In today's summary
- In Bakhmut, fighting is underway for the "road of life" – the last major supply line of the Ukrainian group.
- Messages about the bridgehead of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the left bank of the Dnieper.
- Russian Telegram channels upload videos that, apparently, show the defeat of previously abandoned Russian equipment.
- The incident in Belgorod is most likely associated with an abnormal operation of a controlled module to an aerial bomb – the Russian response to the American JDAM.
- Russia is trying to "jam" satellites of SpaceX's Starlink Internet service using ground-based 14Ts227 Tobol complexes.
- Ukraine will test the Israeli missile attack warning system.
- The MIM-140 Patriot air defense system transferred to Ukraine has been put on combat duty.
- At a meeting in Ramstein, they decided to create a base in Poland for the repair of German Leopard tanks.
- Z-hackers claim to have intercepted the negotiations of foreign mercenaries of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporozhye direction. The posted records are reminiscent of the famous "Mike" and "Nick".
The situation at the front
Pro-Russian Telegram channels spread information about the actual end of Bakhmut’s operational encirclement: the Wagnerites reportedly cut the “road of life” between Bakhmut and Chasovy Yar through Khromovo, establishing physical control over its section.
"Voenkor" of "Komsomolskaya Pravda" Alexander Kots writes that it is too early to talk about the environment:
“Fights to hold the highway running from Bakhmut through Khromovo continue. The enemy still has one more logistical stream through the settlement of Krasnoye. As well as field roads, on which, however, only caterpillar vehicles can now move. It rains again in the LPR, and wheeled vehicles are bogged down in clay. At the same time, of course, all these supply routes are shot through by both our artillery and anti-tank weapons.
Evgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner PMC, says the same:
“It’s too early to talk about the formation of a boiler for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Bakhmut, as before, they are in the so-called operational encirclement, when the roads are under fire. But there is no boiler. So there are tough fights. And those who speak their tongues ahead only create problems for us.”
It is difficult for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to hold positions in Bakhmut due to the complete destruction of buildings, said Anna Malyar, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine. “The situation there is very difficult. They completely destroy the city, in such conditions it is difficult to hold positions. In some areas they manage to move forward, but Bakhmut is standing, we are inflicting incredible losses on the enemy both in infantry and in equipment, ”she noted .
Colonel of the 93rd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Pavel Palisa in an interview with The Washington Post said that the Ukrainians were forced to retreat due to lack of ammunition. “We do not have enough shells to hit them, and I understand that we are paying with the lives of our soldiers,” he said.
The pro-Russian Telegram channel “Rybar” writes about the foothold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the left bank of the Dnieper. “The enemy is indeed carrying out attacks on the left bank using small boats supplied as part of US military assistance. The large length of the coastline and the impossibility of physical control over the coastal areas due to regular shelling play into the hands of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a rule, the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not go further than the banks of the Dnieper due to problems with the supply, which in the current conditions is possible only with the help of small boats. To move deeper, constant replenishment of ammunition and weapons is necessary, which is simply not feasible now, ”the authors of the channel note.
Losses
The Ukrainian Telegram channel dedicated to the loss of equipment reports that some videos published by pro-Russian Telegram channels show the defeat of abandoned Russian equipment.
Apparently, in the Kirillovka area, Russian forces lost a Ka-52 helicopter. It is reported that the body of one of the dead pilots was carried to the beach.
Mutual shelling
The night before, over Belgorod, there was, as the Russian Ministry of Defense called it, “an abnormal drop of aviation munitions.” As a result of the explosion, a huge crater formed in front of houses in one of the residential areas, three people were injured , and one of the cars was thrown onto the roof of a nearby store.
The pro-Russian Telegram channel “Military Informant” notes that a FAB-500M62 bomb with a new planning and correction module (UMPC) could have fallen on Belgorod from a Su-34 pylon. The channel recalls that such a case has already taken place in Donetsk. On March 12, 2023, a FAB-500M62 air bomb was found on one of the streets of the Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk, and characteristic wings from the control and correction unit were found not far from it.
The well-known Telegram channel Fighterbomber, who is familiar with the situation in Russian military aviation, writes :
“Judging by the video, this is definitely a bomb. Since bombs are now thrown only as part of the UMPC, it means that it was the UMPC FAB-500M62. Judging by the fact that the wings are not visible, it means that the wings did not open, which is why she fell immediately. The FAB exploded normally, the fuse was set to slow down, apparently, the target under it was supposed to be buried. Bunkers, cellars, workshops and the like. Therefore, the bomb deepened as much as possible.
Note that earlier Fighterbomber wrote about the shooting of heat traps by fighters in the sky over Belgorod. This means that Russian aviation has previously worked directly over the city.
Retired Aviation Colonel Viktor Alksnis noted that for safety reasons, aircraft have a special “Explosion – No Explosion” toggle switch, which is usually in the “No Explosion” position: in this position, any bomb release, intentional or accidental, does not lead to an explosion. The toggle switch is switched to the "Explosion" position when attacking the target. According to Alksnis, he was in this position on the Su-34. “Or there was an “abnormal gathering” not of a bomb, but of a rocket launch. How and why this happened, the commission will understand. Moreover, the Su-34 is equipped with objective control equipment (“black box”), which captures dozens of parameters, including the pilot’s work with aviation weapons, ”he wrote.
Rob Lee, an analyst at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), believes that it was more likely not a "random gathering", but the wings of the bomb did not open. In his opinion, if the target was, for example, in Kharkov, then the pilot could well have launched a bomb over Belgorod: according to available data, the flight range of a glide bomb equipped with a UMPC module is 50–70 km. Li also asks rhetorically why the bomb was dropped over the city, given the risk of failure of a relatively advanced module that has recently entered service.
