Bob Homans June 1

20220601

Ukraine – 6/1 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
Twitter: @rhomansjr
June 1, 2022

Denis and Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Here are the latest reports from Denis and ISW.   Again, I suggest that these should be viewed together.   In their report, ISW makes two important points that appear to be corroborated by Denis’ maps:

·        For Ukraine, the Kherson Theater is far more important strategically than the Donbas Theater. 

·        Ukraine appears to be successful in tying down Russian troops in Donbas, whereas the Kherson Region has relatively fewer Russian troops.

Denis mentioned the following:

·        Ukraine is launching a counter-offensive from Northwest Kherson which, according to Denis, caused Russia to blow up 2 bridges to slow the Ukrainian advance.

·        Russia may not have adequate forces to defend Kherson, especially when Ukraine takes delivery of more Western weapons.

As ISW stated, Russia appears to consider Donbas to be of greater significance than Kherson. ISW appears to believe that their emphasis on Donbas is misguided on Russia’s part.

The implications appear to be as follows:

·        The Kherson Theater is the only theater of operations where Russia holds territory on the Left Bank of Dnieper River.   Kherson City is on the Left Bank.   As long as Russia holds territory in the Left Bank, the potential for Russia launching moves against Mykolaiv and Odesa is significantly higher.  

·        By controlling Kherson City, Russia controls the mouth of the Dnieper.

·        In Sverodonetsk, expect Ukraine to fortify the industrial area between the rest of Sverodonesk City and the Siverskyi Donets River, thus attempting to tie down Russian troops advancing in the rest of the city.   Ukraine did the same in Mariupol.

·        The key city in Donbas is not so much Sverodonetsk, the focus of both Russia and the pundits.   In fact, the key city is Lysychansk, located on high ground on the opposite bank of the Siverskyi Donets River, allowing Ukraine the ability to launch artillery strikes against Sverodonetsk.

·        Kherson and the territory making up the “land bridge” to Crimea is experiencing substantial partisan activity, which is likely to substantially increase.

These two axes, Donbas and Kherson, will continue to play a critical role in this war for the foreseeable future.

Infrastructure Losses

This is the latest estimate of infrastructure losses in Ukraine, from “Statista.”   Leaving aside the fact that Statista’s total estimated losses, $97.4 billion, is far lower than other estimates of upward of $600 billion, the graph suggests that Russia, by focusing on residential buildings, is following the same well-worn playbook followed by the Germans during the 1940/41 Blitz, the Allies in their bombing of Hamburg and Dresden, and the Americans in Hanoi and Haiphong.   The same may well have applied to the fire-bombing by the Americans of Tokyo and Nagoya.  In each case, the idea was that if you target civilians, you’ll reduce production capacity.   In all these examples, this strategy turned out to be wrong, and it will be equally wrong in Ukraine.   War production went on.

6/1 Sitrep (my comments in Bold Face)   

Yesterday the advisor to Ukraine’s President, Mr. Podolyak said that the government banned three Ukrainian channels from the government operated national digital broadcast network because they were friendly to former President Pororshenko, and because they weren’t ready to broadcast twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, a national marathon orchestrated by the government.  That news marathon dedicates at least 40% of its informational service to linking every Ukrainian event to Zelensky.  The three banned channels currently broadcast Zelensky’s daily videos where he rambles about his accomplishments and chastises everyone else.  Unless Zelensky stops being the authority on everything and starts respecting others, institutions and the rule of law, there is little hope Ukraine will join the EU.  After all, they already have one Orban and don’t need another.

INTERNATIONAL

Graphic design service Canva has disabled access to Russian users. As the Russian media reports, appears a message in which the service "categorically condemns" the events taking place in Ukraine and states that in response to the actions of Russia, the service stops working for Russian users.

Ministry of Justice and Emergency Situations of Norway:  Norway will accept up to 550 Ukrainian wounded soldiers for treatment. The politician noted that the country is one of the largest participants in the scheme of medical evacuation of civilians affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and will now also receive wounded servicemen.

Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine: New European Union sanctions against Russia for its aggression against Ukraine affected three TV channels.  "Russian propaganda channels will be turned off in the EU - Rossiya24, TV Center International, RTR Planeta. Previously, Sputnik and Russia Today were already banned there."

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:  Publishes a map of Russian oil pipelines that are not subject to sanctions. Russian-owned refinery in Schwedt will receive oil at least until the end of 2022.  And this is 12% of all oil refining in Germany.

