The situation at the front
Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky visited the hottest sectors of the front in the Bakhmut direction, heard reports from the commanders of military units and groups on the progress of the defense. He stated that the Russians had switched to a new tactic in Bakhmut.
“The enemy has switched to the so-called “Syrian” scorched earth tactics. It destroys buildings and positions with air strikes and artillery fire, ”Military Media Center quotes Syrsky.
This information was confirmed to The Insider by military expert Roman Svitan , noting that in Bakhmut the proportion of combat damage that the Russians inflict due to aviation and artillery has increased.
“The task is to destroy the high-rise part of the city, so they are trying to smash the skyscrapers to zero in the western part of Bakhmut, where Ukrainian troops are located. In general, this is a la Aleppo or Mariupol – they will now destroy everything by aviation, or by means of mass destruction: they are trying to use the same Buratino TOS, UR-77 demining vehicles. In general, they turned on all the mechanisms for inflicting combat damage and their task is to destroy the city itself. The Russians realized that local assaults could not take over this territory, which is why they are now taking such measures. We set the task – blood from the nose, but take Bakhmut by Easter, and if you can’t take it, then you need to destroy it, so now we have turned on the mode of complete destruction of Bakhmut. ”
The expert added that Ukrainian troops are covering Bakhmut from a hill, and new air defense systems have been brought up against aviation in order to prevent Russian aircraft from bombing Bakhmut. The expert noted that the situation is very difficult, but controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“The defense line goes along the railroad and along the highway from Konstantinovka to Bakhmut. And it is difficult to approach the highway, and it is difficult for Russians to pass the railway. There are several hundred meters of fireable territory. So far, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are holding these two frontiers.”
A video of the destruction in Bakhmut has been published on the Telegram channel of Ukrainian journalist Denis Kazansky.
Bild journalist Yulian Röpke, based on data collected from open sources, confirms that at the moment Russian forces have advanced towards the center of Bakhmut and now control about 75% of the city. Earlier this was stated by the head of the self-proclaimed "DPR" Denis Pushilin, his words are quoted by the TASS agency. Pushilin arrived in that part of Bakhmut, which is controlled by Wagner PMC fighters.
Poulet volant account counts PMC Wagner mercenaries already control 78% of the territory of Bakhmut.
Bridge hit
Pilots of the Western Military District with the help of Su-34 fighters attacked the bridge over the Sudost River in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. Russian "military commander" Yevgeny Poddubny posted a video of the strike on his Telegram channel. He claims that saboteurs, who had previously penetrated into the Bryansk region, moved along this bridge.
According to retired aviation colonel Viktor Alksnis, the strike was carried out by the latest Russian Kh-29TD missile, which is a solid-propellant air-to-surface missile with a television guidance system. The missile operates on the principle of "fire and forget" and is designed to destroy stationary objects. The maximum range of these missiles is 30-40 km. The Su-34 fired this missile from Russian territory, without entering the zone of destruction of Ukrainian air defense systems.
At the same time, as Alksnis notes, the bridge was not destroyed, but, judging by the photo, it was only damaged. And these damages do not pose any problems for the movement of Ukrainian DRGs along it. To destroy it, Alksnis notes, it is necessary to inflict new Kh-29TD strikes on it. And each such rocket is very expensive. In his opinion, the strike on the bridge is a "propaganda production" from the RF Ministry of Defense.
“Did you resent the lack of strikes on the bridges? Here you are and attack bridges! And now every day we will be shown this video. In the same way, as we were shown the propaganda strikes against the critical infrastructure of Ukraine. Hundreds of cruise missiles were spent on the Ukrainian energy structure of 350 kilovolts, although it was known in advance that the stability of this infrastructure is ensured by the high-voltage energy structure of 750 kilovolts. But for some unknown reason, we protected her from blows. As a result, Ukraine declared yesterday that there are no problems with energy and that it is once again ready to import electricity to the West,” Alksnis writes.
Lack of air defense systems in the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The Armed Forces of Ukraine are facing a serious shortage of air defense (AD) equipment, as well as ammunition. This is stated in the material of the newspaper The Washington Post, which studied the secret documents of the Pentagon and US intelligence that got on the Internet.
They say that "Ukraine's ability to provide medium-range air defense to protect the front line will be finally leveled by May 23." The existing air defense systems will be able to “withstand only two or three more waves of strikes” by Russian missiles and drones. The materials note that the number of air defense systems sent by the West is limited, and often they "cannot cope with massive Russian strikes."
The documents also note an acute shortage of ammunition in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As the article says, “Without constant replenishment, supplies will run out in a matter of days.” Yury Ignat, a spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told The Washington Post that information about air defense systems from classified documents is already outdated. At the same time, he acknowledged the threat of a shortage of ammunition that is produced in Russia.
Israeli military expert David Gendelman, in a conversation with The Insider , noted that the real data on the number of interceptor missiles for the S-300 and Buk air defense systems in Ukraine are secret, so there is nothing to compare the information from these leaked Pentagon documents.
“The fact that in general there is a shortage of missiles for Soviet-made air defense systems has long been known, and since the middle of last year Ukraine has made special efforts to produce them around the world with the help of Western allies, but this is a general estimate, and not an exact one up to a specific day. when the rockets run out. So it is clear that there is a problem, but without having this secret data, it is impossible to say whether this particular leaked information is accurate.”
At the same time, CNN writes that Ukraine has changed some military plans due to the alleged leak of US secret military documents. This was announced by a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the publication, the leaked documents reveal key shortcomings in Ukrainian weapons, air defense, size and readiness of units at a critical time in the war, when Ukrainian forces are preparing for a counteroffensive against Russia. One document shows the US is spying on Zelensky. The leak also showed that the United States has its own sources in the Russian Ministry of Defense, as well as in the Wagner PMC, writes CNN. In addition, much of the information about Russia has been gathered through intercepted communications, raising concerns that the Russians may change their communication method to better hide their plans.
Exchange of prisoners
The Russian Defense Ministry announced the return of 106 Russian prisoners of war from the territory of Ukraine as part of the exchange. The message was published in the Telegram channel. Ukrainians announce the return home from captivity of 100 military personnel – sailors, border guards and National Guardsmen – among them are participants in the battles for Mariupol, the defense of Azovstal, as well as Gostomel. Some soldiers were seriously injured.
“We are returning home 100 of our people – these are the military, sailors, border guards, national guardsmen. Ours are at home. And we will return everyone. Because people are the main value of Ukraine,” wrote the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak.
The most massive prisoner exchange to date took place on September 21, 2022. Then 215 military men returned to Ukraine, and 56 people returned to Russia, including Vladimir Putin's godfather Viktor Medvedchuk.
About the main events of the war on April 7 – in the previous report: “ The Pentagon is studying the “secret documents” leaked to the network about the situation in Ukraine, Strelkov against the “military crooks.” What's going on at the front ."