Z-channels also responded to the incident in Belgorod. “In the end, consider yourself lucky, if you remember the story of the Su-34 plane that crashed on a residential building in Yeysk. If the bomb had hit a residential building, there could have been casualties, otherwise it broke through the asphalt and detonated already at a depth, which explains the limited nature of the damage,” writes Boris Rozhin, a pro-Kremlin expert at the Center for Military-Political Journalism.
The Fighterbomber Telegram channel notes : “To say that Belgorod is lucky today is to say nothing. Well, yes, all here are working trifles, if not for the choice of a combat course over the city. The city glows at night with a huge lantern visible hundreds of kilometers away. It is impossible not to see this. At least in any weather conditions. So you can't be wrong. This should never happen again. The pilot must go and light a hundred candles in the church today. Here God took the trouble. There are no other reasons."
On April 21, in the morning, at the end of the Rossiya 1 story about the bombing of Belgorod, host Nikolai Zusik said the phrase: “Modern military equipment allows Russian units to eliminate extremists in the NVO zone from a minimum distance.” Apparently, the host forgot to pause before starting the next story:
On the night of April 21, the Russians attacked Ukraine from the northern direction (Bryansk region) with kamikaze drones. Of the 12 Shahed-136/131 drones used, eight were destroyed.
It is reported about the attacks of Ukrainian UAVs in the city of Klintsy (Bryansk region). The drone fell on the territory of a residential building. There are destruction.
Another device attacked agricultural machinery in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region. Judging by the post on the Voenkor Kitten Z Telegram channel, it was a tractor that worked on the construction of defensive lines near the border.
The SBU publishes a photo showing the aftermath of a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian airbase Kanatovo in the Kirovohrad region on July 16, 2022. Some pictures show broken Su-27 and Su-24. Earlier, the SBU reported that the shelling was the result of an unsuccessful operation by unnamed Ukrainian military, who, acting without the sanction of the special services, tried to lure a Russian pilot along with the plane to the airfield.
Armaments and military equipment
The Washington Post, citing "leaked" secret Pentagon documents , writes about Russia's attempts to prevent the Ukrainian military from accessing the Starlink Internet service. Allegedly, 14Ts227 Tobol electronic warfare systems are used for these purposes.
The document is dated March and does not say whether any of the Russian attempts were successful. However, US intelligence data confirms that a program ostensibly designed to protect the Kremlin's satellites could be used to target satellites used by its adversaries.
In total, according to analysts, Russia has seven Tobol complexes. Three of them are probably located near Moscow, in Armavir and Kaliningrad. According to Brian Vidan, director of program planning at the Secure World Foundation, the coverage area of these three complexes can cover the whole of Ukraine. According to him, "Tobol" is primarily designed to counter those who create interference, trying to disrupt communications with Russian satellites, but the complex, apparently, can also be used for "offensive purposes" – to suppress enemy communications with their satellites.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Konstantin Zhura said officials in Kyiv are aware of Russia's efforts and "are taking steps to neutralize them." The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to the publication's request.
In the near future , an Israeli missile attack warning system will be tested in Kiev, Walla reports . If they are successful, the system will be able to fully operate in the summer.
The system will be connected to the Ukrainian radar system and thus be able to send alerts to citizens' mobile phones faster and more accurately and only sound signals in places where missiles can hit.
“Thus, citizens of Ukraine in the areas of rocket attacks will have more time to get to the protected zone, and citizens who are in other areas will be able to continue their lives without hindrance,” the newspaper notes.
Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk published a photo against the background of the MIM-140 Patriot air defense system . He said that the complex is already on combat duty in the air defense system of Ukraine.
“Although in small numbers, we actually already have modern Western anti-aircraft missile systems in service: NASAMS, IRIS-T, Patriot, SAMP / T, Crotale, Gepard and others. In order for the puzzle of promising Ukrainian air defense to finally take shape, the air force needs the F-16! ”, Oleshchuk noted .
The results of "Rammstein"
A regular meeting of Western defense ministers was held at the Ramstein military base in Germany.
“At today's meeting of the Contact Group, we will focus on three key issues: air defense, ammunition and support. Ukraine urgently needs our help to protect its citizens, infrastructure and assets from the Russian missile threat,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said during the meeting.
During the meeting, it became known that the Ukrainian military will begin training in handling American Abrams tanks in May. In mid-March, 31 tanks will arrive at the Grafenwehr training ground in Germany, where about 450 Ukrainian soldiers will work with them.
Germany, Poland and Ukraine signed an agreement at the meeting to create a base in Poland for the repair of German Leopard tanks, some of them are already in Ukraine.
Following the meeting, EU representative for foreign affairs and security policy Josep Borrell said that 16,000 of the planned 30,000 Ukrainian military have already completed training in Western countries.
"Mike" and "Nick" are fighting in the Armed Forces of Ukraine
In social networks, attention was paid to Vladimir Rogov, one of the officials of the Russian “administration” of the Zaporozhye region, posted a few days ago, allegedly intercepted negotiations of foreign mercenaries in the Zaporozhye direction.
Although the original report states that "it's hard to tell from the accent what country the mercenaries are from", apparently they are from the same country as the already famous "Mike" and "Nick" (characters of the fake "intercepted" conversation "Warsaw and Berlin about the poisoning of Navalny and plans to overthrow Lukashenka).
About the main events of the war on April 19 – in the previous report: “Russia uses cluster bombs, the supply of Bakhmut is under threat, a meteorite over Kiev. What's happening on the front line .