(Axios) The Russian military has seized the city of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine and forced Ukrainian troops out of the town, Luhansk region governor Serhiy Gaidai said at a briefing Tuesday, per Reuters.
Why it matters: Kreminna appears to be the first city Russian forces have taken since they launched a new offensive in the Donbas region Monday — a development which marked the start of a second phase of the war centered on a battle for territory in eastern Ukraine.
What they're saying: Russian forces entered Kreminna after launching an attack "from all sides" to take control of the city, Gaidai said.
Our defenders had to withdraw. They have entrenched themselves in new positions and continue to fight the Russian army," he added.
"It is impossible to calculate the number of dead among the civilian population," he added. "We have official statistics — about 200 dead — but in reality there are many more."
Seven more flights with U.S. weapons to be sent to Ukraine in the next day, Pentagon says
By Dan Lamothe 1:28 p.m.
The Pentagon expects to send about seven more flights with weapons to Ukrainian forces within the next day, with howitzer artillery prioritized, as the United States moves to its next phase of supplying arms to Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official said.
The flights will carry weapons from an $800 million package of weapons that President Biden approved last week. It’s expected to include howitzer artillery that will require U.S. officials to provide some familiarization training to Ukrainian forces that are accustomed to launching artillery more common in Eastern Europe.
Flights continue to arrive in the region every day, with Ukrainian forces taking possession of Western weapons and bringing them into Ukraine through a complex network that includes railroad and convoys. Even as operations have shifted farther to the east, away from NATO countries such as Poland, Ukrainian officials say the weapons are still able to get into the hands of Ukrainian forces, the senior U.S. defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon.
“None of these shipments sit around very long,” the U.S. official said.
Russian invasion damaged up to 30% of Ukraine's infrastructure, says minister
Source: Reuters
KYIV, April 18 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion has damaged or destroyed up to 30% of Ukraine's infrastructure at a cost of $100 billion, a Ukrainian minister said on Monday, adding reconstruction could be achieved in two years using frozen Russian assets to help finance it.
Ukraine has not previously outlined the specific impact on infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, although officials say the total bill for damage to everything from transport to homes and other buildings runs to about $500 billion so far.
"Practically all components of our transport infrastructure have suffered in one form or another," Infrastructure Minister Oleksander Kubrakov told Reuters.
He said the invasion - which Russia launched in February, calling it a "special military operation" - had affected "20% to 30% of all infrastructure with varying degrees of damage, with different levels of destruction."
Biden announces $800M in new military assistance for Ukraine
Source: AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced an additional $800 million in military aid to help Ukraine fight back against the Russian invasion, and he warned that Congress will need to approve additional assistance. The new military package includes much needed heavy artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition, and drones for Ukrainian forces in the escalating battle for the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. It builds on roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance that Biden had previously approved.
He also announced that all Russian-affiliated ships would be barred from U.S. ports. Biden said that $13.6 billion approved last month by Congress for military and humanitarian assistance was “almost exhausted.” “Next week, I’m going to have to be sending to Congress a supplemental budget request to keep weapons and ammunition deployed without interruption,” Biden said. Congress has signaled it is receptive to further requests and has been expecting there would be a need for further help for the Ukrainians.
Biden did not detail how much additional funding he would request. Biden spoke on the new assistance, and more broadly about the situation in Ukraine, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the strategic city of Mariupol. Putin, however, ordered his troops not to risk more losses by storming the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the war’s iconic battleground. Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country will send heavy artillery to Ukraine.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the Netherlands will send more heavy weapons, including armored vehicles. The new tranche of military assistance is expected to include 72 155mm howitzers, 144,000 artillery rounds, 72 vehicles used to tow to the howitzers onto the battlefield, and over 121 Phoenix Ghost tactical drones, as well as field equipment and spare parts. The 72 howitzers are in addition to the 18 announced last week the U.S. was transferring to Ukraine.
Kremlin Insiders Alarmed Over Growing Toll of Putin's War in Ukraine
Source: Bloomberg
Almost eight weeks after Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine, with military losses mounting and Russia facing unprecedented international isolation, a small but growing number of senior Kremlin insiders are quietly questioning his decision to go to war.
