[BattleSwarm] Remember the T-14 Armata, the next-generation Russian main battle tank that’s had numerous, well-documented teething problems?
After much delay and speculation, Russia is finally fielding them in Ukraine.
Russia has begun using its new T-14 Armata battle tanks to fire on Ukrainian positions "but they have not yet participated in direct assault operations," the RIA state news agency reported on Tuesday, quoting a source close the matter.
RIA said that the tanks have been fitted with extra protection on their flanks and crews have undergone "combat coordination" at training grounds in Ukraine.
The T-14 tank has an unmanned turret, with crew remotely controlling the armaments from "an isolated armoured capsule located in the front of the hull."
The tanks have a maximum speed on the highway of 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour, RIA reported.
In January, British military intelligence reported that Russian forces in Ukraine were reluctant to accept the first tranche of the tanks due to their "poor condition."
It also said that any deployment of the T-14 would likely be "a high-risk decision" for Russia, and one taken primarily for propaganda purposes.
"Production is probably only in the low tens, while commanders are unlikely to trust the vehicle in combat," the British military said.
"Eleven years in development, the programme has been dogged with delays, reduction in planned fleet size, and reports of manufacturing problems."
If your interest level doesn’t support viewing a full hour of Armata-bashing, here are some takeaways:
"The T14 combines all the ultimate Russian technology previously introduced onto NATO tanks 25 years ago in a way that only a country trying to inflate the share prices of Raytheon would understand." (Raytheon makes Javelin.)
"It does away with all the unnecessary ERA systems of the T90, which cannot protect the tank against missiles that were invented in the 80s, and instead replaces them with an active protection system that can almost defend the tank against missiles that were invented in the 90s."
"An auto loader famous for jamming that now cannot be accessed and cleared when it does jam, is somehow heavier and slower than the tank it has replaced, and comes combined together in a package so expensive the company that made it immediately went bankrupt. The country that bought it cannot afford it and it has about as much export potential as English whiskey."
"For a while, every idiot with even the vaguest sense of military interest was banging on about this tank as if Stalin had come back to life and had personally forged the hull from his own ball sack. And that all tanks across every nation in the world had just been rendered obsolete."
Sections on repeated post-Soviet tank design failures, like the T-95 and Black Knight, and coverage of Russian brain drain, omitted.
The weird, Tiger-2 derived engine is unreliable.
The driver’s vision sucks.
No crew access to the turret internally.
The autoloader is slower than the manual fire rates on T-80s, T-72s and Abrams.
"The qualifying time for [an Abrams] loader to pass training is seven seconds, and the best crews claim they can reload in about four to five seconds. Meaning a good Abrams can fire twice before the T-14 has reloaded."
"Ukrainian hackers found that most of the electronic systems on board, including the digital sights, the night vision, the infrared, were all in fact western imports. Most notably, these were last generation French optics from Leclerc MBTs left over from when they were all upgraded to ICONE in 2009."
Current Russian tank optics are actually available to the general public. "They’re not even the best that are currently available. If you’ve got a spare five grand, you can go into any high-end spy gadget store and buy a drone that will give you better night vision and IR tracking capabilities than the latest generation of modern Russian tanks."
China reportedly found out that none of the tank’s systems actually worked. "The soft kill defense systems were simply smoke screens, and the hard kill systems designed specifically to stop the Javelin and the TOW missile could not detect if either of these systems had been fired at the tank, and relied entirely on the crew being able to notice a missile traveling at the speed of sound flying towards them."
"To top it off, there was no evidence of the supposed electronic warfare systems that could render guided missiles and mines inert."
"Nothing in the Armata is new."
The idea that western tanks need to catch up to the Armata is laughable. "By the time the Armata enters service, it will already be outdated."
"Everything the Armata is has been done before, and in many cases has been done better."
"Russia is not an equal to the United States and NATO, it’s an equal to North Korea, both technologically backwards nations."
Will all those problems still be present when the Armata engages enemy armor in Ukraine? Some certainly will. I doubt Armata electronics or optics can compare to those on western vehicles, and I bet that its active protection package is miles behind Trophy (which I don’t think will be on any Ukrainian tanks anyway). But I do suspect they’ve had enough time to improve the reliability of the engine, and I’m guessing the armor and autoloader improvements will improve survivability for the tank crew.
Can the Armata take out Ukraine’s legacy Soviet tanks? Almost certainly. Can it take out Challenger 2s, Leopard 2s, and M1A2 Abrams? If it’s able to close in and get off the first shot, probably. But I’m guessing it will find the opportunities to do so few and far between.
#2
"first shot". If it hits, that's usually it. Thing is, those on the receiving end, including other vehicles, may not know whence came the round, leaving time for the second round before any return fire is practical.
So we're talking tactics and command capabilities. Tanks on the defense can go to hull-down with,givn time, camouflage. And not moving.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
04/27/2023 23:42 Comments ||
Top||
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[RIA Novosti] In the Murmansk region, a MiG-31 fighter-interceptor crashed, the Ministry of Defense reported.
The accident happened today during a scheduled training flight.
"The plane crashed in a deserted place. Both pilots ejected," the ministry said.
The pilots were quickly evacuated by a search and rescue helicopter. The life and health of the crew is not in danger.
The pilots managed to eject, and the plane crashed into a lake near Monchegorsk. Rescue personnel have already left for the scene. According to preliminary data, the cause of the accident was a fire on board.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[LB] During the day, it was possible to repulse 43 enemy attacks in three directions.
by Vera Perun
Heavy fighting continues for Bakhmut, Ukrainian units repelled numerous Russian attacks near Maryinka, - General Staff
Heavy fighting continues for the city of Bakhmut. During the day, the Russian occupying forces conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the direction of the settlements of Orihovo-Vasylivka and Ivanovske.
This is reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine .
Also, Ukrainian defenders repelled numerous attacks by the occupiers in the Maryinka area.
During the day, the enemy launched three missile and 31 air strikes and launched about 26 attacks from rocket salvo systems.
The invaders are concentrating their main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Bakhmut, Avdiiv and Marin directions - during the day they managed to repulse 43 enemy attacks.
Instead, the Air Force of the Defense Forces carried out 11 strikes during the day on areas where Russian personnel and military equipment were concentrated. An enemy reconnaissance UAV of the "Supercam" type was also shot down .
According to the command, the situation at the front as of 18:00 on April 26 is as follows:
the operational situation on the Volyn and Polissky directions has not changed significantly. No signs of formation of enemy offensive groups were detected;
in Siversk and Slobozhansk, the enemy maintains a military presence in the Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod regions bordering Ukraine. During the day, he carried out artillery and mortar attacks on the settlements of Medvedivka, Galaganivka, Leonivka, Buda-Vorobyivska, Gremyach of Chernihiv region; Znob-Trubchevska, Chernatske, Seredyna-Buda, Bachivsk, Sydorivka, Shpyl and Mykolaivka in the Sumy region, as well as Guryiv Kozachok, Hlyboke, Oliinikove and Zelene in the Kharkiv region;
in Kupyansk, the settlements of Kamianka, Krasne Pershe, Novomlynsk, Lyman Pershiy, Kislivka, Berestov in Kharkiv region and Novoselivske in Luhansk region were subjected to artillery and mortar shelling by the Rashtists;
the invaders did not carry out offensive actions on Lymanskyi . Terny, Torske, Dibrova, Belogorivka, Verkhnokamianske, Spirne of the Donetsk region were hit by artillery fire;
on Bakhmutsky, the Russians continue to conduct offensive actions. Vasyukivka, Zaliznyanske, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Novomarkove, Hryhorivka, Bakhmut, Chasiv Yar, Ivanivske, Predtechine, Kostyantynivka, Diliivka, Northern, Southern and New York of the Donetsk region were affected by enemy shelling;
on Avdiivskyi, the enemy carried out offensive actions in Avdievka, Severnoy and Pervomaisky districts of Donetsk region, without success. Shelled the settlements of Novokalynove, Berdychi, Lastochkine, Avdiyivka, Vodyane, Pervomaiske, Karlivka and Nevelske of the Donetsk region;
Krasnohorivka, Georgiivka, Maryinka, Paraskoviivka, and Novomykhailivka of the Donetsk region were subjected to enemy shelling on Maryinsky ;
on Shakhtarsky during the current day, the occupiers did not carry out offensive actions. The settlements of Bogoyavlenka, Novoukrayinka, Shakhtarske, Prechistivka and Vugledar of the Donetsk region were shelled;
in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Rashists continue to conduct defensive actions. More than 30 settlements were also shelled. Among them are Vremivka, Novopil of the Donetsk region; Gulyaipole, Zaliznychne, Mala Tokmachka, Novoandriivka and Kamianske of the Zaporizhzhia region;
Beryslav, Kozatske, Tokarivka, Antonivka, Bilozerka, Berehove of the Kherson region and Kherson.
It will be recalled that the Russians shelled a village in Sumy Oblast from a helicopter . And three policemen were injured due to the rocket attack on Druzhkivka in Donetsk region.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[VESTI] April 26 is the 427th day of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Briefly about the main thing that happened in the country on that day, about the situation in the regions, the exchange of prisoners, losses, as well as all the relevant information from key departments - online Vesti.ua .
07:00 . Chernihiv and Sumy regions. During the night, Russian troops fired 12 times at the border areas of the regions.
Zaporozhye region. On the night of April 26, Russian troops launched 67 attacks on 19 peaceful communities: 53 shelling, six attacks from MLRS, seven using UAVs and one air strike.
Kherson region. During the day, the Russians shelled the Kherson region 75 times, firing 389 shells from heavy artillery, UAVs and aviation . The city of Kherson was under shelling 11 times. We ended up in residential areas of settlements in the region; buildings of the church and shops of the Belozerskaya settlement community of the Kherson region. One person injured.
08:00 . Kharkov region. During the day, the Russian Federation shelled at least 17 border and front-line settlements in Kharkov, Kupyansky and Chuguevsky districts. As a result of a missile attack on Kupyansk, two women, aged 54 and 57, were killed and 10 people were injured. Of these, four were hospitalized, 6 more received minor injuries.
09:00 . Lugansk region. On a farm in Kremennaya, the Russians are holding people who are suspected of "collaborating with Ukraine." We are talking about the territory of the former fur farm near Kremennaya. It is there, according to witnesses, that some of the people detained in the Svatovshchina on suspicion of cooperation with Ukraine are located.
Donetsk region. Commander of the MTR of Ukraine Viktor Khorenko visited Bakhmut. He said that the situation in the city is difficult, but the Ukrainian military takes quality, not quantity.
