Bob Homans May 27

20220527

Ukraine – 5/27 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
Twitter: @rhomansjr
May 27, 2022

President Maia Sandu of Moldova

Last Wednesday, Pres. Sandu spoke to the graduates of the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) of Public Administration.   She is a 2010 graduate of HKS.   Her remarks take around 30 minutes.  They’re worth watching.   Moldova is a small country located between Ukraine and Romania, not between Ukraine and Russia as the HKS Dean indicated in his introduction.

During her remarks Pres. Sandu spoke about her role in starting a political party, financed solely by individual contributions.   Few in Moldova believed she’d be successful.  When her party won the parliamentary election and she became Prime Minister, and later elected President, Sandu not only defeated a Russian-backed opponent.  She also broke the mold that previously existed in Moldovan politics where, as is also the case in Ukraine, political parties are based around individuals, and not around a set of ideas.   Hopefully, Ukraine will follow Moldova’s, and Sandu’s, lead.   The individual-based parties in Ukraine, of which both Zelenskyy’s and Poroshenko’s parties are examples, serve to leave many capable leaders on the sidelines, several of whom should be running for President.

Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS)

Early last April, just before the beginning of Russia’s assault on Donbas that is still playing out, a delegation of Ukrainian officials came to Washington to persuade the U.S. Government to provide Ukraine with heavy weapons, including 155 mm. howitzers and MLRS, in order to better operate in Donbas, an area featuring more open country than is found around Kyiv.   Two of the members are friends of mine.   I was able to make a small contribution to their visit, by facilitating an invitation for one of them, Daria Kalenkuk, to testify at a meeting of the U.S. – Helsinki Commission.   Daria’s remarks last just over 5 minutes.   Bill Browder also testified, and he described Kaleniuk’s remarks as “fantastic.”

Yesterday it was announced that the Biden Administration, almost 2 months after the Ukrainian delegation made the request, that it was planning to supply MLRS systems to Ukraine.   According to the Economist Magazine’s military expert, the MLRS will give Ukraine a range advantage over comparable Russian artillery and rocket systems, critical in the tough fight in Donbas that Ukraine is now engaged in, a battle that may well dictate Ukraine’s ability to take back its territory from the Russians.  

According to the Economist’s expert the question is what type of rockets, and limitations, will the U.S. include as part of the MLRS deliveries.   Depending on the type of rockets, from Donbas MLRS can fire rockets deep into Russian territory.   One of my 2 friends who was on the delegation said that the 90 155 mm howitzers were delivered to Ukraine without digital fire control systems, limiting their accuracy.  The “excuse” evidently given by the U.S., for not including the digital fire control systems, was that there were export controls on the fire control systems.   Ukraine had been made to expect that the U.S. would provide an exemption, allowing the fire control systems to be included.

There is a long history of the U.S. putting limitations on the weapons that it was providing, going back to not long after the end of the Revolution of Dignity.   The first deliveries of counter-battery radars, critical to reacting to Russian artillery strikes that were often initiated by batteries located behind apartment buildings, so the Russians can blame Ukraine if the rounds fall short.   The radars delivered by the U.S. included software that limited the radars’ ability to locate batteries firing at Ukrainian positions from inside Russian territory.   The United States put limitations on the first deliveries of Javelin missiles, requiring that they be stored over 500 kilometers from the front lines.   If what my friends told me is correct, delays in deliveries of weapons, like the MLRS that Ukraine asked for, and limitations on their use like the absence of the digital fire control systems on the howitzers, is just the latest example of successive U.S. administrations constraining Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.

For Ukraine, with its increasingly strong democratic institutions, winning this war is a matter of survival.   For the U.S. and other countries In the West, and especially the Biden Administration given the debacle in Afghanistan, Ukraine losing this war would be yet another example of our lack of real support for countries that espouse the values that we claim to support.    The Biden Administration needs to promptly deliver the weapons Ukraine asked for, and include their full range of capabilities and, at long last, fully articulate the objective of the United States, namely to do all it can to ensure that Ukraine wins.

5/27 Sitrep (my comments in bold face)

INTERNATIONAL

In Russia, a group of deputies from the Communist Party demanded that Putin end the war in Ukraine and withdraw his troops.

