Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine) has been fully sealed off by Russian forces and all the approaches to the city are under artillery control, Yan Gagin, military-political expert and adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said on Wednesday.
"The city is in operational encirclement, which means that all the approaches and all the transportation arteries leading to it are under the control of our artillery. In principle, it can be said that the city has been actually sealed off," he said in a live broadcast on the Rossiya-1 television channel.
Currently, Russian forces control about 70% of the Artyomovsk area. The Ukrainian garrison positioned in the city numbers about 10,000-strong personnel, he added.
Artyomovsk is located on the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic and is a major transportation hub for the Ukrainian army’s supplies in Donbass. Fierce fighting for the city is underway. Acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin has repeatedly said that there is no evidence of the Ukrainian army’s plans to leave Artyomovsk. Meanwhile, Kiev claims that the city’s defense will be bolstered.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky earlier said that Ukrainian troops would not surrender Artyomovsk and would fight for it as long as they could.
Most of Russian military pilots gain combat experience in Ukraine operation — Shoigu
Up to 90% of the crews of Russian operational/tactical aviation and 85% of drone operators have gained combat experience in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting with military commanders on Wednesday.
"At our last year’s enlarged board meeting of the Defense Ministry, the supreme commander-in-chief noted the important role of this branch of the armed forces in the special military operation and set the task of further raising its combat capabilities and the level of the personnel’s preparedness," the defense chief said.
"During the special military operation, up to 90% of the crews of operational/tactical and army aviation, 60% of strategic and long-range aviation and 85% of the personnel operating unmanned aerial vehicles gained combat experience," Shoigu said.
In addition, pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces have flown over 140,000 sorties in the special military operation in Ukraine, destroying more than 20,000 enemy sites, he added.
Russian defense chief praises Eastern Military District’s role in maintaining stability
The forces of Russia’s Eastern Military District play an important role in maintaining stability in the area under their purview, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting of the ministry’s board on Wednesday.
"The Eastern Military District’s forces play an important role in maintaining stability in the area they are responsible for, and are actively participating in efforts to boost defense cooperation with friendly countries," he pointed out.
He also noted that the military and political situation in the area covered by the district remained difficult.
According to the defense chief, the Eastern Military District’s troops are undergoing intensive combat training. In particular, three joint military drills - Selenga, Laros and Naval Interaction - were held last year. In addition, the Vostok command and staff strategic exercise took place in the region in 2022.
American biolabs intended for military purposes among other things — senator
The Russian parliamentary commission probing into the activities of biological laboratories in Ukraine has established that the American biological programs are intended for military purposes, among other things, Russian Federation Council Deputy Speaker and co-chair of the commission Konstantin Kosachev said on Wednesday.
"Taking into account all the circumstances established during the parliamentary investigation, we can draw an unambiguous conclusion that the United States’ biological programs have an obvious dual purpose and are intended, among other things, for military purposes," the senator said during a final commission meeting.
Kosachev stressed that the parliamentary investigation, under the law, was not a substitute for inquiry, preliminary investigation and trial. According to him, the purpose of the investigation was not to establish the guilt of specific individuals in the corresponding crimes; this is the prerogative of the investigative and judicial bodies.
At the same time, the senator pointed out that the information established by the commission has been brought to the attention of the relevant investigative bodies "to take measures of procedural reaction."
Ukrainians left for dead after failed offensive near Kupyansk, LPR officer reports
Ukrainian troops did not rescue their wounded fellow soldiers and left them for dead after failing to counterattack Russian forces on the front near Kupyansk, Andrey Marochko, a retired lieutenant-colonel of the People’s Militia of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), told TASS on Wednesday.
"The bodies of eliminated militants were found near Ukrainian positions between Novosyolovskoye and Stelmakhovka (the Kupyansk sector of the frontlines - TASS). The enemy sustained losses after yet another attempt at a counteroffensive in that sector of the frontline two days ago, but the bodies were never retrieved," he said, citing Russian recon data.
According to Marochko, several Ukrainian soldiers sustained wounds in the battle but were still alive, however, "they died after a while because no assistance was rendered to them."
On Monday, Colonel Sergey Zybinsky, the spokesman for Russia’s Western group of forces, said that the Russian army had thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian forces to attack Russian positions in the area of Kupyansk.
No comments:
Post a Comment