10:30 am . Kherson region. Explosions are heard in Kherson.
11:30 am . Zaporozhye region. Explosions are heard in Zaporozhye.
12:00 . Donetsk region. The Russians shelled Druzhkovka and Avdievka : a residential building and an administrative building were damaged, there were no casualties.
13:00 . Sumy region. The Russians fired at the Sumy region from the mortar of the Yunakov community: two civilians were wounded.
Kherson region. The authorities plan to evacuate the residents of the village of Kizomys due to active shelling. Residents of the villages of the Kizomyshsky headman will be offered evacuation within the community, families with children will be evacuated to other places. Also in the village of Kizomys, the "Point of Invisibility" will be reopened and provided with drinking water and food.
14:00 . The situation in the Limansky and Kupyansky directions in a day: the Russian Federation has not carried out attacking actions for several days, said Sergey Cherevaty, a representative of the eastern group of troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
But these areas are leaders in terms of the number of artillery attacks by the Russians - 379 times over the past day, the Russians opened fire on our positions, and also delivered 3 air strikes. Ukrainian artillery strikes back - 25 Russians were eliminated, 72 more were wounded. Also on this sector of the front, the Russian T-72 tank, BMP-2, Acacia self-propelled guns and the Rapira anti-tank gun were shot down.
15:00 . The Leopard 2 service center from Ukraine will start operating in Poland in May, the head of the Polish Ministry of Defense said.
16:00 . Kherson region. As a result of an artillery attack on Stanislav, a 26-year-old man was injured. The Russians also fired at the Antonovsky Bridge area, as a result of which a foreign press representative was injured.
17:00 . Russia uses about 370,000 troops in combat operations against Ukraine. According to the latest data, the country has thrown up to 48 brigades and 122 regiments, the forces number about 315 formations. In general, the Russian Federation uses about 369,000 personnel and about 5,900 pieces of heavy weapons against the Ukrainian troops,
Another exchange of prisoners took place - another 44 people returned to Ukraine : 36 privates and sergeants, six officers, two civilians. These are the military, border guards, national guardsmen, sailors who defended Mariupol, Azovstal, Kherson region, fought the Russians in the east. Among those released are wounded survivors of torture in captivity, and two men whose wives were previously released from captivity.
18:00 . During the day, the enemy launched three missile, 31 air strikes and made about 26 attacks from the MLRS, there are wounded among the civilian population, houses and other civilian infrastructure were destroyed. Operational summary of the General Staff as of 18:00.
18:24 . Soldiers of the 68th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down a Russian Shahed kamikaze drone from machine guns. The video with the downed UAV was shown in the press service of the brigade.
18:55 . A journalist for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica was wounded during a shelling in Kherson. This was stated by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The Office of the Prosecutor General also reports that as a result of the shelling of Kherson, a foreign journalist was wounded and one civilian was killed. It is alleged that the journalist was working on material about life in the city.
19:20 . A total of 20 Valuk armored personnel carriers secretly transferred from Slovenia to Ukraine. This is reported by the local edition 24UR. "Valuks" are designed to transport infantry and protect it from anti-personnel mines and infantry weapons with a caliber of up to 12.7mm.
19:46 . The occupiers fired artillery at Orekhov, Zaporozhye region. As a result, a 46-year-old civilian died. The head of the Zaporizhia OVA reported that during the night of April 26, the Russians launched 67 strikes on 19 communities in the region, and were destroyed.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 22:45 Zelensky said in an evening video message that China has the same view as Ukraine on freedom of navigation and trade: "I informed Xi Jinping about our efforts to resume maritime food exports. And I heard words of support for our Black Sea Grain Initiative, its extension, and also - support for our humanitarian efforts, in particular, the Grain from Ukraine program."
According to the president, today's conversation with the Chinese leader was "long and quite rational; such conversations are usually said to open up opportunities, and now there is an opportunity to give new energy to our relations - Ukraine and China." According to Zelensky, now there is an opportunity to use the political influence of China to restore strength to the principles and rules on which the world should rest. Ukraine and China, like the vast majority of the world, are equally interested in the strength of the sovereignty of nations and territorial integrity."
21:54 Skynex short-range air defense systems from the defense company Rheinmetall Italia are already on alert in Ukraine, Shmyhal said during a visit to the Italian plant. He specified that this is an effective weapon to protect against drones. "We are considering the possibility of joint production of components of these systems. We are working to have more such effective air defense systems. They will create a reliable shield around our strategic infrastructure facilities," the prime minister stressed.
20:47 The Russians removed military equipment from storage sites in the north of Crimea and dug trenches there, Radio Liberty reports, citing satellite images. In particular, as the images show, in the village of Medvedevka, Dzhankoy district, in October 2022 and in January of this year, there was equipment, but it is absent in the image of April 25. Also, one of the photos shows trenches dug in the area where the equipment was stationed.
20:36 The Russians fired at Orekhov, Zaporozhye region, one person died, the regional prosecutor's office said.
20:05 The work of the Black Sea Grain Corridor was once again suspended by the Russian side today, the command of the Ukrainian Navy reported. So, on April 25, at the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, representatives of the Russian Federation refused to coordinate the movement of ships to / from the seaports of Ukraine along the humanitarian corridor. And on the morning of April 26, the Russians began to spread a fake about the alleged ban by the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the movement of merchant ships as part of the grain initiative from / to the ports of Odessa. Such information is completely untrue, the command stressed.
19:51 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with Italian Prime Minister George Maloney, discussed the continuation of defense cooperation and future international events.
19:06 Ukraine will receive weapons in time for the upcoming counter-offensive, Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Commander of the Allied Armed Forces of NATO in Europe and Commander of the US Armed Forces in Europe, said in Congress. According to him, more than 98% of the military equipment promised to Kyiv has already been delivered.
19:01 Corrado Zunino, a journalist from La Repubblica, was seriously wounded during the shelling of Kherson by Russians today, an Italian newspaper reported. The correspondent and his assistant were driving in a car in jackets with the inscription Press and came under fire near the Kherson bridge. According to the publication, after the attack, Zunino was hospitalized in the Kherson hospital, and his assistant Bogdan Bitik died.
18:54 In the Kherson region, air defense forces shot down six UAVs today: five Lancet attack drones and one Merlin-VR, the Air Force command reported.
18:35 EU ambassadors again failed to agree on joint purchases of ammunition for Ukraine, Polish radio RMF FM reported.
18:33 The Polish prosecutor's office withdrew money from the accounts of the Russian embassy, Russian media reported, citing the ambassador in Poland. The embassy's accounts were frozen by the Polish side on suspicion that they could be used for money laundering or terrorism.
18:28 During the talks between Zelensky and Xi Jinping, the parties exchanged views on China's "peace plan" and the formula for peace, found common ground, spokesman of the Ukrainian President Serhiy Nikiforov said. He clarified that the views of Kyiv and Beijing coincide on the issue of non-use of nuclear weapons, their non-proliferation. Beijing also agreed that nuclear facilities should not be taken hostage.
"These are the points of contact from which we can begin to develop this dialogue. It is also nice that China is interested in restoring peace," Nikiforov said. At the same time, he added that it is too early to make any assessments of the talks between the leaders, since this is only the first step towards resuming relations between the countries.
18:15 Zelensky spoke via video link at the Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine, which is taking place in Rome, invited Italy "to build a new security with us, invited Italian businesses, investments, Italian experience to come to Ukraine now."
18:12 Zelensky said that during an hour-long telephone conversation with Xi Jinping, the whole range of topical issues of bilateral relations was discussed, special attention was paid to ways of possible interaction in order to establish a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine. "The world must be just and stable, based on the principles of international law and respect for the UN Charter. There can be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises. The territorial integrity of Ukraine must be restored within the limits of 1991," the Ukrainian president emphasized.
Also during the conversation, they discussed ways to strengthen the Ukrainian-Chinese partnership: "Before the full-scale Russian invasion, China was Ukraine's number one trading partner. I believe that our today's conversation will give a powerful impetus to the return, preservation and development of this dynamics at all levels."
18:08 There is evidence that mercenaries from the so-called "volunteer battalion", or PMC Potok, are already fighting in Ukraine. This unit was formed from employees of Gazprom and is part of the Redut PMC, controlled by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Western intelligence officers report that Prigozhin personally checks the positions of Potok's mercenaries. But this did not save his new "subordinates" from an armed conflict with the old mercenaries. More details - in the material Revolt of the new Russian PMC .
18:03 Erdogan's press secretary Ibrahim Kalin called for peace talks "before thousands of people die": "Let's have peace talks before thousands of people die. Let's focus on how we can create a global security space. Instead "In order to continue the war, let's settle on the option of three or five years of peace talks. The main thing is to stop the bloodshed. We will discuss the possibilities of moving forward the dialogue, taking into account the current situation."
He also said that on April 27, Erdogan will have a telephone conversation with Putin. In addition, Kalyn said that "the Russian-Ukrainian war is a war between Russia and the West," and it will end "when and only when a new big agreement is concluded between Russia and the West."
17:56 In the Murmansk region, a MiG-31 fighter crashed while performing a training flight, the RF Ministry of Defense reported. The plane crashed in a deserted place, both pilots ejected.
17:50 The White House welcomes the talks between Zelensky and Xi Jinping, but it is not known whether this will lead to progress towards peace, said US National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby: "We have long talked about what we consider important for President Xi and PRC officials to hear the Ukrainian side of this illegal and unprovoked Russian invasion.Whether this will lead to any meaningful peace movement, plan or proposal - I don't think we know right now."
Kirby once again emphasized that the peace deal must be made on Ukraine's terms, as otherwise it would not be "sustainable or reliable unless the Ukrainians and President Zelensky personally invest in and support it."
17:32 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the return of 40 Russian soldiers from Ukrainian captivity, and the Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova specified that four wounded were returned to Ukraine in addition to the exchange "40 for 40".
17:26 The Ukrainian counter-offensive is already "quietly moving in small steps," Natalia Gumenyuk, speaker of the OK Pivden, said: "We are not inclined to underestimate the enemy, we know his power and potential and are working methodically to ensure that these capacities and capabilities are minimized... The power of the enemy is being destroyed, ammunition depots are disappearing, equipment concentration points are being blown up, and it is flying into places where personnel are concentrated.
17:22 About 369,000 personnel are fighting against Ukraine, using about 5,900 heavy weapons, the press center of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. 48 brigades and 122 regiments are participating in the fighting on the part of the Russian Federation, the occupying forces number about 315 formations.