CNN:  Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians went through a series of Russian "filtration camps" in eastern Ukraine and were sent to Russia as part of a systematic forced relocation program. According to four sources familiar with the latest data from Western intelligence, this estimate is much higher than publicly disclosed by US officials.

●        After being detained in Russian-run camps, many Ukrainians are forcibly relocated to economically depressed areas of Russia, in some cases thousands of kilometers from their homes, and are often left without funds to return, sources said.

The Prime Minister of Finland hopes that in June Ukraine will receive positive conclusions on the application for EU candidate status. Ukraine is already a member of the European family, so we very much welcome the initiative of the President of Ukraine to begin the process of joining the European Union by obtaining candidate status.

NATO will hold naval exercises BALTOPS-22 with the participation of Sweden and Finland. They will be held in the Baltic Sea from 5 to 17 June. According to the Pentagon, the US Sixth Fleet will take part in them. In total, 14 countries will take part in the exercises. It is assumed that 45 combat units of the Navy, 75 aircraft and about 7 thousand people will be involved.

Italy has limited the issuance of visas to Russians. Russians who have already paid the consular fee or are exempted from paying it will be able to apply for a visa.

Corriere della Sera:  British Prime Minister suggested that Ukraine abandon the EU and create an alternative alliance. The basis of such an association is distrust of Brussels and Germany's response to Russian aggression. In addition to the United Kingdom and Ukraine, it may include Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Turkey.

US Defense Ministry:  The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than three months, and during this time, the Russian troops, which greatly outnumber the Ukrainian army, have made only moderate progress.

CNN:  The Biden administration may announce the dispatch of advanced MLRS as early as next week

Politico:  U.S. officials are interrogating Americans who are traveling to Ukraine to fight Russia, citing domestic security concerns.

White House press secretary:  The US authorities expect that a possible “default” of Russia will not greatly affect the global and American economy.  “We expect the impact on the global and US economies to be minimal given that Russia is already in a state of financial isolation.”

The Italian Prime Minister said that in a conversation with the Russian President, he "did not see hope for peace" in Ukraine. 

Reuters:  Washington warned Kyiv that strikes from the Ukrainian side on Russian territory, in particular the part that is not located near the border with Ukraine, carry risks of escalation.

Newsweek:  Presidential adviser:  Ukraine has grain reserves to meet domestic and global demand to the end of 2022.

Economy Minister: Azerbaijan is ready to increase gas supplies to Europe. The country is also one of the main suppliers of blue fuel to Georgia and Turkey. Then come Greece, Bulgaria, Albania and Italy.

Bulgarian Prime Minister:  Bulgaria could become completely independent of Russian gas by the end of this year.  According to him, alternative gas suppliers have already been found.

CNN: Russian troops have lost about 1,000 tanks in Ukraine today, citing a senior US Department of Defense official.  In addition, according to the interlocutor, the Russian army lost more than 350 artillery pieces, as well as "almost 30 fighter-bombers and more than 50 helicopters

Lithuanian Foreign Ministry:  Western politicians and experts that propose Ukraine give up part of its territory "in the name of peace" are also dangerous for Lithuania.  The end of this war can only be announced in Kyiv and on its terms.

●        This is a very strong signal to all other aggressors, potential criminals, that if you commit a crime and you are not destroyed within three months, then everything is fine, everything can stay like that.

CNN:  US State Department:  Despite the war in Ukraine, the US sees China as the biggest long-term challenge to the international order. Blinken announced that he is creating a new structure to coordinate policy on China called the China House.

Serbian TV channel RTS:  In Hungary, from May 27, only owners of cars with Hungarian license plates will be able to refuel with gasoline.  The Hungarian authorities explained this measure by the fact that "gasoline tourism" began to flourish in the country, which threatened uninterrupted supply.

Interfax: The court of the Russian Federation recognized as legal the dismissal of 115 National Guardsmen who refused to go to war in Ukraine.  The garrison military court in Nalchik interpreted their actions as "unauthorized refusal to carry out their official assignment", thus they committed a "gross disciplinary offense."

Czech President:  The war in Ukraine will end with it's victory, not a "rotten compromise.” The Czech met with his Swiss counterpart in Prague and added that the position of Switzerland in relation to Russian aggression in Ukraine is similar.

The president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Transnistria, a sliver of Moldovan territory on the left bank of the Dniester River, dismissed the entire government.

The President of Belarus ordered the immediate establishment of the operational command of the Belarusian Armed Forces in the Ukrainian direction.

