (+3),
ships/boats - 18 (+0),
automotive equipment and tankers - 6506 (+24),
special equipment - 519 (+3).
07:35 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Marinsky directions - 49 military clashes have occurred over the past day, the General Staff said in the morning summary .
In the village of Kamenka, Zaporozhye region, at the beginning of the year, the occupiers blackmailed the workers of the Center for Primary Health Care: if they refused to receive a Russian passport, they were promised to reduce their salaries by 60%. Since most of the workers refused to receive documents, the Russians reported the closure of the hospital.
07:29 At night, the Russians attacked Krivoy Rog with rockets, hit two industrial enterprises, one person was injured, said the head of the Dnepropetrovsk OVA Serhiy Lysak. Fires broke out at the enterprises, which rescuers have already extinguished. There is a significant destruction of production facilities, gas pipelines are damaged, a tire shop and a bus are destroyed.
07:01 At night, the Russians attacked Ukraine with Kh-101 / Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles, as well as Shahed-136/131 attack drones, the Air Force command reported. Four Tu-95ms strategic aviation aircraft carried out four Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missile launches from the Caspian Sea. One of the missiles was destroyed, the rest hit industrial facilities in the Dnepropetrovsk region.
Iranian kamikaze drones were launched by the enemy from the northern and southern directions. All 20 drones are destroyed. In addition, an enemy UAV of the operational-tactical level, which conducted aerial reconnaissance in the eastern direction, was destroyed.
06:43 "Head" of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said that nine UAVs were recorded over the peninsula at night and in the morning, six were allegedly shot down by air defense forces, three were jammed by electronic warfare. One of the drones detonated in the Krasnogvardeisky district, there were no casualties, windows were broken in a number of houses.
04:52 Training of the Ukrainian military is now taking place at about 40 training grounds outside of Ukraine, the Pentagon said. About 67,000 Ukrainians have already been trained in tactics, weapons systems and leadership development at these sites.
00:20 A priority issue during the meeting of allied countries in the Ramstein format on June 15 will be strengthening Ukraine's air defense, the Pentagon said. They will also discuss "exercise and support to strengthen the power of Ukraine in the long term."
Kindly note that several entries in this article may have been removed because they included discussions of the grand strategic level
23:38 APU advancing from Tokmachki and Orekhovo. 23:35 "Geranium" flew to Ukraine.
Monitoring resources report UAVs in the south direction - Nikolaev, Kherson.
23:08 Enemy in the Zaporozhye direction from Orekhov, it throws minefields with its cluster mines with self-destruction. The nature of the mining suggests that they are preparing passages for an attack with heavy equipment. The preferred time for their advance is night, as all Western armor supplied by him is equipped with night optics.
22:54 Kherson direction:
The call sign Ossetian informs about the landing of a small group of enemy troops on the islands in the floodplain of the Dnieper River, which are located near our coast.
Now fire weapons are being allocated to destroy the enemy, and at night the enemy landing is planned for destruction. During the landing on boats, the landing failed to be destroyed in a timely manner.
22:48 "Enemy in the Zaporozhye direction from Orekhov, it throws minefields with its cluster mines with self-destruction. The nature of the mining suggests that they are preparing passages for an attack with heavy equipment. The preferred time for their advance is night, as all Western armor supplied by him is equipped with night optics. So, soon they will try to break again. Now with fresh, previously uncommitted reserves.”
22:37 Powerful hit inflicted on the objects of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Beryslav in the Kherson region.
At the local machine-building plant, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are deploying equipment and weapons in order to hold the right bank of the Dnieper.
21:19 Mi-8 helicopter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was shot down in the Kherson direction (15.06. 2023)
At 10.16 on June 15, the enemy launched an air strike with two Mi-8s using NAR in the direction of the settlement of Mikhailovka-Sergeevka against units of the Dnepr group of troops. The enemy aviation did not fulfill the combat mission, the NAR fell into the water with a shortfall of 200 meters to the coastal strip.
One helicopter was shot down by skillful and well-coordinated actions of anti-aircraft gunners. The helicopter was hit at a distance of seven km from the unit's defense line. Shooting was carried out on a pre-running course using one SAM MANPADS "Igla".
20:04 Personnel the most powerful strikes of Russian artillery on the positions of the RF Armed Forces in the Zaporozhye direction
19:03 An air alert has been announced throughout Ukraine, according to the official resource for alerting
19:02 Fighters trying to save another tank that ran into a Russian mine
17:50 RF Armed Forces destroy “Whirlwinds” of two Ukrainian tanks standing side by side from the side of the Ka-52 in the Yuzhnodonetsk direction
16:54 Another padded BMP M2A2 Bradley
The enemy managed to evacuate the car for repairs. The BMP was hit by artillery fire in the Zaporozhye direction.
16:53 Loitering ammunition "Lancet" hits the enemy's Acacia self-propelled guns
Personnel epic detonation of ammunition
16:00 Artillery strikesa boat from the infantry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is trying to cross the Dnieper in the Kherson region
16:00 Air raid alert sounds throughout Ukraine
14:55 Highlights from the new briefing of the RF Ministry of Defense:
🔹Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the area of N. p. Kamyshevakh DPR hit the command post of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
🔹During the fighting in the Donetsk direction, up to 340 Ukrainian soldiers were destroyed per day;
🔹Russian troops repulsed five attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donetsk direction in a day;
🔹Russian troops destroyed the ammunition depot of the 65th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporozhye region;
🔹The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation destroyed the ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Novomikhailovka, Novgorod and Slavny regions in the DPR;
🔹The Russian Armed Forces destroyed two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the Kupyansk direction;
🔹The Russian Armed Forces shot down two Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft in the DPR.
