Ukraine War, 17, 18, 19 June 2022
Hello everybody!
Hello everybody!
Lets try to catch with developments in the Ukraine War of the last 3–4 days.
Note №1: please pay attention that in reaction to my post about Russian Nazis (re-posted at the end of this summary), Facebook has blocked my account for two days. Yes, once again. Because I’ve got no time to waste with illiterates administering the Facebook (nor all the idiots — including a number of accounts supposedly owned by youngster Ukrainians — constantly reporting me there), this post might not be announced on that instance.
Update: …only to re-open it, few hours later…. (:rolleyes:)
Note №2: for those still waiting for Ukrainian resistance to ‘collapse’ — especially because of ‘low morale’ — I would recommend reading the feature here, and especially the part about Russians intending to force Ukrainians to obey and then to teach them a new version of their own history, including their vassaldom to the Russian rule. This is the essence of what I’ve got to hear from numerous veteran VKS officers over the last three months, too, and the essence of what the Russians did to dozens of different people they have conquered in the 1920s and 1930s in particular (more recently, they exercised the same on the Chechens, since 2000). Thus, if having any kind of doubts about the Ukrainian determination and resolve: well, think about what would you do if facing such an ‘enemy’…
Note №3: a document is circulated through the Ukrainian media, supposedly describing preparations of a Russian reservist unit equipped with tanks. Would be thankful if somebody could help with a translation and checking its authenticity.
AIR
First some ‘clearing of the deck’… The School in Krasnopillya Hromada (Sumy Oblast) hit by the Russians on 15 June (see my earlier report), seems to have been used by Ukrainians as an ammo depot. Thus, think that related complaints by the local authorities are quite wrong in place.
In the light of recent VKS losses, the Russians reacted by claiming the destruction of multiple Ukrainian fighter-bombers. For example: a Mi-8 shot down in the Shirokovsky District, a MiG-29 and a Su-24 destroyed at Voznesensk AB etc.. Actually, all of these were hit early during the war: Voznesensk is much too close to the frontlines but to be used for permanent basing of Ukrainian jets. Furthermore, the Russians claimed that on 17 June, an Ukrainian Su-25 bombed positions of the Ukrainian 63rd Brigade outside Shirokoye, in the Mykolaiv Oblast, killing 20 own troops, and that — in turn — it was shot down by Russian air defences. Haven’t found any evidence for this.
Kharkiv…the Russians seem to be firing between two and six Iskanders from the Belgorod area at Kharkiv, every day between 23.00 and 24.00/00.00 local time. Targets are primarily the suburban areas on the northern side of the city.
Over the last 2–3 days, Su-34s of the VKS have released numerous Kh-59 guided missiles, especially against targets in the Bakhmut area. Ukrainian air defences have shot down an incoming Russian missile over Kramatorsk, on 18 June.
Yesterday, the Keystone Cops in Moscow reported the destruction of an Ukrainian military unit in Shiroka Dacha, in the Kryvyi Rih area: supposedly killed 300+ Ukrainian troops, including ’50 generals’. All that can be confirmed as of this morning are burning oil depots in Dnipro — hit by three Kh-22s on 18 June. One firefighter was killed and 13 other wounded. Also attacked — by three missiles — was a POL storage dump in Novomoskovsk (opposite to Donetsk). Up to 11 were reported as killed, at least as many wounded, though I’m not sure if this figure is including all the casualties from all these strikes, or just one or another. Finally, between six and eight missiles have hit a non-operational refinery of Kremenchuk, in the Poltava Oblast, and two hit the compound of the local thermal power station: AFAIK, no casualties of damage were reported from there.
On 18 June, the 72nd Mech Brigade shot down a Su-25 piloted by one of Wagner’s pilots, over Svitlodarsk, by an Igla MANPADS (mind: the photo used to ‘illustrate’ that report is actually shown the fin of a Su-25 shot down back in early March). The pilot, Andrei Vladimiriovich Fedorchukov, ejected and was captured in wounded condition. BTW, the jet had a Garmin GPS installed on board: seems, the ‘precision’ of the Russian GLONASS is so ‘perfect’, that nobody in Russia wants to use it… this is similar to their communication systems: instead of own Azarts (price-tag some 250,000 Russian Rubles apiece), VKS pilots are using Chinese-made Baofent, which can be read with ease by Ukrainian COMINT/SIGINT…
Ah yes, and despite countless claims of the contrary, Ukrainian Su-25s remain active over the frontlines in the Donbas, as obvious from following screengrabs from a video showing a leader of a pair. Yesterday, there were reports about them getting involved in some kind of air combat with Russian fighter-bombers. Sadly, no details were released.
BATTLE OF DONBASS
The Russian ‘big offensive’ north of Kharkiv has petered out. Yes, Ukrainians have lost Ternova and Rubizhne, in the north-east, but already as of evening of 16 June, they were back to counterattacking on Kozacha Lopan and Lyptsi, and on 17 June 2022 either one of their Tochkas or artillery reportedly hit the HQ of the 20th CAA: ever since, Ukrainians are back to recovering Ternova and Rubizhne. Moreover, seems the Ukrainian garrison of Berestove — on the eastern side of Siversky Donets — held out throughout the Russian attack.
