WAR IN UKRAINE DAY 75: RUSSIANS CELEBRATE VICTORY DAY WITH VICTORIES ON FRONTLINES
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Izum area
The Armed Forces of Russia and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics celebrated the Victory Day (May 9) with more victories on frontlines in the east of Ukraine.
The most active military developments are taking place around Izum in the south of Kharkiv Region, in the area of the Seveorodnetsk-Lysichansk agglomeration in Luhansk Region and in the eastern countryside of Donetsk city in Donetsk Region.
In Kharkiv Region, Russian forces mostly finished the regrouping around the provincial capital establishing fortified positions in its countryside. According to reports, the regrouping was ongoing amid limited direct clashes with Kyiv’s forces. Most of the fighting there has been taking place in the format of artillery duels. The general situation in the countryside of Kharkiv could be described as prolonged positional battles.
Izum area:
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Meanwhile, an intense fighting caused by the active offensive actions of the Russian Armed Forces is ongoing in the area south of Izum. Russian ground units are advancing towards the Barvenkovo-Slavyansk highway amid intense artillery and air strikes on positions of Kyiv’s forces.
Clashes have been ongoing in the entire area around Izum. In particular, as of May 9, Russian forces took control of Bolshaya Kamyshevakha.
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The Kyiv government were forced to involve its free forces in an attempt to contain the Russian advance there and thus took a hit in another sector of the area of operations. On May 7, Russian-led forces took control of the key of Popanaya and thus created a threat of the encirclement of the entire grouping of Kyiv’s forces
in the Severodonetsk-Lysichansk area.
Positions of Kyiv’s troops in Zolotoe already found themselves almost cut off from their counterparts in Bahmut and Slavyansk. Now, Russian units and people’s militia of the Donbass have been developing an advance from the area of Popasnaya.
Likely, the Kyiv government will try to leave a part of the grouping existing in the Severodonetsk-Lysichansk sector as a cover for its withdrawing troops. Therefore, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will try to cover the reduced section of the front after the encirclement of that part of its grouping becomes a reality. Therefore, the town of Bahmut will become the next key strongpoint of Kyiv’s troops.
On May 9, Russian air defence means shot down a MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force over Severodonetsk city. Also, 3 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle have been over Novozvanovka, Khartsyzsk and Izyum.
A Ukrainian Tochka-U ballistic missile was intercepted near Ivanovka, Kharkov Region, and 2 Smerch multiple-launch rockets were intercepted near Bolshaya Kamyshevakha and Izyum.
As to Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, the Kyiv leadership will allow radical formations to take civilians there as hostages in an attempt to repeat the Mariupol scenario. Thus, Russian forces will once again need to carry a complex operation to rescue civilians in urban conditions and amid the intense fighting.
In the north of Donetsk,
in the Avdiivka district, DPR units and Russian troops took control of Novoselovka, Verhnetoreckoe, Novobahmutovka and blocked Avdiivka from the northeastern direction. Nonetheless, Kyiv’s forces are still able to keep control of Avdiivka itself using well fortified positions there. This sector will fall with the fall of the rest of Kyiv’s defense to the north of it.
In the area of Mariinka, southwest of Donetsk, positional battles are ongoing and the frontline remains stable.
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In the Ugledar region, the advancing grouping of Russian and DPR forces achieved a tactical breakthrough encircling Ugledar from the eastern flank also. Now, the fate of this town is predetermined and it will likely be liberated when the Russians intensify operations in the direction to the west of Donetsk.
The frontline remains stable in the directions of Gulyai-Pole, Zaporozhye, as well as near Krivoy Rog and Nikolaev.
In Mariupol, the garrison of Kyiv’s forces that hides in the Azovstal plant and mostly consists of radicals are about to meet its long-expected fate. The lack of resources and Russian advances already forced radicals to release a large number of civilians that were hostages. As the importance of this factors decreases, the chances of Kyiv’s radicals there are about to become zero.
Mariupol:
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Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry released a fresh report regarding strikes on military targets in Ukraine.
The Russian Aerospace Forces carried out strikes with high-precision missiles on 11 areas of manpower and military equipment concentration, 4 company strongpoints, 8 ammunition depots of Ukrainian troops near Konstantinovka, Antonovka, Elizavetovka, Dolina and Lisichansk as well as 2 air target detection radar stations near Kramatorsk and Krestischa.
The Russian military added that, according to the updated information, 6 Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters have been destroyed during the night near Artsiz in Odessa Region near the Chervonoglinskoe military airfield by Onyks high-precision missiles from the Bastion coastal missile system.
Meanwhile, operational-tactical and army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Force hit 2 strong points and 5 areas of concentration of Kyiv’s manpower and military equipment.
On top of this, Russian missile troops and artillery units struck 318 areas of manpower and military equipment concentration.
The strikes resulted in the elimination of more than 400 nationalists and up to 48 armoured and motor vehicles.
Some destroyed equipment of Kyiv’s forces:
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The Russian side says that its forces destroyed 162 Ukrainian aircraft and 124 helicopters, 790 unmanned aerial vehicles, 299 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2,967 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 347 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,432 field artillery and mortars, as well as 2,778 units of special military vehicles during the ongoing operation.
The Russian side also revealed details of the recent clashes for Zmeiny Island:
“On 7 May, on direct orders from Zelensky, the Ukrainian General Staff, with the direct involvement of advisers from the USA and Britain, planned a major provocation to seize Zmeiny Island.
Over the past two days, the Kiev regime has made several desperate attempts to land air and sea assaults on Zmeiny Island, which is important for controlling the northwestern part of the Black Sea.
The Ukrainian provocation was thwarted as a result of the competent actions of a Russian Armed Forces unit on the island. The enemy suffered heavy losses.
4 Ukrainian airplanes, including 3 Su-24 and 1 Su-27, 3 Mi-8 helicopters with paratroopers on board, and 1 Mi-24 helicopter have been shot down in the air while repelling the attacks near Zmeiny Island.
Within two days, 29 Ukrainian UAVs have been shot down in the air, including 8 Bayraktar TB-2 strike UAVs. Meanwhile, 4 Bayraktar drones have been shot down this afternoon.
Also, 3 armoured Ukrainian amphibious assault boats carrying Ukrainian naval personnel were destroyed during an attempted landing on the night of May 8.
As a result of Zelensky’s thoughtless provocation, more than 50 Ukrainian saboteurs have been killed at sea and on the coast during the landing and attempts to consolidate on the island.
24 bodies of dead Ukrainian servicemen were left on the shore of Zmeiny Island.”
Summing up developments of the recent days demonstrate, that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have been successfully using their advantage in fire power to eliminate manpower and equipment of Kyiv’s forces in the region of Donbass. In own turn, pro-Kyiv troops are in fact locked in their fortified positions in the region and are unable to organize a fast and successful regrouping and withdrawal in conditions of the Russian advantage in firepower and air power.