The New York Times:  The Biden administration opposes the confiscation of Russian assets.  The White House fears that the confiscation of Russia's assets frozen because the sanctions could undermine the reputation of the United States as an investment haven.

●        The US will not pressure Ukraine to make any territorial concessions

●        My principle throughout this crisis has been “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” I will not pressure the Ukrainian government — in private or public — to make any territorial concessions. It would be wrong and contrary to well-settled principles to do so - Biden says.

●        The US will transfer to Ukraine more advanced missile systems and ammunition

●        We will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to strike key targets more precisely on the battlefield in Ukraine" — Biden.

●        The United States will also send Ukraine billions more in the financial assistance form, the transfer of which is authorized by Congress.

●        In addition, Biden assures that he will continue to cooperate with his allies and partners in the sanctions against Russia. "We will work with our allies and partners to address the global food crisis that Russia’s aggression is worsening. And we will help our European allies and others reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels and speed our transition to a clean energy future," - he says.

●        The US president notes that Ukraine’s talks with Russia are not stalled because Ukraine has turned its back on diplomacy.  “They are stalled because Russia continues to wage a war to take control of as much of Ukraine as it can. The United States will continue to work to strengthen Ukraine and support its efforts to achieve a negotiated end to the conflict," - he says.

Russia will not be excluded from UNESCO as long as it is a member of the United Nations, the press service of the organization said.

Financial Times: The UK and the EU have agreed to a ban on insuring Russian ships carrying oil.

●        The EU is preparing duties on Russian oil if the embargo fails. If the EU member states refuse to comply with the embargo, Brussels will offer to introduce duties so that Russian oil ceases to be competitive on the European market.

US State Department: The United States is concerned about the steps that Russia is taking to try to consolidate control over Ukrainian territory, especially in the Kherson region of Ukraine. “We continue to sound the alarm now, especially after the unilateral decree of Russian President Putin, which will accelerate the issuance of Russian passports to citizens of Ukraine. Russia used similar tactics in Donetsk and Luhansk in 2019,” he explained.

CNN:  Department of Homeland Security - More than 23,000 Ukrainians have received permission to come to the United States under the Ukrainian Refugee Program.

A deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on the air of the TV channel "Russia 1" suggested capturing Western officials visiting Ukraine: "Some military minister of a NATO country will go to talk with Zelenskyi by train to Kyiv - and will not reach. And he will wake up somewhere in Moscow."

Roskomnadzor demanded that Google remove the Tor Browser app from Google Play.  By a court decision, the information in the Tor Browser and the software application itself are recognized as prohibited for distribution in Russia.

The Wall Street Journal: Some OPEC members are exploring the idea of ​​suspending Russia's participation in the oil production cartel.

US Ambassador to the UN:  Washington will provide Kyiv with weapons for defense within the borders of Ukraine, but not beyond its borders.

●        The US authorities are aware that in the conditions of artillery shelling, it will be more difficult to maintain the morale of the Ukrainian military. The American side does not want the supply of new weapons to Kyiv to escalate the situation.

The Economist:  Turkish President: The admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO entails security risks for Turkey and the future of the Alliance as a whole. 

Head of the European Council:  ⚡️The sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia will be approved in the next two days.

French Foreign Minister: The European Commission will give an opinion on Ukraine's application for EU membership on June 15.

Oleksii Navalnyi has been charged in a new criminal case.  According to the politician, he is accused of creating an extremist group, inciting hatred against officials and oligarchs, as well as calling for uncoordinated rallies. In the new case, he faces up to 15 years more in prison.

Reuters:  'Uniper', the key German importer of Russian gas, makes first payment for Russian gas under new scheme proposed by Moscow.

Italian Prime Minister: Almost all major EU countries object to Ukraine's candidate status in the European Union, and now it is not expected to be granted. 

●        Italy is in favor of granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership, but doubts in other large countries.

Russian 'Gazprom' will stop deliveries to Shell Energy Europe in Germany and to the Danish company Ørsted from June 1, as they refused to pay for raw materials in rubles.

Wall Street Journal: The administration of the US President will transfer missile systems to Ukraine that can hit targets at a distance of more than 64 kilometers.

Polish Prime Minister: Poland and several other countries are discussing the imposition of "secondary sanctions" to prevent countries outside the EU from buying Russian oil.

Turkish Foreign Minister:  The UN plans to create a contact group to unblock grain exports from Ukraine.  Agreement on a technical meeting has not been reached.