The ranks of the critics at the pinnacle of power remain limited, spread across high-level posts in government and state-run business. They believe the invasion was a catastrophic mistake that will set the country back for years, according to ten people with direct knowledge of the situation. All spoke on condition of anonymity, too fearful of retribution to comment publicly.
So far, these people see no chance the Russian president will change course and no prospect of any challenge to him at home. More and more reliant on a narrowing circle of hardline advisers, Putin has dismissed attempts by other officials to warn him of the crippling economic and political cost, they said.
Some said they increasingly share the fear voiced by U.S. intelligence officials that Putin could turn to a limited use of nuclear weapons if faced with failure in a campaign he views as his historic mission.
Putin calls off plan to storm Mariupol plant, opts for blockade instead
Source: Reuters
April 21 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin called off plans for the Russian military to storm the sprawling Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and said on Thursday he wanted Ukrainian forces there to be hermetically sealed in instead. The full capture of Mariupol, which has been besieged by Russian forces for weeks, is a central part of Moscow's plans to cut Ukraine off from the Sea of Azov and forge a land bridge connecting Russian-annexed Crimea to Russia.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region whose forces have been fighting in Mariupol, had suggested that the vast Azovstal facility, which covers more than 11 square kilometres (4.25 square miles), would be stormed after Ukrainian forces holed up inside ignored Russian offers to surrender. But Putin, in a Kremlin meeting with Sergei Shoigu, his defence minister, gave the order to call off the plan to storm it, saying it was better to save the lives of Russian soldiers and officers and to sit back and wait while Ukrainian forces ran out of supplies.
"I consider the proposed storming of the industrial zone unnecessary," Putin told Shoigu in a televised meeting at the Kremlin. "I order you to cancel it. There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities," he told Shoigu. "Block off this industrial area so that a fly cannot not pass through."
Putin called on the remaining Ukrainian fighters in Azovstal to lay down their arms, saying Russia would treat them with respect and provide medical assistance to those injured. Shoigu had earlier told Putin that more than 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were still holed up in the plant and that it might take three or four days to take control of the facility.
(The Drive) Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby has clarified remarks he made yesterday, stressing that the U.S. government has only facilitated deliveries of spare parts for Ukraine's fighter jets, not whole aircraft, at least so far. The Ukrainian Air Force had already denied widespread reports that it has received any additional fighter jets or other fixed-wing aircraft from any of its foreign partners.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Kirby had made confusing remarks about the Ukrainian Air Force having "received additional aircraft" with direct assistance from the U.S. government, but also that "we have not transported whole aircraft." Multiple outlets subsequently reported that additional fixed-wing aircraft, and fighter jets specifically, had been transferred to Ukraine.
"Ukraine did not receive new aircraft from partners!" an English language Tweet from the Ukrainian Air Force's official account declared earlier today. "With the assistance of the US Government, [the Ukrainian Air Force] received spare parts and components for the restoration and repair of the fleet of aircraft in the Armed Forces, which will allow to put into service more equipment."
Russia claims to have 'liberated' Mariupol after weeks of bombardment
Source: Yahoo via AOL
LONDON — Russian officials claimed Thursday that the port city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine had came under their control. The besieged city has been reduced to rubble since the launch of the invasion on Feb. 24 as Russian forces attempted to capture the city for eight weeks.
“Mariupol has been liberated by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the forces of the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” Kremlin Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin during a televised meeting in Moscow. Shoigu called the city “a powerful, fortified area, equipped with a large number of heavy weapons and military equipment.”
Also during the televised address, Shoigu said that around 2,000 Ukrainian troops were continuing to hold out in the massive Azovstal steel plant, which spans 4 miles. He then alleged that the troops were using their civilians as human shields and that the Russian army “took all measures to preserve the lives of civilians.”
It is estimated that at least tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Mariupol, with the city’s mayor stating last week that around 100,000 still remain there. On Wednesday, an adviser to the mayor said the 1,000 civilians inside the steel building, believed to be the last stronghold, had no access to “normal” supplies of food and water. The Kremlin has denied intentionally targeting civilians.