13:41Ukrainians every day suffer huge losses of dead and wounded during a suicidal counter-offensive.
On video the work of the point of stabilization of the wounded of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is shown
13:41 Another minus one destroyed and the Turkish armored vehicle Kirpi, abandoned in the zone of the NWO, handed over to the Ukrainian army
12:38 Russian attack helicopters Mi-28N work anti-tank missiles on the equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporozhye region, the Russian Defense Ministry reports.
12:33 The Russian military may start using an improved version of the AK-12 assault rifle in the NVO zone this year, Kalashnikov reported
11:32 Another Leopard 2A4 tank was blown up by mines in the Zaporozhye direction
Judging by personnel militants, a German tank was blown up in a minefield and abandoned by the crew. It is too early to talk about the complete destruction of this "Leopard", but once again the Nazi attempt to attack ended in the loss of combat potential, so willingly built up by the West.
11:32 AFU during their failed counteroffensive continue to lose equipment in the South Donetsk direction
Another destroyed Artillerymen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation APU tank
10:01 For the past day:
As a result of fire damage by formations of the Dnepr group of troops in the island zone, the following were destroyed:
- 122mm BM-21 MLRS "Grad" with a crew of three people and ammunition;
- 122mm D-30 howitzer with ammunition, losses: five servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed, two were injured of varying severity.
- the position of one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, losses: eight servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed; 12 received injuries of varying severity.
As a result of fire damage by formations of the Dnepr group of troops in the Kherson direction, the following were destroyed:
- 122mm ACS 2S1 "Gvozdika" with a crew of five people and ammunition;
- 120 mm mortar crew and ammunition for it, losses: three servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed, four were injured of varying severity;
As a result of fire damage by formations of the Dnepr group of troops in the Kakhovka direction, the following were destroyed:
- the place of temporary deployment of one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the settlement. Cossack, losses: six servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed; 10 - received injuries of varying severity, four units. automotive equipment - disabled;
- the place of temporary deployment of one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the settlement. Vesele, losses: 10 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed; 14 - received injuries of varying severity, three units. automotive equipment - disabled.
09:49 Another disabled "Leopard" in the Zaporozhye direction. A Leopard 2A4 tank hit an anti-tank mine and was abandoned by Ukrainian militants.
09:36 As a result of a night strike in Krivoy Rog destroyed repair shops and warehouses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
09:29 Artillerymen of the 132nd Brigade destroy enemy infantry and their positions
Artillerymen of the 132nd Brigade of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps (former 3rd Brigade of the NM of the DPR) are destroying Ukrainian militants and their positions in the Novgorod-Dzerzhinsky direction with accurate fire. Adjustment of artillery fire was carried out with the help of BPA.
09:05 Footage of well-coordinated combat work of a unit of the army special forces of the 58th Army with the call sign “Osman” with artillerymen of the Southern Military District on the destruction of armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporozhye direction–video.
08:36 In Ukraine, it was again a noisy night: missiles and Geraniums were fired at enemy targets.
Against the military targets of the enemy, a combined strike was again inflicted using missiles and Geraniums. Explosions were recorded in Kharkov, Krivoy Rog, Vinnitsa, Sumy region. Particular attention was paid to Odessa - numerous explosions sounded there.
"Geranki" worked in the Beryslav district of the Kherson region on the right bank. Arrival in Kharkov to the airport. People from Kharkiv report that a blow was struck on the positions of the Ukrainian S-300 air defense.
08:17 Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksenov reports:
During this night and morning, nine UAVs were recorded over the territory of the Republic of Crimea: six devices were shot down by air defense forces, three were jammed and landed by electronic warfare. One drone detonated in the Krasnogvardeisky district, the village of Dokuchaevo. There were no casualties, windows were broken in a number of houses. All services have left. Please remain calm and trust only trusted sources of information.
04:32 Powerful explosions in Odessa and the region.
03:54 Explosions in Krivoy Rog and Odessa.
03:50 Again explosions in the Odessa region.
03:30 Explosions are reported in the Odessa region.
02:18 Explosions again in the Kharkiv region.
01:39 Massive explosions are reported in Kharkiv. Two arrivals in the Kulinichi area.
01:22 Explosions are heard in the Kharkiv region.
01:02 There are powerful explosions in the Kupyansky district of the Kharkiv region.
0:51 Ukrainian TG channels report explosions in the Sumy region.
0:39 Explosions are heard in the Dnepropetrovsk region.
21:03 The Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) for the fourth time in a day attacked the territory of the DPR from a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), firing six missiles at Ozeryanovka. This was reported in the representative office of the region in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of Issues Related to War Crimes of Ukraine (JCCC). 19:30 In the Zaporozhye direction, our troops continue to hold back offensive of the Armed Forces.
“We work in the 24/7 mode, that is, every day around the clock: there was no ceasefire even for a minute. We crushed and continue to suppress their firing points," says the artilleryman with the call sign “First”.
“Thanks to the coherence of our calculations, we achieved the main result - the Ukrainian military personnel not only could not come close to our positions, but were also destroyed along with their guns,” the fighter said.