Izium…Ukrainian counterattack west of the town is coming forward — even if very, very slowly. Foremost, it has the effect of forcing Putin, Dvornikov and Zhidko to withdraw and re-deploy their meagre reserves from assaults on Sloviansk and Severodonetsk — elsewhere. For example, on 16–17 June, Ukrainians have liberated what’s left of Dmytrivka and Prydonetske.
Dolyna and Bohorodichne are still holding out, but being pulverised by the Russian artillery.
Severodonetsk….generally, instead of ‘imminent Ukrainian collapse’ (apparently: in grand total), now all the possible experts in the West seem to have switched to the ‘imminent collapse of Ukrainian defences in the Severodonetsk area’. Correspondingly, the same are wondering why are Ukrainians defending that bulge at all… That said, there’s no doubt that Severodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk are subjected to vicious artillery attacks, followed by successive infantry assaults from multiple directions, the last few days. Initially, Ukrainians held fine, but meanwhile they seem to have lost Metolkine.
Popasna Bulge… After four days of vicious attacks, the Russians have taken Vrubivka again. As of this morning, their penetration south of the bulge (Svitlodarsk area; see my earlier reports), seems to have been contained . The last positions on the old LOC still held by Ukrainians in this area — those in Novoluhanske — were vacated on 17 June.
Over the last few days, Ukrainians have widened their bombardment of railway-system in the Donetsk City to targeting multiple ammunition depots. Of course, this promptly caused not only the Separatists, but all sort of their ‘left-wing friends’ in the West (all of whom cannot stop complaining about ‘Ukro-Nazis of the Azov’, i.e. misusing that one unit to argument pro-Putin’s aggression) to complain about ‘Ukro-Nazis intentionally shelling civilians in Donetsk. Well, initially, the shelling in question — much of it by French-supplied Caesar 155mm self-propelled howitzers calibre 155mm — was targeting the railway network of the city.
Then, on 16 June, and as already reported, Ukrainians used at least one, more likely three-four Tochka ballistic missiles to score a direct hit at the main ammunition depot of the II Army Corps in Krasny Luch, in a depot hall outside the local train station, causing it to blow away in a massive conflagration. Now, because the detonation blew up quite a stock of S-8 rockets (for B-8M pods as used on, for example, Ka-52s, Mi-28s, and Su-25s), scattering them all over the neighbourhood, and because the same area is frequently used as ingress route for VKS air strikes, many began claiming this was actually an Ukrainian air strike. Sorry, it was not.
To make sure, this was not the only such strike. On the contrary, during the same attack, another Tochka targeted that train station, too, causing at least one fire. Immediately afterwards, the Russians rushed to move all the trains parked there: guess, these were full of ‘baby milk’ or something of that kind…
As next, Ukrainians hit a hall next to the Donbass Arena, used as ammunition dump, too, causing another conflagration. Finally, yesterday, Ukrainians hit the HQ (headquarters) of the I Army Corps in Donetsk (essentially, that’s the HQ of the ‘People’s Militia of the DNR; i.e. the Russia-supported ‘armed forces’ of the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’). Overall result was that the skyline of Donetsk of the last two days looked something like this:
SOUTH
In their ‘frontline-wide’ offensive, Ukrainian forces are in the process of overcoming the first Russian line of fortifications. As mentioned earlier (weeks earlier), two such lines were constructed over the last few months. Their centrepiece are ‘fortified settlements’: see, every village is now heavily mined, and full of trenches, bunkers, and other kind of fortifications (many using concrete, bricks, even tractor tires ‘won’ by destroying and looting nearby homes). One of such places is Kyselivka, where Ukrainians are inside the village, but not yet in control of it; another is Myrolyubivka, and the third is Stanislav, in the south. Soldatske and Pravydyne have been mopped up, meanwhile.
After striking one Russian ammunition depot in Nova Kakhovka, on 15 June (see photo below), Ukrainians claim to have hit another depot in the same area, yesterday.
BLACK SEA/NAVAL
Over the last few days, Ukrainians have reported several strikes on the Zmyniy/Snake Island. Very few details were released, though, indicating possible dissatisfaction with results.
SUPPLEMENT: RUSSIAN NAZIS
….few days ago, found myself on the receiving end of some ….critique… by few proud ‘leftist’, who were explaining me how are ‘Ukrainian Nazis intentionally shelling civilians in Donetsk’.
When I attempted to explain them about Russian Nazis, and asked them to check the addresses shelled in Donetsk — because all are in proximity of the local railway railways — the discussion was ‘suddenly interrupted’.
Well, OK: seems, I’ve touched a sensitive topic.
Now, I’m both lazy and lack the time to geo-locate every single hit by Ukrainian 155mm shells in Donetsk, but at least there are other people tracking activities of Russian Nazis. Thus, here a few articles about them:
https://www.rferl.org/.../russian-neo-nazis.../31871760.html
https://www.thedailybeast.com/wagners-rusich-neo-nazi...
https://sofrep.com/news/russian-neo-nazis-fight-in-ukraine/
https://www.respublica.lt/neonacizmas-rusijos-samdiniu-tarpe
Attached are a few photos of ‘unimportant’ people, like the chief of the Wagner PMC Dimitry Utkin and his tattoos, or a Russian soldier captured in Ukraine etc…
…ah yes, and: of course, I’m acknowledging that I’m falling for propaganda and that I’m paid by NATO, and CIA, and Mossad, and Mukhbarat and imperialists to ‘spread fake news’ of this kind….(if only somebody would, finally, let me know: to what bank account/s…)