17:11 Shmygal, during his visit to Rome, said that Ukraine expects support in the amount of 1 billion euros from the Italian agency SACE, which will help restore the economy, infrastructure, and provide basic humanitarian and social needs of people.
17:07 Italy will help Ukraine meet the criteria necessary for full EU membership and speed up the process of starting accession negotiations as soon as possible, Prime Minister George Maloney said.
17:02 The Czech Republic imposed sanctions against Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church for supporting the war against Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said. He was banned from entering the country, financial transactions through Czech structures, and Gundyaev's assets in the Czech Republic will be frozen.
16:59 The Russians fired a mortar at the Yunakovskaya community of the Sumy region, two people were injured, the OVA reported.
16:56 Slovenia has delivered 20 Valuk armored vehicles to Ukraine under conditions of complete secrecy, reports 24ur. Valuk is an upgraded version of the Austrian Pandur 6x6. According to media reports, the transfer to Ukraine was completed this week, and the operation itself lasted several months.
16:52 Brazilian President Lula da Silva, during a trip to Spain, said that it is not for him to decide who owns Crimea - "this is a discussion between Russia and Ukraine." He urged "stop looking for the guilty" in the war and start a peaceful settlement. To do this, he proposes to create a "peace group" that will discuss all the necessary topics - "Crimea, other territories, NATO."
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in turn, said that "a just and lasting peace will come only after the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine."
16:44 The Russians shelled the Kherson region: one person was injured in Stanislav, and a foreign press representative was wounded near the Antonovsky bridge, the President's Office reported.
16:36 Zelensky said that on the anniversary of the tragedy at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, he had a telephone conversation with IAEA Director Rafael Grossi: "He said that only the return of full control over the ZNPP to Ukraine would protect the world from a new catastrophe. He also thanked for the special IAEA program for the medical support of Ukrainian nuclear workers" .
16:19 Another exchange of prisoners took place: another 44 Ukrainians returned home , including 42 military and two civilians. Two men are also returning from captivity, whose wives were released during previous exchanges, said the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.
Among the released were 19 representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 11 border guards, seven from the Navy, two from the National Guard, three from the Troops. Six officers and 37 soldiers and sergeants returned, who fought, in particular, in Mariupol, in the Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkov, Luhansk and Sumy directions. Among them are many wounded and with the consequences of severe torture. In total, as of April 26, 2,280 Ukrainians have already been released from captivity.
15:45 Zelensky, after a conversation with Xi Jinping, appointed former Minister for Strategic Industries Pavel Ryabikin as Ambassador of Ukraine to China.
The Chinese special delegation to resolve the situation in Ukraine, which Xi Jinping announced, will be headed by former Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui.
15:09 Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said after a conversation between Zelensky and Xi Jinping that Moscow "notes China's readiness to make efforts to establish a negotiation process." At the same time, Kyiv, according to her, allegedly demonstrates the rejection of any "sensible initiatives" aimed at a settlement.
14:47 China will send its special envoy for Eurasian affairs to Ukraine and other countries to consult with all parties on a political settlement of the conflict, Xi Jinping said after a conversation with Zelensky. He also stressed that China will seek an early ceasefire in Ukraine.
And the representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, said that Beijing is consistent and clear in its readiness to develop the Chinese-Ukrainian strategic partnership.
14:29 Zelensky said that he had a "long meaningful" telephone conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping: "I believe that he, as well as the appointment of the Ukrainian ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations."
14:15 Prigozhin believes that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will go on the offensive after May 2: "It's raining today. The last rain should fall on May 2. Another week for the wind to dry the soil. After that, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will begin to move." He also once again announced the shortage of shells among the Wagner mercenaries and complained that no one was covering the flanks of the PMCs.
“No one gives ammunition to them or to us. Ammunition is accumulating in warehouses. The number of people of the PMC Wagner is drying up. We are preparing new reserves, we will not completely throw in new people until we have fully prepared them,” Prigozhin said.
14:01 Poland is expanding the production of 155-mm Krab self-propelled artillery mounts, which the country also supplies to Ukraine, by deploying a new production line at the Bumar-Labedy defense plant in the city of Gliwice, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said.
13:57 In Russia, the Federation Council has approved a law punishing treason up to life imprisonment. The Federation Council also approved a law on the deprivation of acquired Russian citizenship for "discrediting the army" and for actions that threaten national security. Acquired citizenship can also be revoked for a public call to extremism, encroachment on the life of a statesman and organizing an armed rebellion.
13:52 The Russians hit the police department in Druzhkovka, Donetsk region: three policemen who were on duty at that time were wounded, the National Police reported. The strike was carried out by two S-300 missiles, and seven residential buildings were also damaged.
13:46 The main task of the Patriot air defense system in Ukraine is to cover strategic facilities, especially nuclear power plants, Air Force speaker Yuriy Ignat said: "Patriot's task is, first of all, against ballistics, to maintain cover for our strategic facilities, critical infrastructure facilities, and especially nuclear power plants where the enemy has already hit. Not at the stations themselves, but at the substations that feed them. "
13:43 Italy will support Ukraine for as long as it takes, President Sergio Mattarella said during a meeting with Shmyhal in Rome. The parties discussed topical areas of cooperation - the financial, defense, sanctions sectors.
13:38 The level of approval of the Kremlin's actions and a positive attitude towards the Russian leadership has dropped sharply around the world after the start of the war in Ukraine and has reached its lowest level in 15 years, reports the American Institute of Public Opinion Gallup. For the first time in the history of Gallup research, most countries in the world do not approve of the leadership of Russia.
13:20 Journalists of a number of publications received documents revealing the strategy of Russia's influence in the Baltic countries. Similar plans of the Russian Federation have already been revealed in relation to Belarus and Moldova. Relevant materials were published in LRT, Delfi Estonia, Expressen, Dossier Center, Kyiv Independent, NDR, Yahoo News and others. The strategy for each of the Baltic countries consists of two parts: the first prescribes what Russia sees as a threat to itself, the second - how to counteract this. All goals by areas are spelled out according to the time frame - 2022, 2025, 2030.
In general, Moscow defines as its goals the preservation of the maximum presence of the Russian language in education, the creation of pro-Russian organizations, resistance to the demolition of Soviet monuments, promotion of the Russian historical narrative. In Estonia and Latvia, Russia is counting on the Russian-speaking minority.
Also, a significant part of the strategy is devoted to weakening the presence of NATO. Moscow wanted to create prerequisites under which the Baltic countries would recognize the "harm" to security due to the growth of the Alliance's influence and want deeper cooperation with Russia. Probably, the documents were prepared in the fall of 2021, and their authors did not know that Putin was preparing a war against Ukraine, since there is no mention of the expected consequences of this.
13:08 The center for the maintenance and repair of Leopard 2 tanks transferred to Ukraine will start working at the Polish defense enterprise Bumar-Labędy in the city of Gliwice in May, Polish Minister of Defense Mariusz Blashchak said. He recalled that two battalions of Leopard 2 tanks in versions A4 and A6 have already arrived in Ukraine or will arrive in the near future. All these machines will be serviced at Bumar-Labedy in Gliwice. Blaszczak added that T-72 tanks are also serviced and repaired at Bumar-Labedy.
12:52 The FSB of the Russian Federation announced that it had detained a Russian citizen in Crimea, who allegedly was preparing a terrorist attack at the Naval Hospital of the Ministry of Defense in Simferopol, two home-made bombs were confiscated from him.
12:35 Almost the entire population was evacuated from the border areas of the Chernihiv and Sumy regions, said Evgeny Silkin, assistant commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He said that the Russians use this territory as a training ground - they train and check the readiness of artillery without choosing targets. Most of the local residents left in these territories are elderly people who, as they say, have nothing to lose and nowhere to go, Silkin added.
12:16 Russia is trying to change the ethnic composition of the population of the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, said Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar. According to her, such events are most actively held in the Luhansk region. To this end, the Russian government initiated a large-scale resettlement of a large number of people of different nationalities from remote regions of the Russian Federation, mainly from the poor.
On the ground, the occupation administrations provide immediate accommodation for arriving families, employment, the provision of soft loans for the purchase of housing, business development, etc. At the same time, the occupiers continue to deport local residents, especially those who are pro-Ukrainian, to the Russian Federation under various pretexts. Thus, Russia seeks to destroy Ukrainian statehood and the national self-identity of society in the temporarily occupied territories.
11:57 Journalists from Finnish Yle, Norwegian NRK, Swedish SVT and Danish DR found out that many employees of Russian diplomatic missions in the region are probably undercover spies. Investigators, in particular, identified several dozen people who, obviously, are employees of the Foreign Intelligence Service, the GRU or the FSB, but worked as alleged personnel of diplomatic missions. Intelligence sources said that they are usually assigned to minor positions, while key persons in diplomatic missions can very rarely be undercover spies.
11:22 Ten Russian deputies have already died in the war in Ukraine, they were able to hold out at the front for an average of 3-4 months, the channel writes We can explain with reference to open data that journalists managed to collect. One of the dead was a deputy of the regional level, the rest were municipal. Some fell under mobilization, and some left as volunteers. Most of the dead are United Russia.
10:36 The Pentagon is learning from the war in Ukraine because it sees the possibility of a war with China, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said in an interview with Bloomberg: "There are many advantages that we have received for a potential Pacific conflict as a result of the Ukrainian conflict. Now we are learning to develop our an industrial base that has been in a cycle of "feast and famine" for the past 60 years.
Drawing on the experience of the war in Ukraine, the Pentagon is pushing to give arms manufacturers greater predictability through longer-term contracts. Also, the US Department of Defense is working to simplify the replenishment of weapons in Taiwan.
09:59 Ukraine is working with the FBI and American companies to collect evidence of war crimes of Russian invaders. FBI special agent Oleksiy Kobzanets, who previously worked as the agency's legal attaché in Ukraine, told Reuters that the issue is geolocation and mobile data. In particular, such work includes the study of information from mobile phones, forensic analysis of DNA samples, analysis of body parts collected on the battlefields.
In addition, the FBI has worked over the past year and a half to help Ukraine identify Russian collaborators and spies.
09:24 Commander of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine Viktor Khorenko visited Bakhmut, got acquainted with the current situation in the city and talked with the soldiers of the SOF units. He acknowledged that "the situation in Bakhmut is complicated" and added that MTR "is, first of all, the advantage of quality over quantity."