19:15 In Nova Kakhovka, air defense forces shot down several Ukrainian missiles and drones.
18:45 Militants of the Kyiv regime fired three rockets from the MLRS at Volnovakha - DPR JCCC.
18:31 Over the past day, the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired at the DPR 34 times, firing 220 units of various ammunition. It is reported by the JCCC DPR. Two civilians were injured.
18:17 The battles near Orekhovo have intensified: the enemy has taken up positions and is concentrating forces.
The 291st and 70th regiments are back in business: the fighting is intensifying on the Orekhov-Rabotino line. After a rain-induced respite, the enemy began to increase combat activity again. After the artillery battles, the enemy infantry joined. The fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine moved into position, firing AGS, heavy machine guns. Ours return fire. In the dark, the enemy is expected to switch to new offensive actions. On the direction there is an accumulation and regrouping of enemy forces.
18:00 The Ukrainian TG channel “Woman with a scythe” writes: “On the sidelines there were rumors that the offensive was stalled due to losses not only in front, but also because of the constant attacks of the Russians on the near rear of the warehouses. This made some adjustments to the offensive, slowing down its dynamics. Now the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to transfer, but the logistics are complicated by drains.”
17:25 Archangel Spetsnaz reports:
“The Orekhovskoye direction, the enemy went to closed positions and began work to cover their assault groups. At 16:37, 291 SMEs were destroyed by artillery, and infantry was also destroyed. There is confirmation of another destroyed foreign AFV. Artillery preparation is underway now, most likely something will happen at night. We wait".
17:00 Statement of head of the press center of the Vostok group:
In the South-Donetsk direction, units of the group of troops "Vostok", with the support of artillery and aviation, inflicted fire damage on the enemy, who is trying to conduct offensive operations. Motorized rifle units in the directions of Novoselka, Novodarovka, Levadnoye destroyed tanks, armored combat vehicles and manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine when repelling enemy attacks. At night, an enemy attack was repulsed in the area of the Oktyabr state farm, during which tanks, armored combat vehicles and manpower were destroyed.
Artillery fire destroyed an M-777 howitzer in the Temirovka area, a tank and manpower in the area south of Velikaya Novoselka.
The attack of the enemy was repelled and the approach of the reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the direction of Makarovka was stopped. Tanks, armored combat vehicles, a pickup truck and manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed by shots from hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers, launches of anti-tank guided missiles and artillery fire.
Army aviation strikes destroyed several tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, armored combat vehicles, hit about a dozen places of accumulation of manpower. The use of shock drones destroyed a tank and a mining machine of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area south of the Oktyabr state farm.
In the Zaporozhye direction, the enemy conducted reconnaissance, fired artillery, and also made attempts to regroup forces.
Artillery fire from the grouping destroyed a 122mm D-30 towed howitzer, inflicted defeat on accumulations of enemy manpower. Air defense systems shot down six UAVs of the Fury, Valkyrie and Leleka types.
16:53 Militants of the Kyiv regime fired three rockets at Volnovakha from the MLRS - JCCC DPR.
16:27 Repelling an attack by militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the South Donetsk direction, the crew of the Ka-52 destroyed two tanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which were firing at the positions of Russian military personnel, with guided missiles. Both pieces of enemy equipment were destroyed along with the crews -video.
16:05 Above the Black Sea, 100 km from the southern coast of Crimea circling high-altitude American UAV RQ-4B Global Hawk. Part of the flight is carried out with the transponder turned off.
15:22 About the current operational situation according to Western data:
On the Zaporozhye and Bakhmut lines, attacks by the Ukrainian army continue, involving both large and small units. No significant results. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing for the transition to the third phase of the offensive using new vehicles such as the Challenger 2, M1A1 Abrams and Marder 1A5
14:48 Under fire from Ukrainian militants Donetsk (Petrovsky and Kirovsky districts). According to the DPR JCCC, seven rounds with a caliber of 155mm were fired.
14:35 Kherson direction on 15.06 14:20:
Today, closer to noon, an attempt to land troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the settlement was suppressed. Alyoshka. The enemy was crossing on 5-6 boats. There were about two platoons of personnel.
As a result of the active work of our aerial reconnaissance, one boat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was sunk after the use of a mortar strike. The rest of the enemies turned into a flight.
14:23 Under fire from Ukrainian militants Donetsk (Petrovsky and Kirovsky districts). According to the DPR JCCC, six rounds with a caliber of 155mm were fired.
14:00 Fixation of consequences of the artillery attack of the Kievsky district of Donetsk 06/15/2023
Specialists of the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC confirmed the artillery attack of the Kievsky district, and also specified the weapons used and the direction of fire. The enemy fired from their positions located in the area of the settlement. Falcon, using 152mm artillery.
13:35 The enemy made an attempt to land the DRG near the positions of the RF Armed Forces in the area of Golay Pristan and Alyoshek, Kherson region.
According to reports from the field, the APU involved four boats and about 40 personnel. The movements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were revealed by our aerial reconnaissance. One of the boats was destroyed.
13:23 Armed Forces of Ukraine fired at residential areas of Donetsk -video.
13:00 Explosions are heard in Nova Kakhovka.
12:50 Consequences of the artillery attack of the Kievsky district of Donetsk by Ukrainian militants -photo.