The court in Chisinau chose a measure of restraint for former Moldovan President Igor Dodonain in the form of a 30-day house arrest.  The prosecution will appeal the court’s decision to place Dodon under house arrest.

Mediazone:  Russian courier service CDEK, from the start of the war, shipped at least 58 tons of parcels from sending points at the Ukrainian border, according to the journalistic report whiich studied the statistics of the courier service.  According to journalists, parcels were sent by men in military uniforms, allegedly Russian military or members of separatist entities in eastern Ukraine.   The packages likely consisted of items looted from Ukrainians and taken back by retreating Russian troops.

Russian President: Russia is becoming stronger because of sanctions:

●        Import substitution is not a panacea, and Russia is not going to deal with it; the country is going to develop as a whole.

●        The departure of some foreign companies from the Russian Federation will possibly be for the best, their niche will be occupied, luxury goods will continue to arrive, who drove the Mercedes-Benz 600 - will continue to do it.

●        He also warned Western partners that it is never a good idea to «steal» other people’s assets, hinting at freezing the assets of the «Central Bank» with the prospect of transferring them to Ukraine.

●        Russia is ready to help overcome the food crisis in the world, subject to the lifting of sanctions by the West.

●        Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov proposed to create a film award to replace "Oscar". He believes that the current American Academy Awards have ceased to be artistic, so it is time to assemble a "Eurasian Film Academy" with a "religious understanding of the essence of human life".

Speaker of Russian Foreign Ministry:  Russia will kick American journalists out of Russia if YouTube blocks her briefings.   "I had a few briefings blocked. What did we do? We said: "Once again, if you block the briefing - one journalist or one American media outlet will go home. That’s all.”   Personally, I believe that the briefings shouldn’t be blocked.  I am a believer in the idea that someone like the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry be given maximum latitude to make a complete ass out of herself.

Davos:  German Chancellor described Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine as a failure and said that Putin should not win.

●        Iranian Foreign Minister:  Iran proposes to be a platform for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. "We support a political solution to the situation in Ukraine and negotiations. Last week I told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Iran is ready to become a platform for both sides."

Telegram:  The Governor of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation reported explosions in one of the districts. "At present, we are aware of the blows in the Sudzha district, near the territory of the settlements of Nizhnemakovo and Vorozhba.”

●        Governor of the Belgorod region of Russia, said that today the village of Zhuravlevka came under fire, and one woman was injured.

Foreign Policy:  Ukraine has received Su-25 attack aircraft from partners in Eastern Europe, delivered "in disassembled form", with the support of US European Command military personnel.

Reuters:  "Turkey is in talks with both Russia and Ukraine to export grain from Ukraine", – a senior Turkish official says. According to him, negotiations are still ongoing.

NATIONAL

American Institute for War Studies

●        Russian troops continue to advance south and west of Popasna in the direction of Bakhmut, but the pace of the offensive will slow.

●        The Russian army continued the offensive in the Severodonetsk region and will probably try to completely surround the Severodonetsk-Lysychansk region in the coming days

●        Russian troops tried unsuccessfully to advance southeast of Izyum near the Kharkiv-Donetsk region.

●        The Russian Army in the occupied areas of the South Axis is preparing a "third line of defense" to strengthen long-term control and repel possible counter-offensives of Ukraine

British intelligence:

Russia is pressuring the Severodonetsk pocket although Ukraine retains control of multiple defended sectors, denying Russia full control of the Donbas.

●        Russia's Southern Grouping of Forces (SGF) likely remains tasked with occupying southern Ukrainian territory.

●        The 50-year-old T-62 tanks will almost certainly be particularly vulnerable to anti-tank weapons and their presence on the battlefield highlights Russia's shortage of modern, combat-ready equipment.

Ukraine OSCE Representative:  Russia is carrying out forced passportization in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.  "To sustain control of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, about 20 occupation administrations have been established there. Yesterday, Putin signed a decree that simplifies the issuance of Russian passports. This means a forced passportization (certification - ed.), which we saw earlier in Donbas."

Social Media:  A Russian ammunition depot near Bakhmut was destroyed by Ukrainian artillery.

Defense Minister supported the legalization of arms trafficking and the formation of a culture of safe, responsible attitude to it.  He stressed that the law allows citizens to use any weapon against the enemy, so he considers it logical not to create a ban, but to regulate the use of weapons, forming a shooting culture.

