(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Ukraine Invasion Day 418: Russia sent its flagship; it turned into a submarine. [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2023-04-16

Instead, the Ukrainian military kept Russian troops out of Kyiv, defended Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and launched successful counteroffensives in the fall so that by the end of 2022, it had liberated over 50 percent of the territory previously captured by Russian soldiers that year. And sank the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship.

Nearly a year after he invaded Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed to achieve any of his major objectives. He has not unified the alleged single Slavic nation, he has not “denazified” or “demilitarized” Ukraine, and he has not stopped NATO expansion. Instead, the Ukrainian military kept Russian troops out of Kyiv, defended Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and launched successful counteroffensives in the fall so that by the end of 2022, it had liberated over 50 percent of the territory previously captured by Russian soldiers that year.

It's not too late for the US & allies to provide Ukrainian soldiers with more and better weapons to help their counteroffensive succeed. Send ATACMs now. How to Get a Breakthrough in Ukraine https://t.co/drkXJx5cbn via @ForeignAffairs

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russia has already lost more than 141,000 troops. In the war against Ukrainians, Russia has deployed not only the army and mercenaries but also other formations such as the Russian Guard.

According to British intelligence, the losses of the Russian army and mercenaries of the Wagner Group during the full-scale war in Ukraine amount to about 175-200,000 people. Of these, 40-60,000 are dead, according to a report by the UK Ministry of Defence published on Twitter.

⚡️ WAR IN #UKRAINE - APR 16 Equipment losses since start of war (in USD): $28.2B (exclude special equipment) DEVELOPMENT: $903M in the last 30 days ⬆ $51M reported today ⬆ Downed plane accounts for roughly a 3rd of the losses in the last 24 hours 📈 https://t.co/oMQ8rfWkMf pic.twitter.com/5LYCguJFYX

Russian Subordinate Main Effort #1 – Luhansk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast and northern Donetsk Oblast)

Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks south of Kreminna on April 16. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive actions near Dibrova (5km southwest of Kreminna), Hryhorivka (9km south of Kreminna), Bilohorivka (10km south of Kreminna), and Spirne (25km south of Kreminna).[33] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces conducted unsuccessful ground attacks near Torske (14km west of Kreminna) and Nevske (18km northwest of Kreminna) and that Ukrainian forces partially recaptured positions near Bilohorivka.[34] Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that Chechen ”Akhmat” special forces elements repelled Ukrainian counterattacks near Bilohorivka for five unspecified days and then ”escaped encirclement.“[35] Another milblogger claimed that positional battles occurred near the Serebrianska forest area (10km south of Kreminna) on April 15.[36] Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty reported on April 16 that Russian forces use the most armored vehicles in the Kupyansk-Lyman direction and that Russian conventional forces mostly comprised of mobilized personnel operate along this line.[37] Cherevaty also reported that Ukrainian forces destroyed three T-72 tanks, one BTR-80 armored personnel carrier, one BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle, one BREM-1 armored repair and recovery vehicle, and one Su-25 aircraft. The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense (UK MoD) reported that Russian Airborne (VDV) forces have likely integrated TOS-1A thermobaric artillery into operations near Kreminna.[38] A Russian milblogger claimed on April 15 that the BARS (Russian Combat Reserve) “Kaskad” formation is operating along the Svatove-Kreminna line.[39]

www.understandingwar.org/...

Russian Subordinate Main Effort #2 – Donetsk Oblast (Russian Objective: Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast, the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas)

Russian forces continued ground attacks in and around Bakhmut on April 16. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces conducted attacks in Bakhmut and that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian forces west of Bakhmut near Khromove (immediately west) and Ivanivske (6km west).[40] Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty reported that Russian forces are throwing penal recruits at the front while conventional forces are more cautious.[41] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces advanced in northern, central, and southern Bakhmut, including south of the AZOM plant in central Bakhmut, on April 15.[42] Another milblogger claimed on April 16 that Russian forces conducted unsuccessful attacks in northern, western, and southern Bakhmut.[43] One milblogger tried to justify the delay of capturing Bakhmut as a deliberate operation to attrit Ukrainian forces for as long as Ukraine is willing to defend Bakhmut.[44] The milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces have withdrawn to three microraions in western Bakhmut. Geolocated footage shows that the Russian 132nd Motorized Rifle Brigade (1st Army Corps) was recently active south of Bakhmut near Mayorsk.[45]

www.understandingwar.org/...

Russian Supporting Effort – South ern Axis (Russian objective: Maintain frontline positions and secure rear areas against Ukrainian strikes)

Russian forces reportedly intensified the rate of artillery strikes in southern Ukraine on April 16. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command reported that Russian forces have increased artillery fire on the west (right) bank of Kherson Oblast and are continuing to use guided aerial bombs to strike civilian infrastructure.[51] Southern Operational Command also noted that Russian forces have resumed the practice of using S-300 surface-to-air missiles to strike ground targets deep in the Ukrainian rear and stated that Russian forces conducted an S-300 strike on the Bashtanskyi raion of Mykolaiv Oblast from positions on the east (left) bank.[52] The Ukrainian General Staff stated that Russian forces conducted 25 S-300 strikes on Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv oblasts throughout the day.[53] S-300 surface-to-air missiles are notably a low precision system. Russian forces additionally conducted routine shelling along the frontline in southern Ukraine on April 16.[54]

www.understandingwar.org/...

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/16/2164260/-Ukraine-Invasion-Day-418-Russia-sent-its-flagship-it-turned-into-a-submarine

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/