12:17 The air defense system in the LPR against Storm Shadow is working quite effectively, a large number of missiles have been destroyed over the past two days - head of the LPR Pasechnik
12:02 Under fire from Ukrainian terrorists, the village of the mine named after. N. A. Izotova (Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka).
11:57 Says nothing about the beginning of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the line of contact in the LPR - Pasechnik.
11:47 Kherson direction over the past day in the area of the Kazachi Lagery, the situation is as follows:
The enemy is actively working with a mortar crew, on the positions of the RF Armed Forces, as well as on civilians. They do not allow civilians to put their houses in order after the flood. Enemy UAVs are actively flying, conducting aerial reconnaissance and dropping “gifts”. The enemy’s cannon artillery also works with periodicity, they do not allow them to relax.
11:26 This morning, the enemy in the area of Hola Pristan, Kherson region, attempted to land their DRGs on our shore.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine involved four boats, the total number of enemy personnel was at least forty people. One of the boats was supposed to distract the Russian military while the other three were landing.
As a result, only the distracting boat managed to land, but not on the shore, but on the bottom of the Dnieper. The other three raced off home to lick their wounds
11:05 AFU units opened fire on the village of Dnepryany in the Kherson region, a child was killed, the administration of the Novokahovsky urban district reported.
10:45 According to the operational lines of the JCCC DPR for June 15, as of 10:30, information was received about damage as a result of artillery attack of the VFU of the cities of the Republic:
Donetsk (Kyiv region):
- st. Comintern, 50 - a private residential building;
- st. Kuindzhi, 23, 25, 27 - private residential buildings.
10:24 Zaporozhye direction on the morning of 15.06:
Artillery duels began early in the morning. Aerial reconnaissance continues to work on both sides. There is relative activity in the movement of enemy equipment. The militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not yet taken any assault actions.
09:56 Information on the artillery attack of Gorlovka as of 08:00 on June 15, 2023
09:30 APU unsuccessfully tried to break through near Artemovsk, adviser to the acting head of the DPR Igor Kimakovsky said on the air of the Solovyov Live TV channel. In this regard, Kimakovsky praised the work of the Russian forces to repel the attack.
09:10 Zaporozhye Front - Orekhovskoe direction:
In this direction in the area of N. p. Rabotino militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the forces of up to two companies, tried to carry out several attacks in order to capture our positions and break through the first line of defense.
They were met by dense artillery fire, and as they approached our positions, also by rifle fire.
Having suffered losses in manpower and armored vehicles (at least one unit), the Nazis rolled back.
The main goal of the offensive operations of the enemy in the area of the settlement. Rabotino - exit to Tokmak.
Artillery duels are constantly conducted in this direction.
09:05 Over the past day, 34 artillery attacks from the AFU were recorded - DPR Representative Office in the JCCC
Ukrainian nationalists fired from MLRS, 152mm and 155mm artillery, firing 220 different types of ammunition across the territory of the Republic. Gorlovka (Central City, Nikitovsky districts), Luganskoye, Mikhailovka, Panteleymonovka, Donetsk (Kuibyshevsky, Kievsky, Kirovsky, Petrovsky districts), Yelenovka and Vladimirovka were under enemy fire.
As a result of shelling, two people were injured in the Leninsky district of Donetsk and Vladimirovka.
A total of 11 residential buildings were damaged in Kievsky, Petrovsky and Kuibyshevsky districts of Donetsk, Staromikhaylovka, as well as one civil infrastructure facility.
08:44 The criminal Kiev regime continues to shell the civilian infrastructure of the settlements on the left bank of the Kherson region, yesterday during the day the Armed Forces of Ukraine were fired from barrel artillery:
-- n.p. Novaya Kakhovka fired eight rounds;
-- n.p. Korsunka fired nine rounds;
-- 12 rounds were fired at the settlement of Krynki;
-- Six rounds were fired at Novaya Zburyevka;
-- n.p. The Kardashians fired 18 rounds;
-- n.p. Peschanovka fired seven rounds;
-- n.p. Kazachi Lagery fired six rounds;
-- n.p. Aleshki fired 10 rounds.
Civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure to be confirmed
During the night, the Kiev regime continued to shell civilian infrastructure in the settlement of Novaya Kakhovka, the settlement of Kakhovka, N. Tavriysk, N. Vasilievka, firing a total of 27 rounds from barrel artillery.
Civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure to be confirmed
08:35 Under fire from Ukrainian militants Makeevka (Chervonogvardeisky district). According to the DPR JCCC, five rounds with a caliber of 155mm were fired.
08:15 Frontline summary on the morning of 15.06.2023:
In the Zaporozhye direction, Ukrainian troops conducted offensive operations in the Rabotin area. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation struck at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kamensky, Malaya Tokmachka, Gulyaipolsky, Zheleznodorozhny and Gulyaipole.
On the Vuglodar sector, oncoming battles in the area of Urozhaynoye. Ukrainian troops are forced to move from active assault operations to fighting for the initiative. Russian artillery fired on units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Levadny, Novopol and Vremivka.
There is a practical calm on the ground along the entire length of the Donetsk front. Russian artillery was active. Under shelling, positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Novomikhailovka, Pobeda, Maryinka, Georgievka, Maksimilyanovka, the city of Krasnogorovka, Nevelsky, Netaylov, Karlovka, Severny (a settlement west of Avdievka), Avdeevka, Sukha Balka, Yuzhny, Toretsk and Druzhba. Ukrainian troops attacked Donetsk and Vodyany.