Prime Minister:  Finland will help restore infrastructure and Ukrainian cities, as well as support educational reform in Ukraine, says after a meeting with his Finnish counterpart in Kyiv.  In addition, according to him, Finland will help Ukraine to implement reforms on the way to EU membership.

Prosecutor General of Ukraine:  Andrey Khitrov, a member of the Russian Joint Army Unit was informed about the suspicion of committing war crimes.  Khitrov made people undress, beat them in the ribs, starved them and gave them no water.  He was identified and charged with torturing people in Hostomel in March.

Forbes:  Various corporations such as ATB, Fora, and Silpo argue that there will be no salt shortage, as they can or are already buying salt from other manufacturers. There are also imported products. But, due to complicated logistics, the price will be higher.

Ministry of Defense:  Russia is firing along the entire front line. The fighting has reached maximum intensity. The Russian army is storming Ukrainian positions simultaneously in several directions. We will have a severe and long phase in the struggle to the liberation of our territories within internationally recognized borders. It is necessary to realize that this is a war and, unfortunately, casualties on our side are inevitable.

●        Kherson and several villages face the threat of flooding, Nova Kakhovka is already partially flooded.  According to the General Staff, two hydraulic units of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station became inoperable, the Russians do not allow Ukrainian specialists to repair them, leading to flooding.

●        Ukrainian military surgeons performed surgery to remove a kidney injured by firearms.  To save the organ they performed surgery which has no analogues in the world. Two such operations were performed at the mobile hospital. The wounded are already walking.

●        Russian troops reduced the intensity of offensive actions in the Avdiivka, Novopavlivka and Zaporizhzhia directions.

●        Russians are still planning to force the Siverskyi Donets river on the Dronivka-Bilohorivka section.

●        Russian troops tried to bypass Ukrainian military positions and advance towards Mykolaiv, but they were rebuffed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.  A fiery defeat, with the support of Mi-8 helicopters, the enemy suffered losses of up to 7 Russians and two armored personnel carriers. Having received a powerful rebuff, the enemy retreated to their defensive lines.

●        Russian commanders lie to Moscow about their "victories" in Ukraine. For example, the "capture" of the village of Dovhenke in the Kharkiv region.  The Russians reported on its capture at the end of April. Although, in fact, the village is under the control of Ukrainian defenders, and there are still fights for it.

●        With the support of artillery, the Russians launched an offensive in the direction of the village of Bohorodychne, the Donetsk region, but failed and retreated to the position they had previously occupied.

●        In the Bakhmut direction, the Russians launched an offensive in the directions of the settlements of Kamyshevakha, Nyrkove, Berestove and Bilohorivka, but failed, suffered losses and retreated.

●        In the Severodonetsk direction, the enemy is attacking in the directions of the settlements of Severodonetsk and Borovske. Fails. In the direction of the settlement Ustynivka has a partial success.

●        In the directions of the Pokrovskyi and Klynovyi troops of the Russian Federation have partial success, they have taken possession of the settlement of Midna Ruda. The are carrying out a regrouping.

●        In the Avdiivka direction, the Russians tried to resume the offensive, but to no avail.

●        In the Zaporizhzhia direction, the enemy grouping was reinforced by a newly formed tank battalion of ancient T-62 tanks.   T-62s were originally brought into service in 1961.  Their arrival on the battlefield might suggest that Russia is running out of their more modern tanks.

●        It was revealed that Russian engineering units were carrying out activities to mine the dam of the Kakhovka Reservoir.   The Kakhovka Reservoir, starting just upstream from Kherson at the Kakhovka Dam and going up toward Zaporizhia, is one of 3 large reservoirs, almost inland seas that are so big that in many places one cannot see across them, that are located along the Dnieper River, one after the other.  The Kakhovka Dam is the closest to the Black Sea.  Blowing the Kakhovka Dam would cause massive flooding and loss of life in the area below the dam, including the City of Khearson.

●        The Russian army is preparing to resume the offensive from the territory of the Bilhorod and Voronizh regions of the Russian Federation, possibly pointed at Sumy and Chernihiv in a possible reprise of their invasion of last February.

●        Russia continues to take measures to strengthen the cover of the Ukrainian-Russian border in the Bryansk and Kursk regions. They have involved two battalion tactical groups from the Russian airborne troops.