Taiwan will send $6 million to five Ukrainian cities to restore their civil infrastructure damaged by the war.  According to the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kharkiv will receive $2 million and Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia each will receive $500,000.

German Chancellor: Greece will supply Ukraine with Soviet tanks and will receive their replacement from Germany.

Head of the European Commission:  Since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, EU countries have announced their intention to increase their military spending by a total of 200 billion euros. 

Belta:  Belarus President presented state awards to the KGB (Belarussian Intelligence - ed.) officers of Belarus who participated in the “special operation” in Ukraine.  It is not completely clear from the report what kind of ""special operation"" in Ukraine is being referred to - whether the Russian invasion of the country is meant or is it an independent operation of the Belarusian special services.

Government Website:  Canada imposed sanctions against 22 Russians and four companies, including Alina Kabaeva and 'Rosselkhozbank'.

Austrian Chancellor: A ban on Russian gas supplies is not being discussed, including as part of the next package of anti-Russian sanctions.

Social Networks:  Russians in Poland mask the flag of the Russian Federation on their car license plates with Ukrainian flags.

Estonian Prime Minister: The EU should go further and discuss the seventh package of sanctions against Russia. "There is no peace in Ukraine, we have not done enough."

Neue Berliner, Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten:  German Chancellor:  Germany will soon have the largest army among European NATO member states.  Germany invests 100 billion euros in the Bundeswehr. The chancellor is confident that this is an investment in the security of Europe.

Prime Minister of Belgium:  He believes that after the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, the EU should pause to impose new restrictions.  From Belgium's point of view, the last package is a big step forward, and I think we should take a break for now. Make money on this package. The impact of the oil embargo on Russia is much greater than in the case of gas. The gas route is much harder.

The New York Times:  Russian military, defeated and demoralized after three months of war, are making the same mistakes in their campaign to seize eastern Ukraine that forced them to give up trying to seize the entire country, senior US officials say.

Telegram-channel RT:  TikTok blocked the account of Russia Today DE, deleted all videos and subscribers.

The EU Ambassador to Georgia, reflecting on the prospects of the country's application for EU membership, said that the European Union is concerned about the course Georgia has been following recently.

NATIONAL

British intelligence confirms intensified fighting in the Luhansk region over the past 24 hours. Over 30-31 May, fighting intensified in the streets of Sievierodonetsk, with Russian forces pushing closer to the town centre. According to British intelligence, over half of the town is likely now occupied by Russian forces, including Chechen fighters.

RBC-Ukraine:  "Ukrtransnafta" signed a contract with the Hungarian company Mol to supply Ukraine with 35 thousand tons of diesel fuel per month. It will go backwards on the "Samara-Western direction" pipeline.

The Institute for the Study of War

●        Russian forces are increasingly focused on advancing on Sloviansk

●        Russian forces are likely hoping to advance on Lysychansk from Toshkivka in order to avoid having to fight across the Siverskyi Donets River.

●        The Russian grouping in the Kherson region is likely feeling the pressure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the northwestern Kherson region, especially as much of the Russian operational focus is currently on the capture of Sievierodonetsk.

Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy:  Three major Ukrainian mobile operators paid taxes in advance.  In particular, Kyivstar paid UAH 1.1 billion to the state budget, Lifecel - UAH 50 million, Vodafone - UAH 58 million.

The diocese of the UOC (MP) in the Luhansk region stated that it remains subordinate to Patriarch Kirill. “A meeting of charities and clergy made such a decision to stop the commemoration of Metropolitan Onuphry (Kyiv) as the Primate of the UOC at the service. The Rovenkovo ​​and Sverdlovsk diocese remains under the omophorion of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia,” the press service of the diocese said in a statement.

Cabinet of Ministers:  During martial law, there will be no competitive selection of managers, chairman of executive bodies and members of the supervisory boards of companies in the public sector of the economy.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Tanks and infantry fighting vehicles have been removed from storage bases in Belarus. Their further transfer to the RF Armed Forces to make up for current losses is not ruled out.

●        The preparation of the Russian army for the resumption of the offensive in the directions of the settlements of Izium and Sloviansk continues.

●        The enemy launched a missile air strike on units of Ukrainian troops in the Sumy region from Su-30SM aircraft. Artillery and mortar attacks on border settlements continue.