In the Bakhmut direction, after artillery strikes, the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to advance in the Kleshcheevka area. They also conducted assault operations at Yagodnoye and Berkhovka. Here without success.
Russian artillery hit Ukrainian units in Konstantinovka, Ivanovsky, Bogdanovka, Grigorovka, Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, Vasyukovka, Spornoye and Verkhnekamensky. The Armed Forces of Ukraine were artillery attack the positions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Bakhmut.
08:08 Personnel combat work of the crews of the MLRS "Tornado-G" of the Western Military District
In one of the directions in the NMD zone, artillery reconnaissance and UAV crews opened command posts, communication centers and warehouses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The coordinates of these targets were transferred to the gunners. The Tornado-G MLRS battery advanced, took up a firing position and struck at the identified enemy targets.
07:28 Under fire from Ukrainian militants Donetsk. According to the DPR JCCC, 33 rounds with a caliber of 155mm were fired.
06:01 Militants of the Kyiv regime fired 20 rockets from the MLRS in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk.
The Ukrainians have serious competitors to transform Russia into Muscovy.
They do not call for these transformations, but simply silently do their job.
Demographic Vacuums
For more than a decade, our megacities have been growing with new microdistricts of "pencil cases" and "Chinese walls" going into the clouds. Developers, with the permission of the authorities, continue to build up all free and not free places with “humans”.
Over the past 10 years, Moscow and St. Petersburg with regions and the Krasnodar Territory have become leaders in housing construction in Russia. The same regions occupy the leading lines when calculating the natural population loss in their federal districts for 2019–2021. And at the same time, over the same period, three of them are among the all-Russian leaders in terms of migration population growth.
A comparison of the processes of natural decline and migration of the population, on the one hand, and housing construction, on the other hand, shows that these five regions have become all-Russian “vacuum cleaners”, sucking in a new population.
One can argue at length about the causes of this social process. There are many of them: salaries, weather conditions, social sphere, etc. Much has been written and said about it. However, it is especially important that such migration greatly contributes to the “pumping out” of the population from Siberia, the Far East and other regions of the country.
During the period under review, 2019–2021 alone, about 700,000 people left the Far Eastern and Siberian Federal Districts — the population of five to seven medium-sized cities. This process was slowed down by the pandemic, otherwise the numbers would have been even more impressive.
At the same time, the population of megacities is not reproduced. It is clear that various factors affect the birth rate, but the fact is the fact.
There are other studies that prove the detrimental effect of megacities on the population. They relate to the deterioration of the psychological state of people, their health in general, the negative impact on the environment, etc.
Several years ago, a wonderful renovation program was launched to move the residents of the city of Moscow into new homes. But it fades against the backdrop of commercial housing under construction.
Only 3.5 million m² (13%) of 27 ml. m² built since the start of the program is intended for the resettlement of Muscovites. The remaining 23.6 million m², it turns out, is mostly for migrants from both inside and outside, which gives a significant increase in the population of the capital regions.
The construction industry, no doubt, employs tens or hundreds of thousands of people, allows you to quickly replenish city budgets with taxes. But among these thousands of builders, the proportion of those same migrants is very large.
Balashikha ahead of Singapore
The Moscow authorities have really done a lot of good things to create comfortable living conditions: the historical center (in which only 6% of Moscow residents live) has been repaired, walking areas, comfortable parks have been made, the service sector has been developed, convenient transport, communications, security, etc. It is true that the capital in many respects has become the best city in the world.
But this beautiful "iceberg" has an invisible part. The one that they don’t want to talk about and think about is the development of sleeping areas.
In Moscow, restrictions on building density and population density have been practically lifted. High-rise (20-30 floors) houses are located 20-30 meters from each other, so you can observe in detail life in the house opposite. To sweeten this pill, they create fashionable entrance groups, stylish but very small yards, instead of those Soviet ones, with dozens of trees, where children could run, play and ride a bike. The parking problem is getting worse.
The increase in population density entails an increase in the load on transport. The authorities are heroically and not unsuccessfully creating a new road infrastructure, public transport works like clockwork. But right there, new microdistricts grow up around the new highways. Soon all the possibilities for the construction of transport infrastructure will be exhausted. It's like running in circles.
The cities near Moscow have long been striving to become world leaders in terms of population density: Reutov, with 12,527 people per square kilometer, has already made New York with its 10,430 people per square kilometer. km. Odintsovo (9,211 people/sq. km) and Balashikha (7,552 people/sq. km) have already outstripped the island of Singapore (7,437 people/sq. km) and are catching up with the leader of the Moscow region.
But we won't stop there. We love to be first, don't we? Philippine Manila has a density of 41.5 thousand people/sq. km. True, there are only islands and not a single square meter of the mainland, while we have the largest territory in the world. But can it bother us?
And one more question - what will happen next when the construction begins to curtail? The problem of finding a job in a 5,000-strong single-industry town will seem like a trifle compared to the problem of finding a job in a residential area built up with skyscrapers.
Concrete boxes do not create jobs, and real estate taxes are orders of magnitude less than taxes on operating enterprises. Where will all these people work? Jobs in cafes and flower shops on the ground floor of their skyscraper are not enough for everyone. And artificial intelligence is advancing so fast that very soon the question will arise - what to do with hundreds of thousands of accountants, lawyers, SMS people, etc.