●        In the Mykolaiv area because of attacks 14 people suffered.  "Mykolaiv and Bashtansky districts have more shelling. Unfortunately, there are dead. In the vicinity of Bereznegovaty, two women who were just grazing cows came under fire - one of them died,"

A draft law on the seizure of the Belarus property for complicity in Russian aggression against Ukraine has been submitted to Ukraine’s Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: We are grateful for the international technical assistance. "At the same time, we need the weapons that will allow us to strike the enemy at a great distance. And it is one that cannot wait, because the cost of delay is measured by the lives of the people who protected the world from Rashism."  The term “Rashism,” or “Rashist,” is now popular in Ukraine, and it refers to Russian Fascists.

Ombudsman:  As of today, Russia has already taken more than 238,000 Ukrainian children to its territory.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine asked the Ecumenical Patriarch to remove Patriarch Kirill from the throne of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine asked to remove the priest due to his propaganda of the "Russian Peace/Russian World" and blessing Russians to kill Ukrainians.   Kirill has already been upbraided by Pope Francis I, telling Kirill in a telephone call to “stop behaving like Putin’s choirboy.”

Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine: 16 Mi-8 helicopters participated in the missions to deliver food, medicine, and weapons to the defenders of besieged Mariupol. Two of them, he says, were destroyed. Also, the RF Armed Forces were able to shoot down a helicopter, which was sent to help the downed crew.  In total, there were seven sorties to help those besieged in Mariupol.

●        The war will continue until winter. The Russian army is gaining ground in the Kherson region. Putin does not want to give up his positions and abandon plans, so, according to analysts, the war will be long.

In the Poltava region, a trial of two Russian soldiers involved in the shelling of the Kharkiv region on February 24 ended.  Previously, they fully admitted their guilt. The prosecutor's office asks for 12 years in prison, their lawyers - to reduce the sentence to eight years, because, according to them, the Russian military acted "under duress." The verdict is due May 31st.

Adviser to the Minister of Energy of Ukraine:  Ukraine has an excellent lever of influence on Hungary - this is the 'Druzhba' oil pipeline.  A separate thread of the 'Druzhba' oil pipeline goes to Hungary, with which “something can happen”: “But, again, it is in the hands of the government and the president to decide political issues, do we really want to speak with Orban in the language that he understands and which he is imposing on the EU, or we are not ready for it yet."

Ukrainian Intelligence:  Published intercepted mobile phone conversation of a Russian soldier with his wife in Russia.  The conversation confirms the killings of Ukrainian civilians by the Russian military. “The detachment caught the woman, they cut off her tongue so that she wouldn’t tell anything, and then they f*cked her”, – a Russian soldier boasts of atrocities against peaceful Ukrainians in front of his wife. According to him, he can cut off people's ears and can do it even in the Russian Federation.

Twitter: Defense Ministry of Ukraine showed a video of Russian TOS-1A ballistic missiles firing on Ukrainian positions near Novomykhailivka, Donetsk region. “This is how the biggest and the most terrible war of the 21st century looks like. Ukraine is ready to strike back. To do this, we need NATO-level Multiple Launch Rocket Systems. Immediately.”

Kyiv International Institute of Sociology:  Results of a survey conducted on May 13-18 show that 92% of Ukrainians have a negative attitude towards Russia, only 2% still have a positive attitude. In February, before the start of a full-scale invasion, 34% of Ukrainians had a positive attitude towards Russia.

KHARKIV

Mayor of Kharkiv: Russian troops shelled the centre of Kharkiv. There are dead and wounded. Nine people died due to the shelling of Kharkiv, nineteen injured including a child.

●        Today in Kharkiv there are loud and dangerous explosions. I urge you to stay in safe places - basements, shelters, and subway stations. We will not stop trains in the subway, but we will allocate special sectors where you can accommodate and wait out the bombardment

LUHANSK

Severodonetsk city military-civil administration:  There are street fights, the Russian Secret subversive groups entered the Mir Hotel, but the city is holding on.

●        60% of the housing stock in Severodonetsk has been destroyed, 85-90% of the city's buildings are damaged and will need to be overhauled.

●        According to him, at least one and a half thousand dead and buried in the city, about 12-13 thousand people still remain in Severodonetsk.