08:45 New mass graves have been found in Mariupol, said Petr Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of the city. He showed updated GoogleMaps showing the city after Russian shelling - in particular, the bombed-out Drama Theater before the rubble was cleared and with the inscription "Children". Judging by the history of the destruction, the satellite image was taken on various dates after mid-March 2022.
In addition, after a detailed analysis of the map, it was possible to find new sectors of mass graves at the Novotroitskoye cemetery (Levoberezhnoye cemetery). The sectors are visually larger than the mass graves in the village. Grape or s. Mangush. Andryushchenko noted that the Novotroitskoye cemetery was closed until about mid-July and under the control of the invaders. Who was buried there and in what period is still unknown.
08:07 Office of the President of the Republic of South Africa denied his statement about the country's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. Earlier, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that his ruling party wants to abandon the Rome Statute.
07:58 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of April 26.
personnel - about 188,410 (+640) people liquidated,
tanks - 3692 (+4),
armored combat vehicles - 7162 (+11),
artillery systems - 2877 (+14),
MLRS - 539 (+0),
air defense systems - 292 (+1),
aircraft - 308 (+0),
helicopters - 294 (+0),
UAV operational-tactical level - 2440 (+3),
cruise missiles - 911 (+0),
ships/boats - 18 (+0),
automotive equipment and tankers - 5792 (+8),
special equipment - 352 (+7).
07:49 The Russian army is focusing its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Bakhmut, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. Over the past day, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 39 enemy attacks. The most fierce fighting continues for Bakhmut and Marinka, the General Staff reported in the morning report .
03:54 Lavrov called "schizophrenia" the statements of the West about the negotiations between Moscow and Kiev after the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
03:19 Members of the US Congress presented a draft resolution called the Victory of Ukraine. The document says that the victory of Ukraine should be considered the complete return to the control of Kyiv of the country's territory within the internationally recognized borders of 1991.
02:24 A private conversation between two large Russian businessmen who complain about the state of things in Russia has been leaked to the network . It is assumed that we are talking about billionaire Roman Trotsenko and businessman Nikolai Matushevsky. The interlocutors say that in Russia the economy will halve in ten years, and the country itself has found itself "in the clutches of mudillas who profess some strange compositions of the 19th century."
00:12 Brazilian President Lula da Silva, during his visit to Spain, urged to build up peace efforts so that "Ukraine could preserve its territory." "I understand the European view of this war. It is unacceptable when one country invades another. But this is a war in which I don't see anyone talking about peace," he said.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[RIA Novosti] Kyiv has been preparing a strike since the end of autumn, but every time it delays for a couple of months. And now, judging by the publications in the Western and Ukrainian media, the decisive spring battles have been moved to the summer. What is the reason for this - in the material of RIA Novosti.
WAITING FOR A MIRACLE
According to the forecast of the former director of the CIA and ex-commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, David Petraeus, Ukraine will launch a counteroffensive in late May - early June. He believes that the blow will be very strong and will allow cutting the land corridor to the Crimea. The Politico edition reported two directions: to the Crimea and from the north to the Donbass. In any case, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be in motion in May, the article says.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkura recalled the weather. In the spring, Ukrainians were prevented by rains. The Bild newspaper, citing leading NATO analysts, warned that everything would be decided in the next six months. The main battles will unfold in the LPR and the Zaporozhye region, the German edition claims.
Active actions have been expected from Kyiv for a long time. The Financial Times wrote back in December that the exhaustion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine deprived Ukraine of the chances of success in the winter campaign. It was necessary to replenish the arsenals and equip new units.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
In an April interview with El Pais, the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region, Serhiy Melnyk, acknowledged the plight of the Ukrainian army. There is a lack of equipment and people, especially well-trained ones. The personnel units suffered heavy losses. At the same time, Melnik tried to convince the journalist that there was no forced mobilization, all the fighters were volunteers. Meanwhile, men are prohibited from traveling abroad, summons to the draft board are handed in anywhere.
CNN believes that even the reinforcement of Western tanks will not lead to an immediate turning point in the course of hostilities. First, Ukrainians need to learn how to drive cars. Secondly, it is difficult to establish a full-fledged maintenance.
Mark Milley, head of the Pentagon Chiefs of Staff Committee, urged Kyiv not to perceive American tanks as a "silver bullet". According to him, the M1 Abrams is the best combat vehicle in the world, but it will not be possible to win only with its help.
APPEARANCE OF SUCCESS
Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anna Malyar assures that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are already being attacked - in Bakhmut and Marinka. At the same time, she urged "not to publicly reduce the counteroffensive only to some kind of active offensive actions." Such operations include defensive battles, as well as the recruitment and training of new fighters.
The commander of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Alexander Syrsky, emphasizes that counterattacks in Bakhmut make it possible to contain Russia. In the oncoming battles there, Moscow allegedly loses the best units.
The head of the GUR, Kirill Budanov, said: before the end of spring, the Ukrainian army will enter the Crimea. "We still have time. Quite an achievable task," he explained.
According to him, Russia is sitting on the defensive, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be given a "decisive battle." Moscow will suffer irreparable losses. And there is no need to speculate on the pace and volume of Western arms deliveries - most have no idea about this, Budanov added.
UKRAINE IS WORTH PR
It is noteworthy that experts in both Russia and Ukraine consider talk of a counteroffensive more important in terms of PR than the real state of affairs on the battlefield. In particular, Ruslan Bortnyk, director of the Ukrainian Institute of Politics, notes that rumors about an impending powerful strike allow Kyiv to beg for more help. In addition, the threat of an attack forces Moscow to form reserves and think about defense, without throwing everything it has into battle.
“However, if the promises of the Ukrainian leadership do not come true in the summer and the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not drink coffee in Crimea, closer to winter the propaganda will turn against its creators. The level of disappointment in statesmen will increase. In this case, Zelensky should have some kind of backup plan. the team will have to pass off local success as a strategic victory," Bortnik explained in an interview.
Ukrainian political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko believes that Zelensky made a mistake when he started talking about a large-scale counteroffensive.
"Attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are possible only in certain directions, and it’s not a fact that we will be able to break through. Apparently, we are heading for a long-term positional confrontation, for which society is poorly prepared," the expert said.
Denis Denisov, an analyst at the Financial University under the Russian government, points out: if Kyiv had the opportunity to launch a counteroffensive, this would have happened in the winter. "A successful attack would confirm the correctness of the course towards the militarization of Ukraine and the effectiveness of economic assistance. Ukrainians would receive real proof that Zelensky is keeping his promises. But so far we are only hearing statements that are not supported by anything, and the conflict is becoming less intense, as in 2014-2015 m," he says.
In general, experts agree that so far there are no signs of preparations for a strike on Crimea. Zelensky will have to seriously change either military strategy or rhetoric. Otherwise, the high expectations of Ukrainians will bring down his rating.
Kindly note that several entries in this article may have been removed because they included discussions of the grand strategic level.
[NewsFrontInfo] 20:22 Video– The work of Russian snipers near Kremennaya
The exclusive footage from Readovka captures the filigree work of the Slavic Frontier snipers near Kremennaya. According to our soldiers, not a single VSU soldier returned from this forest alive.
At a distance of more than 650 meters, our shooters liquidated a whole squad of Ukrainian militants. For this, Lobaev's Stalingrad rifles were used, equipped with a night sight.
19:37 Enemy military equipment is buried in mud, which hinders the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine -video
Ukrainian militants continue to publish videos from different sectors of the front, where their military equipment gets stuck in the mud on the roads. The second video was filmed in the forests of Kremennaya.
19:31 Bandera complains that Ukrainian doctors are sending everyone to fight. Their medical opinion is always positive, despite serious illnesses -video
“This military man died in his sleep, he was 37 years old, he went to bed and did not wake up,” says VSUshnik.
Another proof of the war crimes deliberately committed by the Kiev junta. Against your own people.
18:49 Artillery sniper: footage of the combat work of the crews of the 152mm self-propelled guns "Hyacinth-S" of the Western Military District in the zone of the special operation -video
Artillerymen have to work daily in the most difficult conditions, but trained crews spend only a few minutes after receiving the target before firing a shot.
The result of the work is the destruction of strongholds, equipment and fortifications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This time, the Hyacinth-S crews destroyed the anti-aircraft installations of the Ukrainian nationalists.
Shooting was carried out with 152mm high-explosive fragmentation shells at a distance of about 15 kilometers. Adjustment of fire and fixation of the destruction of targets was carried out with the help of a reconnaissance complex.
18:35 During the NWOeliminatedNazi "Russian Volunteer Corps" Dmitry "Strom" and Georgian mercenary "Caucasian Legion" Zurab Odishvili
17:56 April 22, 2023 in Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) nationalist Andrei Melnyk (call sign Mel) was eliminated.
He was an officer of the special unit "Aratta" of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (the former 8th nationalist battalion "Aratta").
17:51 Artillery of the 1487th Regiment burns out the Nazis in the Avdievka direction -video
Artillery crews of the 1487th Regiment continue to strike at targets discovered by reconnaissance in the Avdeevsky direction. The enemy positions were opened and hit with incendiary ammunition.
16:34 While soldiers are dying in Bakhmut, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine continues cashing in on the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The generals were again caught in the purchase of products at inflated prices. This time, the head of the Center for Combating Corruption, V. Shabunin, compared the prices for the same items from the Main Intelligence Directorate and the Ministry of Defense (in the latter, after the scandalous high prices had been reduced).
Now:
pollock: at the GUR - 69 UAH/kg, at the Ministry of Defense - 120 UAH/kg;
rice: GUR - 26 UAH / kg, Ministry of Defense - 59 UAH / kg;
carrots: GUR - 12 UAH / kg, Ministry of Defense - 28 UAH / kg.
After the first wave of the procurement scandal, when the Minister of Defense raised the purchase price of products for the military by 3 times, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry began to purchase products for the military at lower prices.
After that, other facts of overpricing on purchases for the military were also reported.
16:33 In Kharkov announced air raid alert
16:32 FSB in Moscow announced suppression of activities of fraudulent call centers acting in the interests of Ukrainian nationalists
15:34 Highlights new Ministry of Defense briefing:
Assault detachments continued to destroy units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and mercenaries in the west of Artemovsk;
The Airborne Forces and the “South” grouping supported the actions of the assault detachments and prevented the attempts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to counterattack in the Donetsk direction;
Two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were destroyed in the DPR and LPR;
Two command and observation posts of units of special operations forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit near Veliky Island in the Kherson region;
The Armed Forces of Ukraine lost up to 65 military personnel and self-propelled guns "Acacia" in the Krasnolimansky direction in a day;
The actions of four Ukrainian sabotage groups were stopped in the LPR and the Kharkov region;
Air defense systems of the Russian Federation shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft in the Kherson region in a day;
The RF Armed Forces destroyed up to 30 military personnel and the M777 artillery system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson direction;
The Armed Forces of Ukraine lost up to 300 military and mercenaries in the Donetsk direction in a day;
The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine per day in the Kupyansk direction amounted to more than 40 servicemen;
The Russian military hit 93 artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in firing positions.