●        In the Kharkiv direction, Russia shelled the settlements of Oleksandrivka, Slatyne and Tsyrkuny with barrel and rocket artillery. They attacked with helicopters of the army aviation in the areas of Vesele and Ternova.

●        In the Donetsk direction, the enemy, supported by artillery and mortar fire, is conducting active assault operations in the Severodonetsk and Bakhmut directions, the fighting continues.

●        In the Bakhmut direction, the Russian troops are trying to drive out the Ukrainian defenders from their positions in Bilohorivka and Vrubivka. Russians used army aviation in the areas of Komyshuvakha, Berestovo and Nyrkove.

●        In the Yuzhnobuzhsk direction, the Russian army is defending and carrying out mining on the coast of the Inhulets River in areas of possible actions by units of our troops.

●        The Russians are fighting a counter-battery. Inflicted air strikes with the involvement of army aviation around ​​the settlement of Davydiv Brid, the Kherson region.

●        One carrier of high-precision weapons, the frigate "Admiral Makarov", carrying up to 8 Caliber-type cruise missiles, continues to be ready for use in the Black Sea

The Ministry of Internal Affairs developed more than 250 new test questions for the theoretical examination of driver’s licenses. In addition to the new test questions a completely new section 'Dashboard devices' has been added that is necessary for driving modern cars.

Slovak President visited Irpin and Borodianka.  "My eyes and mouth will speak of what I see throughout Europe. We will continue to provide both humanitarian and military assistance."

State Bureau of Investigation:  The property, accounts and corporate rights of the Russian Tatneft group of companies in Ukraine have been seized. Its value may be 2 billion hryvnias.

●        Received court permission for a special investigation against former Prime Minister Azarov for signing agreements with the Russian Federation in 2010 to prolong the presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine.

The Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) dismissed Lyudmila Denisova from the post of Ombudsman. This was announced by the people's deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak. 234 deputies voted for dismissal. There was no replacement.

●        Liudmyla Denisova intends to appeal in court her dismissal from the post of Ombudsman of Ukraine.  She thanked her team for their work and stressed that she would continue to protect Ukraine and the rights of citizens.

National Security and Defense Council Secretary:  The battle will show whether Ukraine will be able to repel a new attack from Belarus.  Russian Iskanders are already located there, and the level of threat from that side is clear to us. This (whether Ukraine will be able to hold the defense) depends on our army, on many factors. Only a battle can show the training of our armed forces.

●        The war with Russia will not end soon.  Until the last Russian boot leaves our territory, we cannot be complacent. Nobody canceled the tasks of the Russian Federation to destroy our state. And we have to live with this, and all our decisions must be made with an understanding of this axiom.

●        Commented on the statements about the alleged demining of the isthmus in the Kherson region. “Unfortunately, even I don’t have a final answer as to what happened there. But we must definitely get you an answer."

President of Slovakia spoke in the Verkhovna Rada:

●        Slovakia plans to supply Zuzana howitzers to Ukraine;

●        Slovakia will take care of women and children from Ukraine who were forced to leave their homes;

●        Slovakia supports Ukraine's accession to the EU as soon as possible.

Office of the Prosecutor General:  Two Russian artillerymen who shelled the Kharkiv region were sentenced to 11 years and 6 months in prison.

●        About 200-300 war crimes are committed every day," said Prosecutor General of Ukraine in The Hague at a joint press conference with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

●        Ukraine has identified more than 600 Russians suspected of war crimes in Ukraine and has begun criminal prosecutions of about 80 of them.

●        Estonia and Latvia have also joined the joint investigation team to investigate war crimes in Ukraine.  "Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia have joined the JIT to investigate Russian war crimes, which was formed by Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland... Efforts are aimed at a common goal - responsibility for atrocities in Ukraine."

State Security Service:  Intercepted phone conversation of Russian Soldiers in the Donbas:  The Ukrainian military destroyed a large unit of "Wagnerians" in the Donbas. After the liquidation of the APU of such an elite unit, ordinary Russian soldiers are now afraid to fight. (Wagnerians are Russian mercenaries employed outside Russia by the Russian government).

●        Announced criminal suspicion against a collaborator, who was appointed by the Russians as "the head of the military-civil administration of Dniprorudne..

●        The SSU exposed Russian agents in Ukroboronprom and detained collaborators who were scouting the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the east.   This is potentially a serious breach of security, as Ukroboronprom is Ukraine’s State-owned arms manufacturer.

●        Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale aggression, the Ukrainian intelligence service has exposed more than 360 Russian agents and more than 5,000 collaborators.

