A leaked order regarding plans to strengthen discipline signed by Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Syrsky has detailed the increasingly difficult situation for Kiev at the front, with troops accused of sabotaging orders, threatening commanders, refusing to fire their weapons, leaving the battlefield and deserting en masse.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has published footage of nine servicemen from Ukraine’s elite 25th Separate Airborne Brigade collectively surrendering to Russian forces near the village of Vodyanoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
In interviews taken after their capture, the troopers pointed to the difficult situation at the front, complained about poor operational planning, poorly trained commanders, large losses in manpower and equipment and panic among the units, and accused command of using them as cannon fodder.
“The commanders leave us to die like waste material, while they are somewhere on the sidelines,” serviceman Valery told his Russian interviewers. “When we were being taken into captivity, our own forces started shelling us, showing that we aren’t needed anymore. I’ve been captured and thanks to that I’m alive and won’t be executed. It’s worse in the Ukrainian military than in the Russian captivity,” he said.
“The 25th Brigade’s command is treating us like livestock,” another captured serviceman said. “It’s better to surrender than die in such a ***** manner for who knows for what and why,” a third added.
“Our commanders don’t care about us. They didn’t want to come to the positions and evaluate the situation…So ‘thank you’ to our commanders. In your words, we should have gone to our deaths,” another soldier said.
Footage shot by Russian forces showed the surrendering servicemen approaching Russian positions, stripping off their gear and being led out of the combat zone by Russian forces after being searched.
Ukraine Armed Forces C-in-C Syrsky confirmed the desperate situation at the front in an order that was issued on April 4 and leaked to Russian media on Saturday, listing issues he said require immediate attention from law enforcement including insubordination, failure to comply with orders, threats or violence against superiors, unauthorized abandonment of positions, desertion, evasion of military service by inflicting self-harm, and refusal to use weapons.
In a Telegram post Saturday, Syrsky offered an unusually frank public assessment of the battlefield situation, which he said had “significantly worsened in recent days, primarily due to the significant intensification of the enemy’s offensive actions,” which he said was “facilitated by warm, dry weather, which has made most open areas accessible to tanks.”
Syrsky assured that his “personal communication” with servicemen has made him well “aware of the real scale and degree of threat from the enemy.”
Facing horrific losses in two years of fighting with Russian forces, Ukraine’s parliament approved a new mobilization law this week to expand the draft, requiring all men eligible for service to appear at military registration and enlistment offices to clarify their registration data, and exempting law enforcement, police and government officials from service. An earlier draft of the legislation allowed wealthy Ukrainians to pay the equivalent of $520 US (in a country where the average wage is about $400) to avoid the draft, although it’s not clear whether the law passed this week, and yet to be signed by President Zelensky, includes that proposal. Last week, President Zelensky signed separate legislation to lower the minimum conscription age from 27 to 25.
Watch Russia’s Izdeliye-51 Guided Munition Shred Ukraine’s Tank
Russia’s distinctive Lancet dual x-wing drones have proven highly efficient in the special military operation zone, blunting Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive efforts and turning pricey NATO weaponry into scrap metal.
An exclusive video of an Izdeliye-51 (Product-51) guided munition destroying a Ukrainian tank near Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has been published by the Russian Defense Ministry.
The text ‘Target Acquired’ in Russian appears onscreen in the video as the drone approaches the tank. Upon impact, the armored combat vehicle is blown to smithereens.
The Izdeliye-51 is the latest in a new generation of Russian Lancet drones — also dubbed suicide or kamikaze UAVs — equipped with automatic guidance systems.
There are several configurations of Lancets, including Izdeliye-51— AKA the Lancet-3, a 12 kg drone featuring one large X-shaped wing and a small rear X-shaped stabilizer wing with a 3 kg weapons payload.
The loitering munition is capable of penetrating any armored vehicle. The drone can independently find and identify targets.
Russian Forces Liberate Village of Pervomaiskoye in Avdeyevka Vicinity
The Russian Armed Forces have liberated the village of Pervomaiskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in the Avdeyevka area, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Saturday.
"Near Avdeyevka, units of Battlegroup Tsentr liberated the settlement of Pervomaiskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic through active and selfless actions," the ministry said.
Additionally, the ministry noted that eight counterattacks by assault groups of the 25th Airborne, 59th Motorized Infantry, 68th Jaeger, as well as the 23rd, 24th, and 115th Mechanized Brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) were repelled in the areas of the settlements of Umanskoye, Pervomaiskoye, Krasnogorovka, Berdychi, and Leninskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic.
On the Kupyansk area, units of Battlegroup Zapad improved their position along the front line, struck a formation of Ukraine's 54th Mechanized Brigade in the area of the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkov region, and repelled three attacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian 12th Special Purpose Brigade in the area of the settlement of Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People's Republic.
In the Donestk region, Russian forces took more advantageous positions, repelled two attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with Ukrainian losses in the past 24 hours amounting to over 500 servicemen and one tank, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.
"Units of Battlegroup Yug took more advantageous positions, struck personnel and equipment of the 79th Airborne Assault and 46th Airmobile Brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Krasnogorovka and Antonovka in the Donetsk People's Republic," the ministry said.
According to the Defense Ministry, two attacks by enemy assault groups south of the settlement of Novomikhailovka in the DPR were also repelled.
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 500 servicemen, one tank, three armored combat vehicles, 23 cars, and a Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system. During counter-battery combat, two US-made 155 mm M777 howitzers, a 152 mm D-20 howitzer, and a 122 mm D-30 howitzer were destroyed," the ministry reported.
Units of Russia's Battlegroup Vostok struck formations of two Ukrainian brigades over the past day, with the enemy's losses exceeding 110 soldiers, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Saturday.
"In the southern Donetsk region, units of Battlegroup Vostok improved their tactical position and struck formations of the 58th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the 128th Territorial Defense Brigade in the areas of the settlements of Staromayorsk and Urozhainoye in the Donetsk People's Republic," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
In addition, Ukrainian forces lost four pickup trucks, a 155 mm Polish-made Krab self-propelled howitzer, a 155 mm US-made M777 howitzer, and a NOTA electronic warfare station.
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