15:33 Russian army at the front destroyed Nazi from the so-called. "Russian Volunteer Corps", two more militants wounded
A few days ago, a group of neo-Nazi Vlasovites from the so-called "Russian Volunteer Corps" came under accurate fire from Russian artillery. Dmitry "Stryom" was eliminated, two more militants were seriously wounded.
14:20 Our guys drop gifts on the transport of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and control the delivery of physical training from the driver -video
14:18 Tanks of the 1st Slavic Brigade are hitting the fortified area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine -video
Under the control of an experienced crew, the captured T-64 of the 1st Slavic Brigade of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps pinpoint destroys the enemy's sheltered infantry in the Avdievka direction.
13:56 In the Lviv region, in the village of Malnov, vandals demolished monument to a Soviet soldier.
First, the Nazis painted the monument, “dressing” the soldier in a Ukrainian vyshyvanka, but this did not save him.
It’s just not interesting for the Banderaites to mock - everything needs to be destroyed.
12:36 Yesterday was eliminated officer of the special operations forces of Ukraine - Lieutenant Volodymyr Obodenko.
12:33 Operation "Liquidation“. Traitor Spade in Rewind
Dmitro Siryk was Russophobic on the Severodonetsk radio “Pulse” under the nickname “Vanya Lopata”. In 2014, having put on trousers, he quickly dumped from his native city to Kyiv, but there the traitor did not grow together. Dmitro returned when it became clear that the Lisichansk-Severodonetsk-Rubezhnoye triangle was occupied by the Reich. For an active fight against the Russian language, he was not only allowed to air, but also received the program “Rewind”, and then the position of music editor.
In February 2022, he again repeated his throw to the west. But the agenda for mobilization still found him. Eliminated April 20. There was a Shovel in “Rewind”, but only a photo remained.
12:29 A Ukrainian Nazi on a Leopard tank cheerfully zigs and smiles at the camera —video
The Ukrainian Nazis put on American chevrons, the Pindos convinced of their support and sent them on their last journey to Hell.
Their choice is made - they will burn along with these tanks.
11:42 Counterattack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the latest equipment supplied by NATO countries -video
11:41 Villa of the Odessa military commissar in Spain.
Fine worked catching cannon fodder.
11:37 Destruction of neo-Nazi artillery reconnaissance radar complex 1L220UK "Zoo-3" by a double strike of the calculation of the UAV "Lancet" -video
10:59 Destroyed ammunition transport vehicle of the Ukrainian army -video
10:57 The crew of the attack helicopter Mi-28 of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the zone of the NMD —video
10:55 the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation destroyed radar station and point of temporary deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson region
At night, the fire of our artillery in the area of N. p. An AN/TPQ-36 radar station and an enemy pickup truck were destroyed - three APU militants were eliminated, two were seriously injured.
In addition, yesterday in Kherson, the temporary deployment point of one of the units of the 124th Brigade of the territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed - 12 Ukrainian militants were liquidated, seven were wounded.
09:36 Yesterday was eliminated neo-Nazi with the call sign "Berlin". The young man was a member of the international extremist organization "Misanthropic Division" and before the start of the war was an active administrator of regional neo-Nazi publics in Ukraine. His correspondence before his death appeared on the network, and this is what is important:
- the patriot communicates in Russian, because he is a superman and he can do things that ordinary Ukrainians cannot;
– the counter-offensive rests on deserters, the process of being sent to court for failure to comply with orders is heavily hidden in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but apparently, the volumes are noticeable and affect military operations;
– the contempt of neo-Nazis for the conventional military has led to hidden conflicts and distrust, as a result of which there may be mutual set-ups and attacks on each other within the Ukrainian military units
09:14 Ukrainian upbringing… —video
08:17 Near Khromovo two weeks ago eliminated foreign legion mercenary with Russian and Ukrainian roots Igor Guskov
Volyn media report that the liquidated militant was a French citizen.
08:14 In Zaporozhye eliminated commander of the Ukrainian special forces unit "Dozor" Colonel Alexander Ocheretnyuk. He has been fighting in Donbass since 2014.
The Dozor unit was created in 2022. The Nazis were trained by American military instructors.
08:06 Now Ukrainian Nazis at the funeral of the Armed Forces of Ukraine not only kneel, but also do push-ups -video
In fact, such a phenomenon has already been observed among especially repulsed invaders.
Back in 2016, Ukrainian boneheads could do push-ups for half an evening to their songs with Nazi lyrics.
The liquidated VSUshnik, apparently, was one of them.
Kindly note that several entries in this article may have been removed because they included discussions of the grand strategic level. 23:32 Fixed shelling from the VFU.
[NewsFrontInfo] 23:26 Ships of the Russian Navy blocked grain corridor - the Ukrainian Navy. 23:17 Report about explosions in Druzhkovka.
22:55 Powerful explosionsin the Glukhovsky district of the Sumy region.
20:42 Video- The situation near the Antonovsky bridge in the Kherson region.
20:31 Video- The work of Tulips in the Bakhmut direction on the Ukrainian oporniks and fortifications.
20:24 Video- "Children with me"
Call sign "Lavender". A stern fighter on the front line manages to be a caring mother for her three children.
“They are not at the forefront. I'm not that desperate. They're in the rear!"
20:08 Video- The servicemen of the Central Military District explained the principle of operation of the sound-measuring artillery reconnaissance systems "Penicillin."
The Penicillin artillery reconnaissance complex solves the problems of counterbattery combat. With its help, the fighters identify the firing positions of the enemy and issue target designations to the artillerymen for a retaliatory strike.
– The work of the sound-measuring complex consists in the analysis of incoming sound waves. Due to the high sensitivity of sound sensors, the combat vehicle is able to detect the sound of an artillery gun at a distance of up to 50 km, and the passivity of the complex in radio emission reduces the likelihood of its detection by enemy radio equipment.
Due to the territorial separation of the sensors and their correct positioning, the special computer software of the combat vehicle is able to determine the coordinates of the enemy's firing gun with high accuracy. It takes minimal time to receive and process data, followed by the issuance of information to consumers, which increases the efficiency of our artillery.
19:50 Video- A report on the work of the crew of the Tor-M2 air defense system at the front.
19:36 Video- Another good advertisement for military service from the Ministry of Defense.
19:19 Video- "Lancet" hits the Tor-M1 APU on the move.
18:52 Video– What do the roads in the Kreminnaya area look like now? Photographed by the Ukrainian side.
18:37 Video- Commander "Ardent" about the goals and objectives of a group of heavy snipers
A group of heavy snipers of the Pacific Fleet was created a year ago on the personal initiative of the fleet commander, Admiral Sergei Avakyants, to reinforce the Naval Infantry.
The group began performing tasks in the NWO zone on April 26, 2022.
The experience of using heavy snipers in the NVO zone turned out to be in demand. Today, many formations create separate sniper units with an effective range of 1000 m or more.
18:22 Battle for Avdievka situation as of 17.00 April 26, 2023
- In the north of Avdievka, servicemen of the 132nd Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the RF Armed Forces advanced from the H20 highway to the railway going from Ocheretino to Novobakhmutovka, expanding the bridgehead to Krasnogorovka.
- The command of the 35th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy transferred additional units of the 88th battalion of the formation to the Novokalinovo-Keramik line.
To the south, assault detachments of the 1st Slavic Brigade of the RF Armed Forces, with fire support from tanks from closed positions, managed to move forward in the northeast of Vodyanoye, occupying one of the strongholds of the 53rd Separate Mechanized Rifle Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- Fights around Avdievka go for every meter. Both sides are actively in the counterbattery fight. At the same time, the bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces increased the intensity of the use of air bombs from the UMPC on Ukrainian positions.
South of Pervomaisky, Russian troops, supported by heavy armored vehicles, are attacking strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Nevelskoye area. During several days of fighting, the RF Armed Forces entrenched themselves southeast of the settlement.
18:13 Video- Bakhmut/Artemovsk.
18:06 Video- Artillery of the 132nd Brigade of the DPR destroys the enemy in the Novgorod-Dzerzhinsky direction.
Artillery units of the 132nd Brigade of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps (formerly the 3rd Brigade of the NM DPR) daily work against the enemy in the Novgorod-Dzerzhinsky direction.
17:41 Video- Destruction from our favorite ATGM observation point of the enemy.
17:29 Video- Not a step back: the story of a volunteer from Kuzbass.
17:17 Video– Marinka DNR 04/24/2023. Terrible footage of the consequences of hostilities through the eyes of our friends from the Donbass.
16:55 Map control of Artemovsk on April 26.
More than 85% of the city is already under the control of Wagner PMC. The enemy is pressed against the western outskirts in the area of high-rise buildings and continues fierce resistance despite heavy losses.
16:33 Video- Tanks of the 1st Slavic Brigade are hitting the fortified area of ??the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Tanks are formidable and accurate weapons capable of both direct fire and indirect fire. Under the control of an experienced crew, the captured T-64 of the 1st Slavic Brigade of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps precisely destroys the enemy's sheltered infantry in the Avdeevsk direction.
16:17 Video– We love when TOS works, especially when it hits the target. The enemy simply shatters into molecules.
16:03 Video- Soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Moskalkov in the Lugansk People's Republic.
15:48 Today happened another exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine according to the formula “40 to 40”. This was stated in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
15:35 More consequences of artillery attack of the Petrovsky district of Donetsk. It is reported that a woman was wounded as a result of the artillery attack of Lidievka.
15:19 Federation Council approved the law on the status of a combat veteran for persons who have taken part in hostilities in the Donbass since 2014.
The instruction of the President to grant the status of combat veterans to the militias who have defended Donbass since 2014 has been fulfilled. The law, prepared by our Working Group on SVO, today, after support in the State Duma, was approved by the Federation Council. Its implementation will make it possible to extend to these people all the benefits and support measures required for veterans. With this law, we say “thank you” to the Heroes who for 9 years defended the Russian world and their right to be an integral part of it.
It also grants combat veteran status to those who have contracted with organizations that contribute to the accomplishment of NWO missions. First of all, we are talking about PMC fighters.