●        Russian soldiers operating in Ukraine are now required to sign a consent decree, allowing them to kill civilians according to testimony from a captured Russian sniper. “We received an order: to write an agreement that we are going to kill civilians in Ukraine. I wrote a report on the 29th, some wrote a refusal. But the political officer said: “Sign the report again. If you don’t go, then you will be sent to the lip (guardhouse - ed.) or you will be simply fired”, – the sniper says.

●        Detained the lead design engineer of the 'Antonov' airline for supporting the Russian invasion.

A group of Ukrainian and foreign journalists together with a unit of the Supreme Court of Ukraine came under fire from Russian troops. One soldier and one journalist were wounded.

Ukrainian Agrarian Business Club:  The shortage of salt that has arisen in Ukraine recently will be overcome. Finding suppliers abroad is not a problem.  Many countries are engaged in the production of salt, finding suppliers will not be a problem. In addition, there are other salt producers in Ukraine, which can also partially cover domestic demand.

Center for Counteracting Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine: "Together with the team of the WAW: War Against War project, we have prepared a video explaining the information and psychological operations (IPSO) invented by Russian propagandists.

KHARKIV

Regional Military Administration: Over the past day, Russian troops fired on the districts of Kharkiv and Kharkiv, Izyum, Chuguev and Bogodukhov districts of the region. 3 people died, 14 were injured.

●        This morning the shelling of the settlements of the region continued. In the village. Ivanovka, Izyum district, a 12-year-old child died, 1 civilian was injured. Another woman died in Zolochiv.

●        Fighting in the region continues. Russian troops tried to counterattack in the area with. For a long time, they had no success and retreated. The Ukrainian military is holding positions and inflicting losses on the Russians.

●        21:51 May 31, 2022 The Russians have been continuously shelling the village of Zolochiv in the Kharkiv region for 10 hours with howitzers.  As a result of shelling, a 74-year-old woman was killed, and a 73-year-old woman was seriously injured.

LUHANSK

Regional Military Administration: 19:21 May 31, 2022 The Russian military has captured half of Severodonetsk, the front line divides the city in half

Now in Severodonetsk from 100 thousand people there were about 12 thousand. About one and a half thousand residents of the city died as a result of the Russian shelling.

●        An air strike on Severodonetsk by the Russians hit a tank with nitric acid at a chemical plant.  Residents are urged not to leave their shelters, as well as to prepare protective face masks soaked in soda solution. 

●        20:35 May 31, 2022 Most of Severodonetsk is controlled by the Russians, while the city is not surrounded.   The industrial area of Severodonetsk, located between the City Center and the river, would likely be an area where Ukraine would fight a defensive action, serving to pin down Russian troops.

●        It is impossible to deliver goods to the regional center and carry out evacuation because of the shelling. The city is approaching the level of destruction to Rubizhne and Popasna.

●        21:27 May 31, 2022 The Russians may soon announce the capture of Severodonetsk, in the urban battles of Severodonetsk, the Armed Forces of Ukraine "exhaust" the Russian army.

●        To liberate the area of ​​Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, 3-4 full-fledged mechanized brigades are needed, and today even one such brigade for Ukraine is "worth its weight in gold".

●        Lysychansk Is located on higher ground than Sverodonetsk and occupies the opposite bank of the Seversky Donets River, making Lysychansk an ideal location for artillery strikes against Russian troops occupying Sverodonetsk.

●        The absence of such brigades, according to the adviser President's Office is Germany’s fault. According to him, without German Leopard tanks, the Armed Forces of Ukraine cannot form mechanized brigades.

DONETSK:

Mayor of Sloviansk:  The Russians launched a missile attack on Sloviansk. According to him, they destroyed three private houses in one of the neighborhoods of the city and damaged about ten more. There were no casualties.

National Police of Ukraine:   Shows the consequences of Russian shelling of Sloviansk.  As a result of the shelling, there are dead and wounded. A school and at least eight residential high-rise buildings received from the blast wave of destruction.

Regional Military Administration: Russian troops fired on 12 settlements in the Donetsk region in a day, there are dead and wounded.  Russian troops struck Avdiivka, Bakhmut, Toretsk, Mykolaivka, Slovyansk, New York, Ocheretyno, Orlovka, Nelypivka, Netaylovo, Maisky, Zakotny. Aviation, artillery, tanks and small arms were used in the attacks.