At the same time, the construction of these skyscrapers in itself kills jobs, because the favorite construction sites are the old industrial zones. In the shops of these industrial zones there are usually small manufacturing enterprises: furniture, metal processing, car services and others that need to be closer to the consumer. Thus, small manufacturing and partially service enterprises are squeezed out of the redistribution of megacities.
We must pay tribute to Moscow - there are 42 technoparks here, but they are all geared towards high technology, IT and creativity. And where should a small car service, carpentry or glass workshop and other not burdened with innovations, but so necessary for the city residents, both the clients of these companies and the Muscovites who work in them with their hands, go?
What to do?
Many of these arguments in one way or another sounded from specialists in demography, urban planning, sociologists and economists. However, are there recipes for solving the described problems? Undoubtedly!
First of all, it is necessary to create a systemic barrier to the “wild” development of large cities and limit the number of storeys of residential buildings under construction. To do this, it is necessary at the legislative level to return the norms of building density and population in all cities throughout the country to the standards that existed in the Soviet era. This in itself will automatically solve many of the problems described above.
But perhaps more drastic measures are needed. For example, in cities with a population of over a million people, allow the construction of housing only for residents of these cities and / or only to replace the old one.
Establish by law the maximum share of apartments in the total living area of cities. It may be a little more in large cities and tourist centers. Prohibit permanent residence (say, no more than 6 months a year) in the apartments of their owners. Apartments can only be for temporary residence, for rent.
This will deprive developers and local authorities of the opportunity to create housing that is not provided with social infrastructure.
At the site of the demolished industrial zones, approximately the same number of jobs should appear for those who work with their hands. Those who work with their hands in modern times, as it turned out, are more in demand than those who work in the office.
Through regulation and incentives, direct the efforts of developers to solve problems outside the five regions mentioned.
Many of our new fellow citizens have lost their homes as a result of the fighting.
The state is already doing a lot for them. But everyone understands that the scale of the construction tasks in the territories returned home will require the efforts of the whole country, and the construction business in particular.
And the state now has carte blanche from the people to create conditions for redirecting the construction business from the “sweet” places to those that the state and the people need.
Russia's spatial development strategy must be updated to take into account the new challenges and wishes of our citizens.
About 70% of Russian citizens would like to buy their own house. Among the main advantages of this type of housing, respondents name the environment and the ability to independently improve the local area. This is evidenced by the results of a joint survey conducted by the DOM. RF and VTsIOM in 2021.
Supporting this desire will help solve the problem of spatial development, remove many of the problems of maintaining apartment buildings in a normal state from the authorities and, finally, make people happier with all the ensuing consequences.
The worst diseases are those that are invisible to the eye. Like cancer - you don’t see it and don’t feel it until it passes into the terminal stage, when it’s too late to “drink Borjomi”. The diagnosis is already known, the terminal stage has not yet been reached, it remains only to draw the attention of doctors to the patient and begin treatment.
#1
One more time for Central Planning imposed from on high to fail ...epically. I read reviews of a book many years about how the USSR 'planned' an archipelago of model cities above the Arctic Circle stretching through Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. The thesis of the book that the support of these artificial cities was levying up to a 20% drag on the entire Soviet economy -- missed opportunity cost, higher support cost and continuing costs from investing in a 'sunk cost fallacy'.
So people leaving is only rational... Now the Central Planners will build more pyramids to Progress and expect something different to happen this time.
The Conference of the Catholic Episcopate in Poland (KEP) announced events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Volyn genocide - the murder of 100,000 Poles during World War II by Ukrainian nationalists and ordinary Ukrainians with the spiritual support of local Greek Catholic and Orthodox priests. The national day of mourning in Poland in memory of the dead is celebrated on July 11.
According to KEP President Archbishop Stanisław Gondetsky of Poznań , on July 7, he and the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk, will issue a joint statement as a step towards Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation. And the day before, on June 17, in all parishes, the “Act of handing over Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary” will be read as a necessary condition for peace to come between these countries within the framework of the traditional teaching of the Church, which has always entrusted itself to the Virgin Mary in times of trial.
On July 8, Gondetsky said, in the village of Paroslia, the site of the first Polish victims of the 1943 genocide, a mass will be celebrated with the participation of the Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine. The next day, a memorial service for the dead will be held at the Lutsk Cathedral. There will be presented the "vision" of the tragedy by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Catholic Church in Ukraine.
However, in the way the Polish and Ukrainian Catholics and Greek Catholics will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Volyn genocide, there is more of a political component than a church one. Although Gondetsky declares that reconciliation cannot take place without taking into account the families of the victims themselves, the leadership of the Catholic Church in Poland has already decided everything for itself.
Polish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Suspended Over Volyn Massacre Claims
After all, since February last year, Polish bishops have been constantly assuring those around them of their “ prayer for Ukraine, which is resisting Russian aggression .” Moreover, the President of the Conference of the Catholic Episcopate in Poland, after the start of the special military operation, criticized the Holy See for its " past and present " approach to Russia and the Ukrainian conflict as allegedly " very naive and utopian,"
This changes the former focus of the Catholic Polish and Ukrainian bishops on the problem of the Volyn genocide. Since the time of Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian politicians and church leaders have been insisting on the formula “forgive and ask for forgiveness”, which until recently caused indignation among the Poles.