Senators today approved important changes to the law on credit holidays for participants in the CBO - now it applies to all co-borrowers, and not just wives, minor children and dependents.
The provisions on the full cancellation of debt in the event of the death of a member of the SVO or the receipt of a severe disability by him have also been adjusted - now they apply to parents, adoptive parents and adult children.
15:03 Video- There was a tank and there is no tank.
PMC "Wagner" destroys the tank of Ukrainians near Artyomovsk
14:40 Report of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the special military operation (04/26/2023)
- In the Kupyansk direction, army aviation strikes, artillery fire of the "Western" group of troops defeated enemy units in the areas of the settlements of Dvurechnaya, Timkovka, Kislovka and Kamenka of the Kharkov region.
During the day, more than 40 Ukrainian servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, as well as two vehicles were destroyed in this direction.
- In addition, in the areas of the settlements of Novoselovskoye of the Lugansk People's Republic, Masyutovka and Krakhmalnoye of the Kharkiv region, the actions of four Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were stopped.
- In the Krasno-Limansky direction, tactical aviation strikes, artillery fire and heavy flamethrower systems of the "Center" group of troops hit enemy units in the areas of the settlements of Makeevka, Nevskoye, Chervonaya Dibrova of the Luhansk People's Republic and Seversk of the Donetsk People's Republic.
Two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were destroyed in the areas of the settlements of Torskoye of the Donetsk People's Republic and Chervonopopovka of the Luhansk People's Republic. Enemy losses per day amounted to 65 Ukrainian servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, a pickup truck, one car, a 152mm D-20 howitzer and an Akatsiya self-propelled artillery mount.
- In the Donetsk direction, assault detachments continued to destroy units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and mercenaries in the western part of the city of Artemovsk.
- The units of the Airborne Forces and the "Southern" group of troops supported the actions of the assault detachments and prevented the attempts of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to counterattack on the northern and southern flanks.
- In the areas of the settlements of Artemovskoe, Bogdanovka and Krasnoe of the Donetsk People's Republic, air strikes and artillery fire from the "Southern" group of troops defeated units of the 57th Motorized Infantry and 5th Assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- During the day, aviation in this area made four sorties. The grouping artillery completed 59 fire missions.
During the day, the enemy’s losses in this direction amounted to up to 300 Ukrainian servicemen and mercenaries, two infantry fighting vehicles, four armored combat vehicles, seven vehicles, 152mm D-20 and 152mm Msta-B howitzers, 152mm self-propelled artillery mount, as well as one howitzer L118 made in the UK. In addition, an ammunition depot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed near the settlement of Vyemka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
- In the South-Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, strikes by operational-tactical and army aviation, artillery fire of the Vostok group of troops defeated the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of the settlements of Vuhledar of the Donetsk People's Republic, Malaya Tokmachka, Zaporozhye region and Pyatikhatka, Kherson region.
In the areas of the settlements of Sladkoe and Shevchenko of the Donetsk People's Republic, the actions of two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were stopped. During the day, enemy losses in these areas amounted to 25 Ukrainian servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, two vehicles, and a 122mm D-30 howitzer.
- Also, in the areas of the settlements of Shevchenko and Dobrovolye of the Donetsk People's Republic, artillery ammunition depots of the 108th Territorial Defense Brigade and the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed.
In the Kherson direction, as a result of fire damage, up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen, two vehicles, and one US-made M777 artillery system were destroyed in a day.
– In addition, in the area of the settlement of Lvovo, Kherson region, the Ukrainian counterbattery combat radar "Zoo" was destroyed.
- Operational-tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery of groups of troops (forces) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the day defeated the 93rd Artillery unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at firing positions, manpower and equipment in 127 districts.
Two command and observation posts of units of special operations forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit near Veliky Island in the Kherson region.
- Air defense systems shot down a Su-25 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force near the village of Veletenskoe, Kherson region. In addition, 16 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers were intercepted.
Also, during the day, 12 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed in the areas of the settlements of Vodiane, Novoandreevka, Olginka of the Donetsk People's Republic, Chervonoarmeyskoye, Grozovoe of the Zaporozhye Region, Obryvka, Kazachi Lagery, Proletarka of the Kherson Region, Rubizhne and Kremennaya of the Luhansk People's Republic.
- In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, the following have been destroyed: 412 aircraft, 228 helicopters, 3,861 unmanned aerial vehicles, 415 anti-aircraft missile systems, 8,858 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,094 combat vehicles of multiple launch rocket systems, 4,663 field artillery pieces and mortars, and also 9,777 units of special military vehicles.
14:32 Regarding the Antonovsky Bridge:
Our collective opinion, you can agree with it, you can not.
Yes, the enemy really rides there in boats - for which they get mines. We don’t observe any direct “bridgehead”, we launch quadrics every day and look, we plan to drive up, look and draw conclusions. The fact that there is silence on the LBS is a fact, there is a badminton game going on (we will work, they will work), in radio interceptions over an open line we often hear “Mom abandoned us, they beat us, we have KIAs". If someone thinks that crossing the Dnieper is easy, then he is deeply mistaken. We are ready to meet them, we see everything.
14:27 Video- Artillery sniper: footage of the combat work of the crews of the 152mm self-propelled guns "Hyacinth-S" of the Western Military District in the zone of the special operation.
Artillerymen have to work daily in the most difficult conditions, but trained crews spend only a few minutes after receiving the target before firing a shot.
The result of the work is the destruction of strongholds, equipment and fortifications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This time, the Hyacinth-S crews destroyed the anti-aircraft installations of the Ukrainian nationalists.
Shooting was carried out with 152mm high-explosive fragmentation rounds at a distance of about 15 kilometers. Adjustment of fire and fixation of the destruction of targets was carried out with the help of a reconnaissance complex.
14:22 Video– Multi-purpose attack helicopter Mi-35 of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the sky of Donbass.
14:13 Video- Counterattack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the latest technology supplied by NATO countries.
13:59 Audio recording- Prigozhin believes that the Armed Forces of Ukraine can launch a counteroffensive in May: the last rain should fall on the 2nd, it will take another week for the soil to dry out, then they will be ready to move.
13:45 ALEXANDER MALTSEV - HERO OF RUSSIA! The commander of the intelligence department, Sergeant Maltsev Alexander Viktorovich, was awarded the highest award of the Russian Federation - the title of Hero of Russia!
On March 10, during the fighting near the Kremennaya LPR, Alexander Maltsev, call sign “Kuban”, alonecapturedstronghold of the Ukrainian Nazis, destroyed three and captured two enemy soldiers.
Unfortunately, this award was presented posthumously, and today Alexander could celebrate his 42nd birthday. Happy birthday hero! To be a warrior is to live forever!
13:36 Video- What are the Wagners talking about ... As you know, the battles in Bakhmut are fought with great intensity. With the same huge consumption of ammunition. And this implies appropriate provision ...
“But nothing, we will put things in order. Russia will flourish with renewed vigor and will give everyone lyuli,” summed up the Wagner operator, looking at the Bakhmut Ferris wheel.
13:21 Ukrainian formations again fired upon border Shebekinsky urban district in the Belgorod region.
The village of Krasnoye was hit: windows were shattered and facades were cut in two private households. Civilians were not hurt. Operational and emergency services went to the place to eliminate the consequences. At the beginning of the week, the village also came under fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine: then a Ukrainian drone dropped two grenades on a cell tower.
13:09 Video– the work of artillery of the 110th Brigade of the 1st Donetsk army corps (the former 100th Brigade of the NM of the DPR) on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Nevelskoye.
13:03 Video- More consequences of the artillery attack on the street. Velozavodskaya, 50 in the Kievsky district of Donetsk.
12:44 Consequences of artillery attacks of Konstantinovka, Donetsk region.
12:37 Consequences of artillery attacks on the street Velozavodskaya, 50 in the Kievsky district of Donetsk.
12:22 Video- The operator of the UAV OBTF "Kaskad" told how the process of destroying the enemy at the factories named after. Ilyich and Azovstal.
12:10 Video– Advance on the Marinsky direction
Our guys took one of the most important positions in front of the settlement. Nevelskoye, the battle lasted more than 10 hours.
The well-coordinated work of the heroic tank crews, which shoot at point-blank positions of the enemy and the Storm detachment of the 110th Specialized Rifle Brigade, working under the cover of tanks, took control of the stronghold of the 59th Specialized Rifle Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the settlement. Nevelskoy.
Despite the constant bursts of enemy artillery rounds, our guys took up defensive positions of the Ukrainians.
The Ukrainians suffered losses of personnel up to 40 fighters killed and wounded, the footage shows the flaming enemy equipment. The capture of this strong point will make it possible to develop offensive operations in the Maryinsky direction more quickly.
11:51 Video- Defined - hit ": the head of the station - the battery commander spoke about the work of the S-300V crews in the NVO zone.
Crews of S-300V anti-aircraft missile systems of the Central Military District cover the Russian group of troops and settlements from air strikes.
The S-300V air defense system allows you to detect and destroy ballistic, aerodynamic missiles, aircraft and helicopters, as well as unmanned vehicles at various altitudes.
11:35 Video- The 76th Guards Airborne Division destroyed the Ukrainian counterbattery radar "Zoo-3" with two lancets.
The first destroyed Kung with equipment, the second antenna device
11:22 Video- Artillerymen of the Airborne Forces support the offensive of the assault detachments in the Artyomovsk direction. Crews of 120mm self-propelled guns "Nona" destroy manpower and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Reconnaissance, fire adjustment and control of target destruction are carried out by UAV crews.
11:08 Official summary of Representative offices of the DPR in the JCCC from 00:00 04/25/2023 to 00:00 04/26/2023
Over the past day, the Representation reported 26 facts of firing by the AFU.
In the Donetsk direction, the enemy made 19 attacks from the MLRS, 155mm artillery.
On Gorlovsky four artillery attacks from 155mm artillery.
On Yasinovatsky one artillery attack from 155mm artillery.
On Volnovakhskoye two artillery attacks from 155mm artillery.
Having fired 134 units of various ammunition.
Under enemy fire were areas of six settlements of the Republic: Gorlovka (Central City, Nikitovsky districts), Yasinovataya, the capital of Donetsk (Kiev, Kuibyshevsky, Kirovsky, Petrovsky districts), Aleksandrovka, Vladimirovka, Nikolskoye.
Over the past day, information was received about the wounding of a civilian - a man, in the Kievsky district of Donetsk. Nine residential buildings were damaged in the Kievsky and Kuibyshevsky districts of Donetsk, Aleksandrovka, as well as two civil infrastructure facilities.