●        Yesterday Russian troops killed 4 civilians of Donbas: 3 - in Slovyansk and 1 - in Raygorodok. Another 7 civilians were injured.

Adviser to the mayor of Mariupol:  Russians continue to keep thousands of Ukrainians, including Mariupol residents, as human shields in the area of ​​the Vasilivka checkpoint in the direction of Zaporizhzhia. Typical abuse is lack of water and food now Russian soldiers are resorting to physical abuse. 

●        Mariupol. Port. Currently, 2.5 thousand tons of Ukrainian rolled metal products have left the port and are heading to Russia.

●        Russians are holding 540 orphans from the Donetsk region in the 'Romashka' sports and recreation complex.  267 of the total number are orphans from Volnovakha and Mariupol.

ZAPORIZHIA

Head of Energoatom:  Ukraine controls the operation of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, but there are about 500 Russians and a lot of explosives there, so we cannot guarantee the security of the nuclear facility, the state and the world.

Local media:  After the car explosion killing a family of collaborators in Melitopol, Galyna Danilchenko wanted to resign from the position of "head of the military-civil administration" because she fears for her life. However, Russian soldiers offered to accept her resignation on the condition that she surrenders to Ukrainian special services. Final decision is pending.

Melitopol Mayor:  In occupied Melitopol, cherries have already ripened. Russian soldiers are taking all the berries for sale and promising money later.  Therefore, the collection has begun, but there is a big threat that the farmers will not receive funds.

Regional Military Administration:

KHERSON

Social Media:  Yesterday in Kherson, Russians in a "Tiger" armored vehicle ran over a car with a young man inside.  Information about the driver's condition is being specified.

The so-called "deputy head of the administration of the Kherson region" said to the Russian media that the Kherson region "will become a full-fledged subject of the Russian Federation in the near future."

●        First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma:  The Kherson region, to join the Russian Federation, will need to go through the same procedure that Crimea previously went through, that is, a referendum.

There are no Ukrainian mobile operators currently in Kherson. The Russian military is selling their SIM cards according to passports.  Further down the street they are accepting applications for Russian citizenship.

●        State Service for Special Communications: The Russians have cut off communication in the south of Ukraine, and it will not be possible to restore it soon.

●        It is noted that since yesterday, residents of the Kherson region have been left without Ukrainian mobile communications and access to the Internet, as well as without the ability to make national and international calls using landline phones.

DNIPRO

Regional Military Administration: Russian troops are slowly advancing towards the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region.  Local residents are urged "not to relax" due to the lack of air alerts.

●        Russian troops fired again at the Kryvyi Rih district of the Dnipro region.

●        The Russians hit one of the villages with mortars: power lines were cut there, there was no electricity in the village. Fortunately, there were no casualties or damage.

●        Russian occupiers build fortifications in Kryvyi Rih direction  “The Russians are forced to reinforce their defensive positions, they are even tearing off roadblocks to building their fortifications, and they are also mining the Inhulets River coast. Also, the Russians continue shelling the entire line from all kinds of MLR, barrel artillery, tanks and mortars."

●        «The enemy again hit from the artillery the Zelenodolsk community. The people are not injured. Electricians work in Shyroke territorial community. They are repairing a line damaged by yesterday’s mortar attack in one of the villages.»

MYKOLAIV

Regional Military Administration: The Russians blew up two bridges across the Inhulets River in the Kherson region because they were afraid of a Ukrainian Armed Forces counterattack.  The day before yesterday, they blew up the Davydiv Brid Bridge. It shows that the occupiers are scared of a counter-offensive. They fear a breakthrough of our Ukrainian Armed Forces.

●        The defence forces of Mykolaiv are searching for long-range artillery «Pion», with which Russians are shelling the city and the region.

ODESA

Regional Military Administration:

REST OF UKRAINE

Kyiv Regional Military Administration: Two investigative groups from Slovakia are documenting war crimes committed by Russians in Bucha and Borodianka.

State Border Guard:

Sumy Regional Military Administration:

Comparing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Russian invasion of Ukraine using Wikipedia and Ukraine Ministry of Defense Daily Bulletins.  Soviet and Russian military losses not including captured equipment.

SOURCES

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/ 

https://euromaidanpress.com/

https://invite.viber.com/?g2=AQBD3wxTrZ6XUU7IdXeHUfjVCydekezQCCGuwYnT6qPd1r7n1aVbFIewa6ng6Lis

www.ubn.news