When in 2013 Archbishop Shevchuk and Metropolitan of the Przemysl-Warsaw Archdiocese of the UGCC Jan Martyniak once again advocated the implementation of this principle, they were sharply criticized by the head of the Lviv Archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Ukraine, Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki , former secretary of Pope John Paul II . Then he demanded that the basis of the Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation be an absolute and unconditional condemnation of the ideology of extreme nationalism.
"At present, in Ukraine, especially in the west of the country, nationalism is seen as the basis of state building, nationalist leaders are rising to the level of heroes," Mokshitsky said. Lack of knowledge about the past and, as a result, society's tolerance for terrible crimes, such as the ethnic cleansing in Volhynia in 1943, does not allow one to talk about reconciliation, he assured.
But that's then. Now radical Ukrainian nationalism does not bother both Polish politicians and Polish bishops. And the formula “we forgive and ask for forgiveness” is planned to be used for the same purposes with which the Catholic bishops implemented it in 1965 in a dialogue with the Catholic Church in Germany.
Recall that in that year, Archbishop Bolesław Kominek of Wrocław initiated the signing of the “Letter to German Brothers in Ministry”. The signatories of the message were, among others, the future Pope, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, and the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyshinsky of Warsaw.
After listing the sins of the German people against the Polish, including inciting hostility between Poles and Ukrainians, which resulted in the Volyn genocide, the archbishop touched upon the topical problems of the then international relations. These included the issues of recognizing the new border and securing in Poland the "reunited territories", the former German lands that Warsaw inherited as a result of the Second World War.
The letter of the Polish bishops received a political follow-up in 1970. The government of Willy Brandt came to power in Germany . As part of the implementation of the new eastern policy, Bonn recognized the western borders of Poland along the Oder and Neisse, which was what the leadership of the Polish People's Republic sought.
However, today it is becoming clear that the formula "forgive and ask for forgiveness" has shown a short-term effect. The current ruling Polish coalition, led by the Law and Justice Party (PiS), is taking a revisionist approach.
PiS is demanding reparations from Berlin in the amount of 1.3 trillion euros for the damage suffered by Poland during the occupation of the country by the Nazis. Anti-German sentiments are kindled, Germany again becomes an "enemy," although, however, the second after Russia. And the pro-government press and analysts are reducing public discussions to the question of whose heir Berlin is today - the Second or Third Reich.
Political calculation dictates the need to use the previously unacceptable formula for Polish bishops in relation to Ukraine, “we forgive and ask for forgiveness.” The conference of the Catholic episcopate in Poland this year declared its neutrality with regard to the campaign for elections to the Sejm and the Senate. However, artificial reconciliation with the Ukrainian side on the issue of the Volyn genocide plays into the hands of the ruling coalition, whose support of the Kyiv regime irritates many voters.
So, when other political winds blow in Poland, it may turn out that in fact the Poles neither forgave nor asked for forgiveness before the heirs of the creators of the senseless and cruel massacre in Volhynia.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov , was injured during an attack on Kiev, which was carried out by the Armed Forces (AF) of Russia. This was reported on June 15 by RIA Novosti , referring to an employee of law enforcement agencies.
Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Budanov, he is being treated in Berlin
He said that he received information from sources in the GUR. The head of Ukrainian intelligence was injured on May 29 when a rocket attack was launched on the building of the department.
“A Russian rocket flew into the next office with Budanov ,” the source told reporters.
According to him, the head of the GUR was pulled out from under the rubble and sent by helicopter to Poland. A special aircraft of the Air Medical Evacuation Squadron of the US Air Force flew there for him and transported him to Berlin. Flight data is available on the Flightaradar service.
The Russian special services also know the exact location of the place where Budanov is being treated - the Berlin hospital of the Bundeswehr on Scharnhorststrasse, 13. The condition of the Ukrainian commander is grave.
Journalists got through to this hospital and asked about Budanov. The one who received the call, after conferring for a minute, said that they did not have such a person.
As IA Regnum reported, on May 29 the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny was also wounded . He was wounded in the head when Russian forces hit a Ukrainian command post near Kherson. He underwent a craniotomy . Kyiv refutes this information, but Zaluzhny does not appear in the media space for a long time, although he often did this before.
On May 30, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov , announced the strike of the Russian Armed Forces on decision-making centers in Ukraine, where, under the leadership of Western curators, terrorist attacks were being prepared on the territory of the Russian Federation. The general stressed that on this day it was possible to hit all the targets.
#2
Cope hard. After Russia losing the chief of staff of the 35th Army (who was reported actually running of the 35th in the absence of the notional commander), no proof of life of the Chechen #2, reported gravely wounded, has been seen. Only an old video and a hostage tweet.
Kherson , June 14, 2023, 23:28 - IA Regnum. The military tribunal should try the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg and his NATO colleagues for organizing the supply of weapons to Ukraine, said the acting governor of the Kherson region Volodymyr Saldo .
Jens Stoltenberg
“Stoltenberg can say what he sees fit. And all the points where they send their missiles and where they give their weapons are known ... Stoltenberg and all such "colleagues" are subject to a military tribunal," Saldo said on the sidelines of the SPIEF, noting that by doing so, the NATO Secretary General and his colleagues are committing military crime.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that the heads of the defense ministries of the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance during a meeting in Brussels on June 15 will discuss the creation of a long-term program of military assistance to Ukraine. Also, according to him, the largest representatives of the military industry in Europe will be invited to the meeting.