In the previous day, 27 artillery attacks were recorded from the side of the VFU.
11:02 Important information about Artyomovsk:
Enters information about the capture of the most important intersection of Yubileinaya and Chaikovsky in the west of the city. And this means dissection of the APU groupings holding the city.
Both streets are essentially a continuation of the last transport arteries, one on Khromovo, the other on Ivanovskoye.
10:42 Kherson direction.
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 fired from barrel artillery:
-- Kardashinka fired six rounds;
-- Aleshki fired four rounds;
-- Podlesnoye fired four rounds;
-- Peschanovka fired six rounds;
Civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure are being specified
During the night, the Kiev regime continued to shell civilian infrastructure in the settlement New Kakhovka, n.p. Kakhovka, n.p. Krynka, firing a total of 38 rounds from cannon artillery.
Civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure are being specified.
At night, artillery fire in the area of N. p. Engineering destroyed the AN/TPQ - 36 radar station, a pickup truck, three servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, two were seriously injured.
Yesterday, artillery fire in Kherson destroyed the temporary deployment point of one of the units of the 124 Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the loss of two units. automotive technology; 12 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, seven wounded.
10:39 Video “We feel special support from our great country.
“Letters and drawings are talismans. Our guys always keep them with them. Such support helps us to win,” said the fighter with the call sign Luck.
10:28 Video- "There must be a tough hand, then there will be discipline" - a woman commander of a platoon of snipers of the "Rus" battalion
In a stern voice, a native of Donetsk with the call sign “Bonya” recalls how in 2014 she went to war with her father and brother. Just a year later, her minor son, who had previously left for the Russian Federation with his grandmother, returned to defend his native land - he was not even 17 years old then. Now he successfully proves his independence, but in a different direction.
10:12 Video– A report on the assault on Ukrainian positions in the area of the settlement. Controversial.
I don’t know about you, but I saw and heard that the battle went on for six hours and that after the equipment (in the form of infantry fighting vehicles and tanks) delivered the infantry, all of it left, as if it had never appeared again. At least her support was not shown.
10:00 Video- Footage of the consequences of the artillery attack of the Petrovsky district of Donetsk by the Armed Forces, fired from the MLRS, the RF IC is working on the spot.
09:41 Artillery of the 132nd Brigade of the DPR is working in the Novgorod-Dzerzhinsky direction -video
Artillery subdivisions of the 132nd Brigade of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps daily work against the enemy from camouflaged positions with WWII vintage 152mm D-1 guns.
09:40 The last way to supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Bakhmut: a country road, which is also under fire from Russian artillery -video
After cutting the “road of life,” the Armed Forces of Ukraine are having difficulty delivering reinforcements, ammunition and taking out the wounded
09:39 Kyiv regime continues terror of the civilian infrastructure of the left bank of the Kherson region - emergency services
Yesterday, fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired 20 rounds from cannon artillery at the settlements: Kardashinka, Alyoshki, Podlesnoye, Pechanovka.
At night, the artillery attack did not stop - the Ukrainians fired 38 rounds from cannon artillery at Novaya Kakhovka, Kakhovka and Krynki.
08:31 Summary on morningApril 26, 2023
On the Artyomovsky (Bakhmut) direction, our troops are advancing near the settlement. Khromovo. In Artyomovsk - fighting in the area of high-rise buildings. The enemy has turned almost every building into a stronghold. The rear areas of the enemy near Konstantinovka, Druzhkovka, Chasov Yar are constantly being hit.
On the southern ledge of the Avdeevsky direction, heavy fighting is reported near the settlement. Nevelskoe.
In the Kherson direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to drop small groups of troops onto our coast in the Dach area and on the islands in the floodplain of the Dnieper River.
The Russian Armed Forces worked against the enemy with heavy guided bombs, it was reported about the use of the Solntsepyok heavy flamethrower system. The 205th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces continues to destroy 155mm M777 howitzers during the counterbattery fight.
In the Zaporizhia region, the Russian Armed Forces worked on the targets of the enemy UAV-kamikaze "Geran-2". Large explosions are reported.
The enemy fired 134 rounds of ammunition at the civilian population of the DPR. Gorlovka, Yasinovataya, Donetsk, Aleksandrovka, Vladimirovka, Nikolskoe were under fire. Wounded civilian.
08:30 Breakthrough near Donetsk: our troops stormed one of the most important positions near Nevelskoye after 10 hours of battle -video
Under the cover of tanks, point-blank shooting at enemy positions, the “Storm” detachment of the 110th Brigade captured the stronghold of the 59th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the settlement. Nevelskoye, according to the military commander E. Lisitsin.
The enemy tried to stop the attack with strong shelling, but ours broke through the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered losses - up to 40 militants were killed and wounded, the flaming equipment of the enemy is also visible on the footage.
The capture of this stronghold will make it possible to more rapidly develop offensive operations in the Maryinsky direction.
08:19 Front at Kremennaya: an unusual report from the front line -video
At night, the Armed Forces of Ukraine open fire from the MLRS, the enemy shoots through the road leading to the Russian positions.
"There was a flash at the prevailing altitude. And literally we picked up speed, went into a turn and the gap was behind the car. We got away from the ATGM strike," says the commander of the 374th rifle battalion with the call sign “Askold” to iz.ru correspondent Dmitry Zimenkin.
08:15 The Airborne Forces support the offensive of the Wagner assault detachments near Bakhmut -video
Crews of 120mm self-propelled guns "Nona" destroy manpower and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Reconnaissance, fire adjustment and control of target destruction are carried out by UAV crews.
08:07 Frontline summary on the morning of 04/26/2023
In the Zaporozhye direction, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation fired at Orekhov, Charovnoye, Gulyaipolsky, Krasny, Malinovka and Olgovsky. The Ukrainian army launched a missile attack on Tokmok.
On the Donetsk front, Russian troops, supported by artillery, again attacked near Pobeda, along the southern and northern outskirts of Marinka, near Nevelskoye, in the direction of Pervomaisky and Severny, and also in the Novokalinovo area. On the last of the named sites, they managed to move the Ukrainian units away from the H-20 highway.
Under the blows of the position of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Novomikhailovka, Paraskovievka, Georgievka, Ostrom, the city of Krasnogorovka, Karlovka, Tonensk, Lastochkino, Avdievka and New York. The Ukrainian army again hit Donetsk.
In Bakhmut, the Wagner PMC, after massive artillery and air strikes, conducted assault operations in the southern, western and northern parts of the city. Near Khromovoye, fierce oncoming battles continue for control of a section of the highway to Chasov Yar.
Russian troops, supported by artillery, tried to advance towards Orekhovo-Vasilyevka. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation fired on Stupochek, Chasov Yar, Ivanovsky, Grigorovka, Markov, Vasyukovka, Pereezdny, Disputed and Verkhnekamensky.
In the Luhansk direction, Russian troops, supported by artillery, attacked near Belogorovka, in the area of Torskoye, Nevsky and Makeevka. Again unsuccessfully. Under artillery attack positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Novoselovsky, Kislovka, Kupyansk, Kondrashovka, Masyutovka, Zapadny, Dvurechnaya, Novomlynsk, Figolevka, Krasny Pervoi, Kamenka and Poplars.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] The “Poles are building an army for war with Russia” angle of view distorts a much more complex picture, where historical hatred of Germany is in the first place. Polish plans are based on the simple fact that the main enemy and oppressor (who is also the main sponsor of Poland within the EU) has not been so weak since 1945.
Posters with beautiful soldiers in formidable poses have noticeably increased in Poland over the past year; at every post office they are already at the entrance offering visitors to sign up for a contract in the army.
The government constantly involves citizens in a variety of military training programs, including for children, spends huge sums on weapons production programs, constantly conducts exercises and actively helps Ukraine.
Therefore, the increase in the Polish Army to 200,000 people announced by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in the autumn did not come as a surprise to the Poles.
Once again, PiS has announced plans to create Europe's largest army of 300,000, and this goal is one of the pillars of the election campaign.
“The Polish army will need two more years, and then it will become the strongest land army in Europe,” Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said a few days ago in an interview with Polish Radio .
About the same thing was stated a year ago by PiS President Yaroslav Kaczynski , who served as Deputy Prime Minister for Security: 250,000 operational personnel and 50,000 territorial defense troops. According to Kaczynski, quoted by Gazeta Wyborcza, the war in Ukraine could end with "some kind of compromise" and "so our country must have forces ready to repel the attack."
Thus, Polish politicians are trying on the very role that Ukrainian politicians have been talking about on all television broadcasts for the previous eight years: to be the defenders of Europe. Only unlike the latter, the Poles seriously claim leadership in the EU, considering the "Ukrainian brothers" only as expendable material.
BIG AMBITIONS
The “Poles are building an army for war with Russia” angle of view distorts a much more complex picture, where historical hatred of Germany is in the first place. Polish plans are based on the simple fact that the main enemy and oppressor (who is also the main sponsor of Poland within the EU) has not been so weak since 1945.
This, in particular, explains the impudence with which the Germans are required to pay reparations for the Second World War, when even the Council of Europe has submitted a draft resolution on granting Polish citizens the right to seek individual compensation from Germany through the courts.
After the shutdown of the Nord Streams, the massive influx of migrants living off social benefits, the relocation of large industries to the United States, the shutdown of nuclear power generation, and also due to the constant large expenditures for the needs of the European Union, the standard of living in Germany fell sharply. Accordingly, the opportunities have fallen.
Back in 2019 and 2020, Bundestag Commissioner for Defense Affairs Hans-Peter Bartels called them the weakest in its history in the annual report on the state of the armed forces. In the Bundeswehr, there is a shortage of personnel, equipment is not being modernized, new things are not being introduced.
At the same time, the Germans, faithful to the rules, regularly supplied the Ukrainian army - to their own detriment. As a result, the German combat effectiveness and the ability to fulfill their obligations in NATO turned out to be a big question.
Poland has become the main military hub, actively earns money on the war and quite openly works as the main US agent in the region, even hoping to switch to American weapons.
Her ambitions are quite readable for anyone with some knowledge of Polish history.
To the east are the Baltic countries with their existential fear of Russia and the experience of living together in the first Rzeczpospolita. Here is Ukraine, whose western (from the Ukrainian point of view) territories are considered an integral part of Poland.
In the west, there is a weakened Germany, which should be taken under its wing as a weaker state and commanded, replacing it, among other things, in NATO. For example, in an alliance with the French, who, on the contrary, have always been allies of Poland and in 1939 even pretended to help her defend herself from a German attack.