Regional Military Administration:  Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed a Russian checkpoint and Russian soldiers on the Lysychansk-Bakhmut road.  "There were about 50 of them; the Russians managed to gain a foothold and set up a checkpoint. But part of the reconnaissance and sabotage group remained there forever. The checkpoint is broken, and they have been thrown back. The Russian army no longer controls the road."

●        Russians are advancing in Borovskoye. Heavy fighting continues in the vicinity of Severodonetsk, the enemy is trying to break into the city. The regional center is being destroyed by artillery and aircraft.

●        Ukrainian defenders are holding the defense in the area of ​​Zolote and Katerynivka. In Toshkovka, the Russians retreated, the Armed Forces of Ukraine consolidated their positions.

●        In Severodonetsk, four people died, a police station was fired on in Lysychansk, and about 50 houses in the region were damaged.

●        Another man was killed by a Russian shell yesterday in Kamyshevakh. It also became known about the death of two women in Gorny during the last week.

DONETSK:

Regional Military Administration:  On May 26, as a result of the actions of the Russians, 5 civilians of the Donetsk region were killed: 2 in Maryiinka, 2 in Liman and 1 in Zara.

Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol:  Russians steal expensive medical equipment in Mariupol and send it to longer occupied Donetsk territories.  Surgical equipment stolen from the Mariupol hospital was brought to the surgical department of the Kalinin clinic in Donetsk. It was bought in 2021 for several million hryvnias.   "What can I say? Donetsk should thank the taxpayers of Mariupol for a significant improvement in medical services."

●        Deputy self-proclaimed mayor of Mariupol Khadzhynov said that the residents of Mariupol will rebuild their houses on their own. Russia will assist only for kindergartens, schools and administrative premises. All the rest will be helped only with building materials,

●        Sources speak of Russia’s intention to build several apartment buildings for the needs of the military occupation forces and to start the «restoration of historical buildings,»

●        Russian troops are preparing to expand the mass grave in the old cemetery in Mariupol. This is the fourth mass grave. "At the end of the work, the Russians plan to use it for an information attack, accusing Ukraine of mass killings and inhuman burials of the dead citizens of Mariupol."

●        Yesterday in the city on the territory of school No. 30 in Kalmiussky district on the street. Dniester as a result of the detonation of an unexploded Russian Grad, a 12-year-old boy was killed.

ZAPORIZHIA

In the Zaporozhzhia region, 21 settlements were left without drinking water. We are talking about the towns and villages of the Melitopol region, Berdyansk, Primorsk, Priazovske and s. Azov. They ran out of chlorine, which is needed for water purification. Oblvodokanal warns that now in these areas tap water will be technical and unfit for consumption.

In Melitopol, the occupiers renamed Dmytro Dontsov Street. Now it is named after Pavel Sudoplatov, a Soviet intelligence agent who killed one of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists leaders - Yevhen Konovalets.

Regional Military Administration: Russian troops shelled the village of Novoyakovlivka again.  An elderly woman died because of the shelling. Residential buildings are damaged. In connection with the constant shelling, the evacuation of the villagers is being carried out.

●        As a result of yesterday's Russia’s missile attacks of Zaporizhzhia, 115 houses were destroyed.

●        In Berdyansk, Russian troops are trying to convince the locals to switch to mobile networks of Russian operators. Like, Ukrainian work is unstable. At the same time, the work of Ukrainian mobile operators has been deliberately "jammed" by the Russian military more than once.

DNIPRO

Regional Military Administration:  There were several rocket attacks in the Dnipro Region causing considerable destruction.  Rescue teams are working in the debris and looking for people.

ODESA

Regional Military Administration:  The administration responded to Russia's offer to open a "humanitarian corridor" from Ukrainian ports blocked by the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The speaker of the Odesa RMA called it an "information and psychological operation" of the enemy.

●        The entire Odesa area is mined by Russia, and no ships can pass there in principle. He believes that statements about "grain corridors" are being made to blame Ukraine for food shortages, while it is Russia's fault.

REST OF UKRAINE

SUMY Regional Military Administration: the Russian army shelled the territory of the Shostka district of the Sumy region.  Private houses of civilians in the vicinity of Seredino-Buda were damaged. The Russians also fired from self-propelled guns around the village of Starye Virki, Belopolsky community, Sumy region. There were no casualties.

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