As IA Regnum reported , at a press conference in Brussels, the Secretary General of the military-political bloc confirmed NATO's plans to deploy more than three hundred thousand military personnel, including units of air and naval forces, in European countries .
Stoltenberg also recalled that he was counting on Sweden joining the North Atlantic Alliance by the beginning of the NATO summit in Vilnius, which will be held on July 11-12.
🧵 Today Putin has sent Xi Jinping greetings on his 70th birthday. Rapport between two leaders is important, as both regimes get increasingly personalistic. But 🇨🇳🇷🇺 high-level ties are institutionalized and extend beyond Putin-Xi bromance. Who's in charge? Let's take a look. 1/ pic.twitter.com/FbpPW4jrRP
What adequate authors have been writing about for more than a year, over which all sorts of Russophobes have been making fun of furiously and strainedly, has happened. The American Bloomberg fired a doublet of publications that confirm the correctness of the calculations, which were dismissed by the European political establishment. The publication cites excerpts from the speech of the Vice-Chancellor of Germany and concurrently the Minister of Economics.
Speaking at an economic forum in the German community of Bad Saarow, Robert Habek, without hesitation and without choosing a word, says that German industry in all its diversity, already at the turn of this winter, may either plunge into a severe historical crisis, or even cease to exist. If someone does not believe our interpretation, he is free to follow the link and see everything with his own eyes.
Any zealous owner, even without knowing the Russian folk saying, prepares a vital sled in the summer - and the Germans have always been famous for their thoroughness in business.
Robert Habek, who has the maximum completeness of the economic information of the state, claims that the collapse will be caused by Russian natural gas - the very one that the European Union so pompously and defiantly refused, indulging in the hope of a collapse of the economy, but already Russian. The team of Olaf Scholz , represented by the vice-chancellor, suddenly waking up in a severe financial and energy hangover, sounds the alarm and works out Russian narratives: it has not been possible to replace eastern imports, and there is absolutely not enough volume of our own storage facilities. In addition, no one knows how much energy carriers will cost at the turn of the end of September, which is traditionally considered in Europe as a threshold line from which the heating season starts.
The second negative factor is the notorious European unity, which has been pecked on the head of all the naive and gullible. There are approved norms for the supply of natural gas to each EU country in proportion, based on the size of the economies and total consumption. So Habek says bluntly that with the already existing internal energy shortage, Berlin is obliged to ensure gas exports to other countries in the east (read: to Poland). In other words, to select, perhaps, the last saving drops of life-giving moisture, dooming their own industry to death from thirst, but saving the half-dead economy of Poland. Which, by the way, for the entire time of its existence within the EU received the largest financial subsidies, that is, it was already the backbone of financially abundant Germany.
While the audience in the hall was digesting what they heard, Robert Habek delivered a third, already knockout blow.
According to the estimates of all industry experts, without exception, Russia is in principle ready to extend and expand the existing export gas contracts, but after the undermining of three Nord Stream pipelines, the physical possibilities of pumping fell by a factor, and Moscow , realizing the current hopeless situation of Brussels, will conclude a new contract for completely different conditions. At the same time, even the theoretical probability of such an outcome will annul Ukraine's participation in the scheme . The latter, as Western analysts admit, will not enter into any negotiations with Russia.
The liquefied gas from the USA , which is being actively promoted to the market, could not turn the tide either.
The German minister mentions that the construction of the only regasification terminal in the north of the country, which the government has been honored with over the past year, is actually stalling.
Incredibly, in this case, Russia is not to blame for anything. Opposed by local residents and environmental organizations, who are sure that the launch of such an object will harm the ecology of the coastal zone. It is very ironic, because this ideally coincides with the postulates of the green agenda, which Berlin itself was so actively promoting, and now it has rested its forehead against a carefully built wall.
The second publication emphasizes the seriousness of what is happening even more, as in it German industrialists, in particular representatives of the RWE AG concern, are estimating whether it is possible to save the real sector of Germany if underground gas storage facilities in western Ukraine are used. At the moment, the own UGS facilities of the Old World are 70 percent full, while underground reservoirs in the Lviv region are only a third. If the remaining capacities are filled and then pumped to Slovakia, Poland, Austria and Germany, this could cover at least 10-15 percent of consumption.
At the same time, mind-boggling statistics became public knowledge.
The European Union over the past year and a half, in order to avoid panic in the markets and compensate anchor consumers for energy purchases at record prices, spent 646 billion euros. It is at this amount that the analytical agency Bruegel evaluates interventions. Just for comparison: Western experts define the entire military budget of our country at $65-70 billion, that is, approximately ten times less than the EU has already swelled just to keep its economy afloat.
The Ukrainian scheme has its undeniable merits.
The storage facilities are located extremely far from the line of hostilities and are historically connected to nearby countries by a dense web of pipe piping, so supplies from here could really support the staggering eurohouse. The issue, which is never mentioned in the original post, is simple and minor. It is possible to fill Ukrainian UGS facilities only with Russian gas, the stream of which, through the efforts of all the participants in the next historical confrontation, is getting weaker and weaker.
In this regard, there is an opinion that Olaf Scholz and his associates need to learn a couple of prayers for the winter by the winter. Come in handy.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/16/2023 12:07 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Sour grapes from Russia. Their gas exports to Europe is 25% from before the war and the price has also collapsed to prewar levels. The Russian gov budget and economy are taking huge hits since the gas that went to Europe does not have ready export routes, Turkey being about it.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