From the height of their worldview, the Poles even shout at their EU neighbors who said something politically incorrect on the Ukrainian issue or who are not zealously sending military equipment to Ukraine.
At the same time, one should not think that with its theoretically large army, Poland will attack someone and share something.
“Today's goal of Warsaw is not so much to physically annex the lands, but to politically seize influence and power on them, so that the local government is loyal and lobbies the necessary interests. That is, formally it is a protectorate over Ukraine: a dependence in which the supreme administration in the country formally retains its state structure, ” says Kristina Ismagilova , the author of the Warsaw Mermaid telegram channel.
However, the same knowledge of Polish history suggests that an incredible sense of self-importance always leads Poland into unpleasant situations. In this case, there are also significant difficulties with the role of the defender of Europe's borders from "threats from the East".
HAT NOT ACCORDING TO PSHEMEK
Since 2015, the Polish Army has grown from 95,000 to 167,000 soldiers, this is an absolute fact. However, military service in general is not a dream for Poles for the simple reason that the average salary in the army, together with allowances, is 7,976 zlotys (about 156,000 rubles - REGNUM).
And the actual minimum wage for an ordinary soldier who started his service is 4,960 złoty (97,000 rubles), which is not much more than the income of a school teacher. At the same time, official reports do not indicate whether it is about the amounts of "gross" (without taxes) or "net" (on hand).
Of course, there is a system of allowances and bonuses, but recently 19,000 people, mostly experienced soldiers, have gone into civilian life. This is the biggest wave of layoffs since 2015, and the reason for it was the last opportunity to receive a pension after 15 years of service.
Those who got on it since January 1, 2013, PiS has already doomed to 25 years of service to the Motherland. And in principle, she lives very poorly: two-thirds of those working in Poland earn less than 6 thousand zlotys (the average salary in the economy).
Last year, the head of the Government Think Tank, Norbert Maliszewski, published statistics showing that the same half of the population earns even less than PLN 4,500 gross. To understand the tragedy, utility bills for a small two-room apartment during the heating season are PLN 800-1000 per month.
But in a situation where the standard of living of the population is rapidly falling (and Germany can no longer give as much money as before), white eagles from the government generously feed Ukraine with iron.
“During the year, military and civilian equipment worth 60 billion euros was sent to Ukraine. What is the effect? In 2022, the "inflation tax" in Poland amounted to at least PLN 150 billion, with tax outflows of PLN 454 billion. In our opinion, this tax eats up people not only salaries, but also reduces all assets in banks. In fact, the wallets of citizens are empty,” says Polish political scientist Daniel Mikusek .
It is quite logical that the Poles are looking for work in other countries, having dispersed en masse to Sweden, the Netherlands, Britain and the same Germany. Their labor niche, in fact, is occupied by Ukrainian immigrants, whom the Polish authorities keep in various ways in hard and dirty work with minimal income.
Thus, enough soldiers for the “most powerful army in Europe” can simply not be recruited: you won’t raise money there, but you will lose your health.
As for rearmament, it also costs a pretty penny. For example, the cost of the contract for the supply of 32 F-35A fighters was $4.6 billion, which includes the training of Polish pilots, the supply of flight simulators, as well as logistical support.
But this is all for later: pilot training will begin in 2024 in the United States, Poland will receive the first aircraft in 2026. And right now, NATO must protect the peaceful skies ... German soldiers serving the Patriot complexes on the eastern border of Poland. In addition, the air base in Malbork will house eight F-35 fighters, which are donated by the Dutch government.
“Poland can look like a strong military power only by taking military equipment on lease, on loan, in some other way - it doesn’t matter. The main thing is how it looks from the outside and in the reports ,” notes Kristina Ismagilova.
Constant maneuvers and exercises involving units of NATO countries also show a beautiful picture. Meanwhile, as the former commander of the Armed Forces in 2015-2016, General Miroslav Ruzhansky , publicly says, the increase in the Polish Army is mainly due to additions and exaggerations.
“30% of the volunteers did not even reach the oath on the twenty-eighth day of service. Then there was an eleven-month period of specialized training, for which only 40% applied. This project did not work," quotes the words Ruzhansky Gazeta Wyborcza.
So, most likely, in the theoretically possible case of a big war in Poland, the events of 80 years ago will be repeated. Then pouting, claims to control the destinies of Europe and the seizure of the territory of neighbors ended in a quick defeat and surrender in a month.
But even without war, Greater Poland, which rules the European Union, exists only in the fantasies of members of the ruling party. But success in the political absorption of Western Ukraine and leadership among the Baltic dwarfs is quite within the reach of the Poles.
Here's the thing: Eighty-eight years ago, your leaders didn't have the balls to invade Poland until you were sure they were defeated by the Nazis, and we know now that the Niemecki had a lot harder time of it than history tells us. Then you stabbed them in the back.
Forty-two years ago, your leaders didn't dare invade Poland to keep them in the Warsaw Pact, because you knew that if you came west again...well, you might win in the end, but you would be ruling over a graveyard, and a good proportion of those graves would be Russian.
I've watched your country now for forty-five years, man and boy, and one thing I gotta tell you - you only talk this way when you're nervous...or scared. And this time, I don't blame you one tiny bit.
The Polish words for 'Never Again' are 'Nigdy Wiecej'.
I strongly suggest you and your leaders learn to recognize them.
I suspect if Ukraine launches attacks from Odesa against Sevastopol, the grain deal will be off, punctuated by a Russian missile attack on the port facilities.
[REGNUM] President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, after a telephone conversation on April 26 with Chairman of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping , said that the PRC leader supports the further extension of the grain deal.
The Ukrainian head assured that he had told his Chinese colleague about Kyiv's efforts regarding maritime food exports.
"I heard words of support for the Black Sea grain initiative, its continuation," Zelensky said in his Telegram channel.
As REGNUM reported , the leaders of the two countries discussed bilateral relations and the crisis in Ukraine. China is in favor of an early ceasefire.
The situation with the grain deal is not resolved , it has been brought to a standstill by Western countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference at the UN on April 25.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] Among the far-right bloggers of France, a concept is developing, which is already known from the propaganda of Nazi Germany. Ideas are spreading that Ukrainians are a "truly European" people in contrast to "Asian Russia".
On April 22, in Paris, at the Bercy road station, two Frenchmen were arrested, returning from “volunteer service” as part of the Ukrainian army. In addition to the fact that both of them have long been on the lists of special services for extremism, they also found components for weapons prohibited from possession by civilians: magazines for machine guns and optical sights. Both were sentenced to 15 months in prison, of which nine months probation, plus a 15-year ban on the right to bear arms.
From the very beginning, the war in Donbass attracted the far-right from all over the world, including the French. For them, this was a good opportunity to get combat experience almost close to home and communicate with like-minded people from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The French ultra-right declared their support for Ukraine back in 2014. At that time, representatives of the Groupe Union défense (GUD), an association that periodically appeared and disappeared from the late 1960s. - issued a communique in support of the neo-fascist nationalist battalion "Azov."
The organization closely cooperates with the international fascist movement Paneuropa, whose congresses were held annually in Kyiv.
Far-right researcher Nicolas Lebourg says most of France's extremists today are on the side of Ukraine, seeing the war it is waging as a battle for "civilization" against "hordes from the east."
On relevant French-language telegram channels, one can see propaganda ads depicting Vladimir Putin and Asian soldiers on one side, and on the other, blond and blue-eyed Ukrainian soldiers stroking cats and saying goodbye to their families.
Among the far-right bloggers of France, a concept is also developing, which is already known from the propaganda of Nazi Germany. YouTuber Daniel Conversano spreads the idea that Ukrainians are a "truly European" people, as opposed to "Asian Russia". He also considers it necessary to populate the European part of Russia with "Europeans", and push the Russians to the east, since they " call themselves enemies of Europe ."
Wilfrid Blériot , a French mercenary from Normandy , killed in the summer of 2022 near Kharkov , whose photos in a T-shirt with a Ukrainian trident and an inscription in Ukrainian “Death to enemies” were distributed on the Internet, also belonged to ultra-right circles. Founded by Maidan and ATO veterans, the Misanthropic Division telegram channel (an organization banned in the Russian Federation) sang the memory of the deceased, who “ fought all his life against Bolshevism and anti-fascism ” and fell “ defending Europe and Ukraine from Asian hordes .”
In total, according to the French intelligence services, their lists contain about 400 names of the French who are fighting in Ukraine. Some of them are former military men who have already gained experience in previous conflicts in Asia, Yugoslavia, Syria, etc.
Returning home "guest performers" from the front, as a rule, try to transfer their struggle to their native soil. So, on December 14, 2022, football fans and radicals decided to celebrate the victory of the French team over the Moroccan team in the World Cup in Paris by beating Moroccan fans. The police detained 38 people, all of them were in balaclavas. They found tear gas grenades, tactical combat gloves and batons.
One of the detainees was a representative of a wealthy old aristocratic family dating back to the 14th century, Marc de Cacret-Valmeinier . He openly calls himself a neo-Nazi, and is also the founder of the Zouaves Paris group, which was banned by a French court on January 5, 2022. By the way, on December 1, 2018, this organization rioted during the manifestation of the “yellow vests” on the Champs Elysees.
Marc de Cacret-Valmeinier received his previous term (a year in prison) in January 2022 for rioting during a rally in support of Eric Zemmour . However, thanks to the intervention of the family, he was released after two months. This trial has already been postponed twice. The meeting was supposed to take place on January 13, but it was postponed to September.
The main postulate of the group "Zouaves": the superiority of the "white race". In this regard, they, like the GUD, expressed their support for the Nazi Azov Battalion. Marc de Cacret-Valmeinier himself traveled to Ukraine and received combat practice as part of this battalion, fighting in the Donbass. True, this very interesting circumstance is not mentioned in the French press, writing about the incident.
In the French media, a rather positive image of “idealists” fighting on the Ukrainian front is being created, forming a generally positive attitude towards those who decide to take part in hostilities.
Journalists prefer to say less about the fact that often in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, their fellow citizens have to fight side by side with neo-Nazis who were integrated into the structures of the army and police of Ukraine, as well as with their compatriots of far-right views, some of whom are wanted for crimes in their homeland.
After all, this kind of information will discredit the further efforts of France to supply Ukraine with weapons and inject more and more financial resources into the budget of this country from the European Union, whose citizens need them much more.
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.
[BattleSwarm] Remember the 
