Don's Weekly, 29 April 2024: Part 2

(….continued from Part 1…)

Marinka

The intensity and location of the heavy Russian airstrikes, MRL and artillery shelling indicate that Ukraine began the week in control of all of Krasnohorivka. A large Russian assault penetrated to the center of the town and Russia retained control of the southern and eastern edge of the town.

During one assault on Krasnohorivka, two tanks and two infantry carriers were all fitted with additional anti-drone protection and the lead tank had a roller to detonate mines ahead of the vehicle. The lead tank was immobilized a kilometer from the city. The other three vehicles continued another 3500 meters, surviving mines, FPVs and artillery. They crossed an open area in the town and reached their objective, which was behind a thin concrete wall. The remaining tank drove into the wall to create breaches while the infantry carriers survived nearby indirect fire detonations. After dropping off the infantry, the three vehicles pulled back. One of the vehicles was immobilized, and as the crew evacuated and climbed aboard the trailing vehicle, anti-tank fire missed it by 30 meters. The vehicles survive several direct hits and the immobilized tank is towed away at the end…

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1783548394260111412

A Ukrainian camera on the smokestack is destroyed by a Russian drone…https://t.me/phoenixdrone/327

There have been constant airstrikes and artillery bombardments in Krasnohorivka…https://t.me/NeoficialniyBeZsonoV/35331

For entirely unclear reasons, Ukraine is constructing defence positions in the Odesa area and along the right bank of Dnipro, in the Kherson (city) area. It is extremely unlikely that these might ever be used. But, here a satellite photo of some defences constructed in the Kurakhove area, 15km west of Marinka (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/04/22/world/europe/ukraine-war-defense.html?te=1&nl=the-morning&emc=edit_nn_20240422):

At least 13 Russian vehicles create a smoke screen to obscure Russian movement from observation and drones…

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1782440946795196532

***

Zaporizhzhia

“Baba Yaga” is the term Russians use for any large Ukrainian drone that carries a heavy payload. The first models were drones used in the agricultural industry. They were noisy enough to provide some warning and in this region Russian snipers reportedly shot some from the sky. Current models are quieter and have a longer range. These Russians detected them with night vision cameras. They plan to study the routes of the drones to attack the operators…

https://twitter.com/sambendett/status/1782795412220362755

A Russian “assault” truck survives several close impacts of accurate artillery shells, only to come to a halt in a ditch 200 meters south of Robotyne. It’s possible that some passengers were hit by shrapnel while still on board, but about nine men dismount and are pursued by artillery…

https://twitter.com/giK1893/status/1782702294313660760

It’s ok to listen to the music on this video. A drone stalks a Russian patrol at night, unheard and unseen. It picks the time to attack…

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1784560874365063630

***

Kherson

A Russian rocket launcher is spotted by the Shark drone of the 32nd Marines…

https://twitter.com/ukrspecsystems/status/1782749371513139580

Above Krynky there is air combat…

https://twitter.com/AndrewPerpetua/status/1783934343632543831

***

Odesa

A two-seater prop training aircraft (Yak-52) hunts for Russian drones with a backseat gunner…

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1784284407190139173

A sunflower seed oil processing plant was targeted…

https://twitter.com/3_bm15/status/1781646460993352041

***

Crimea

A target in Tarkhantut was attacked by ATACMS. Results are unknown…

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1784487683877683630

***

Russia

As the leader of Russia’s central bank warned, their economy can’t be sustained indefinitely. They are now reporting 0% unemployment. The 30,000 men Russia draws into the army every month will now be enlisted at the expense of job openings in the economy…

https://twitter.com/secretsqrl123/status/1784597336200450080

Outside Moscow, a Ka-32 helicopter is set on fire…

https://twitter.com/DevanaUkraine/status/1783846370186535203

An oil depot near Smolensk was hit…https://www.kyivpost.com/post/31580

The deputy defense minister responsible for infrastructure was arrested for accepting bribes. He was an ally of Shoigu and those pondering the reason for the arrest speculate that it may be an attack on Shoigu, or that he was a sacrificial lamb used to demonstrate Putin’s power and keep people in line, or that the money he was receiving is simply going to someone else now. But given the level of corruption in the Russian government, no one believes he was arrested for accepting bribes…https://www.kyivpost.com/post/31712

Bad ammo blew up a Russian gun…

https://twitter.com/bentanmy/status/1783690314970284116

A radar was hit in Belgorod…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1784150687338709294

A little thing, but every little thing helps: Two locomotives in Russia burn. In 2007, the Russian Railways company owned 19,700 goods and passenger locomotives, 24,200 passenger cars, and 526,900 freight cars.…

https://twitter.com/LXSummer1/status/1784619892588597757

A Russian airfield was attacked…

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1784132319785173251

The destruction at the airfield that made Tom so happy were the glide bomb kits…

https://twitter.com/bradyafr/status/1784582551736033568

A refinery was attacked by 10 drones…

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1784128771420782632

A electronics factory was burning…

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1782310771550020084

Oligarchs were told to protect their own oil assets…

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1784155376675393616

Somewhere in occupied Ukraine a Russian survives a drone attack, maybe with the help of EW…

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1784126460325671194

***

Ukraine

A TV tower in Kharkiv was hit by the Russians:

https://twitter.com/3_bm15/status/1782420653972312105

This Russian strike was observed by a drone 100 km behind Ukrainian lines…

https://twitter.com/3_bm15/status/1783584041909830064

116 km from occupied territory, a Ukrainian S-300 site is hit…

https://twitter.com/3_bm15/status/1781739766293103079

15 km west of Marinka is Kurakhovka. It had a pre-war population of 21,000 but only 4,000 remain now. It’s power plant is within range of Russian artillery and rockets and has been hit 48 time in 2024 alone. With constant repairs it’s still functioning but if the Russians ever capture the plant they don’t expect it will be repaired.

A lot of people make a living because of the plant. Throughout the Donbass, cities are changed forever. Not only are their houses shattered, the industries that provided a living have been permanently altered. Nine of the 15 Ukrainian steel mills are destroyed or behind Russian lines. Combat destroyed an ammonia factory in Sievierodonetsk, and Europe’s largest coke plant was destroyed in Avdiivka. The coal mines and steel mills provided 15% of Ukraine’s economic output but the coal mines were unprofitable, they were subsidized to provide jobs, and the factory and steel mills were obsolete. Jobs that existed for generations will be gone even after the war is won. The future is years away but Ukraine will have to transform itself as many countries did after WW2…https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/21/world/europe/ukraine-industry-donbas-russia.html?smid=url-share

10,000 Ukrainians are prisoners of Russia. 3,000 have been returned home. It is not known how many have died in prison but one returned prisoner knows of three deaths. Of those that made it back, the UN says that relentless beatings, electric shocks, rape and other forms of sexual violence and mock executions happen so often that it can only be considered a systematic, state-sponsored policy. Ukraine says that 90% of prisoners are treated in that manner. When prisoners return, they receive two months treatment in a sanitorium, then a month’s leave and then they are sent back to combat. Many of them still suffer physically from head trauma or other injuries, or have PTSD, or both. One of the laws Ukraine passed with allow prisoners to decide if they want to return to the military or be discharged…https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/28/world/europe/russia-ukraine-prisoners-of-war-trauma-violence.html?smid=url-share

(….to be continued…)