Ukraine Army downs three enemy planes and three helicopters
Source: UKRINFORM
“The 21st of April was a fruitful day for the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense units, as they destroyed 15 enemy air targets, including nine Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The anti-aircraft missile units of the Land Forces shot down six Orlan-10 UAVs. Two Orlan-10 UAVs were hit by the Air Assault Forces with man-portable air-defense systems, and one more was downed by the anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force,” the report states.
Meanwhile, in the Izium direction, the anti-aircraft missile units of the East Air Command destroyed two Russian planes. According to the preliminary data, they were Su-34 and Su-35.
The Air Assault Forces also shot down Russia’s Su-25 aircraft and Mi-8 helicopter. One more Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed by the Ukrainian marines.
In addition, the National Guard of Ukraine reported on shooting down Russia’s Ka-52 ‘Alligator’ helicopter.
A senior Russian military commander has said that the goal of Russia’s new offensive is to seize control of southern Ukraine and form a land bridge to Crimea, indicating that Russia plans a permanent occupation of Ukrainian territory taken in the war.
Rustam Minnekayev, acting commander of the central military district, also told members of a defence industry forum on Friday that control over southern Ukraine would give Russia access to Transnistria, a pro-Russian breakaway region of Moldova, indicating that Russia may attack the port city of Odesa and consider military action in Moldova.
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Quelle surprise. This is what I have been saying they were going to do all a long...
A senior Russian military commander has said that the goal of Russia’s new offensive is to seize control of southern Ukraine and form a land bridge to Crimea, indicating that Russia plans a permanent occupation of Ukrainian territory taken in the war.
Rustam Minnekayev, acting commander of the central military district, also told members of a defence industry forum on Friday that control over southern Ukraine would give Russia access to Transnistria, a pro-Russian breakaway region of Moldova, indicating that Russia may attack the port city of Odesa and consider military action in Moldova.
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Quelle surprise. This is what I have been saying they were going to do all a long...
They're going to try holding it for a while but only to lose it again once the Ukrainians launch a counteroffensive with new weapons supplied by the West. It's just a matter of time. With its economy severely crippled and inability to replenish its military with new hardware due to special components shortage, Russia will not be able to maintain the campaign for long. If this drags on, the United States will just supply Ukraine with more advanced weaponry.
To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
They're going to try holding it for a while but only to lose it again once the Ukrainians launch a counteroffensive with new weapons supplied by the West. It's just a matter of time. With its economy severely crippled and inability to replenish its military with new hardware due to special components shortage, Russia will not be able to maintain the campaign for long. If this drags on, the United States will just supply Ukraine with more advanced weaponry.
I agree, the Russians can't win this. We can read about advanced weapons being shipped from USA, France and other European countries. I think Ukraine will manage to kick Russia out of their country.
Ukraine reports Russians trying to storm Mariupol plant
Source: AP
By DAVID KEYTON and YESICA FISCH
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An advisor to Ukraine’s presidential office says Russian forces are attacking a steel plant that is the last defense stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the strategic port city of Mariupol.
Oleksiy Arestovich, an advisor to the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said during a briefing on Saturday that the Russian forces have resumed air strikes on Azovstal and were trying to storm it.
“The enemy is trying to completely suppress resistance of the defenders of Mariupol in the area of Azovstal,” Arestovich said.
Arestovich’s statement came two days after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin that the whole of Mariupol, with the exception of Azovstal, had been “liberated” by the Russians.
Russia hits rail, fuel facilities in attacks deep in Ukraine
Source: AP
By DAVID KEYTON
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed a string of attacks against Ukrainian rail and fuel installations Monday, striking crucial infrastructure far from the front line of its eastern offensive.
Meanwhile, two fires were reported at oil facilities in western Russia, not far from the Ukrainian border. It was not clear what caused the blazes.
As both sides in the 2-month-old war brace for what could be a grinding battle of attrition in the country’s eastern industrial heartland, top U.S. officials pledged more help to ensure Ukraine prevails.
In a bold visit to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, the American secretaries of state and defense said Washington had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition — non-U.S. ammo, mainly if not entirely to fit Ukraine’s Soviet-era weapons — along with more than $300 million in financing to buy more supplies.
