Russo-Ukraine War - 08 April 2022 - Day 44

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country.

"We want the Ukrainians to win this war. And we want to see Ukraine not have to fight for its own sovereignty, as it has been for eight years; we keep forgetting that. I think President Zelensky has been rock solid clear on what his outcome is here. A whole Ukraine, fully respected as a sovereign nation-state, we want that for him too. And so we want to help; we want to see them win. And that's why we are committing so much energy and security assistance to that country. And we'll continue to do that." This was announced at a briefing by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

At least 50 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in a Russian missile strike on a railway station in eastern Ukraine in what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said was a deliberate attack on civilians. Ukraine’s state railway company said two Russian rockets struck the station in Kramatorsk, which was being used to evacuate civilians from areas that are expected to come under heavy attack as Moscow redirects its war efforts to focus on eastern areas where the separatists it has backed since 2014 have been fighting Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian officials, including Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, said at least four children were among the dead. “The Russians are deliberately trying to disrupt the evacuation of civilians…. For them, people’s lives are just a bargaining chip and an instrument to achieve their cynical goal,” Kyrylenko said. Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko said about 4,000 people were at the station at the time of the attack.

The Tochka-U missile attack on the Kramatorsk railway station, which caused mass casualties among civilians, became another bloody provocation of the Kiev regime, the DPR representative office said. In particular, they recalled that the Military Balance (The Military Balance, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies since 1959) at the beginning of 2022 does not indicate the Russian Armed Forces as the operator of the Tochka-U missile system."

“The particularly cynical nature of this bloody planned action is emphasized by the frankly provocative inscription on the rocket - “For Children”, from those who for 8 years purposefully destroyed the children of Donbass, used them as a human shield in Volnovakha, Mariupol, Kharkov, shelled maternity hospitals, schools and kindergartens,” the DPR representative office said.

The strike on the railway station of the city of Kramatorsk was carried out by the Tochka-U tactical missile, which is used in Ukraine only by the Ukrainian armed forces, Major General Igor Konashenkov, official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, said at a briefing. According to the Russian military, the blow was delivered by one of the divisions of the 19th missile brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, located in the area of the village of Dobropolye, 45 km southwest of Kramatorsk.

“The Ukrainian armed forces still have a significant arsenal of Tochka-U missiles. Before the start of the special military operation, the Kiev regime had at its disposal 20 Tochka-U missile systems, which included two launchers each. During the special military operation, 8 Ukrainian Tochki-U launchers and about 90 percent of the missiles in the arsenals were destroyed. Nevertheless, the threat of the Kiev regime continuing to carry out provocations and rocket attacks on settlements with civilians remains high.” Konashenkov said.

“There is evidence of the guilt of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - it is they who are armed and use the Tochka-U missiles, the fragments of which were found at the site of the tragedy. Such inhumane actions of the Kiev regime confirm the validity of the tasks of the special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The Kyiv regime is striving for maximum casualties among civilians. Their murder in the Donbass over the past eight years has become a common practice for Ukrainian armed groups. Cold-bloodedly and cynically destroying the civilian population, Kyiv is trying to shift the responsibility to the Russian side in order to discredit the special military operation to protect the DPR and LHP, ”the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.

Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia Alexander Bastrykin instructed to investigate the provocation of the Ukrainian authorities with the shelling of the city of Kramatorsk, located on the territory of the DPR temporarily occupied by the Kiev security forces, with the Tochka-U ballistic missile and the dissemination of false information about the actions of Russian military personnel. “The Ukrainian side is spreading deliberately false information that the strike on the city was inflicted by Russian military personnel. As you know, the Russian army does not have such missile systems in service. The Investigative Committee of Russia will give a legal assessment of the actions of those who spread deliberately false information about Russian troops. In addition, within the framework of the criminal case on the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare, a criminal-legal assessment will be given to the criminal actions of those who gave and executed the order to shell a civilian object.” The missile attack on Kramatorsk is another attempt by the West to blame Russia for the death of civilians, all those responsible for this crime should be brought before a military tribunal, ”said Sergey Mironov , chairman of the Just Russia - For Truth party, State Duma deputy. “It’s time to stop coddling this fascist regime in Ukraine. After today's terrorist attack organized by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kramatorsk, no more negotiations! The terrible crime of the Ukrainian nationalists in Bucha, and now the rocket attack on the railway station, have shown that a political resolution of the conflict is impossible. The military operation in Ukraine should be carried out until the complete surrender of Bandera. After that, it is necessary to create a nationalist war crimes tribunal and a complete denazification of the country must be carried out."

Official Russian sources provide conflicting information concerning the operational status of the SS-21 system. Russia had 24 Tochka-U units as of 2019. At the end of the year, the 448th missile brigade completed the re-equipment from the Tochka-U complexes to the new Iskander-M missile systems. On 22 November 2019 at the Kapustin Yar training ground, a solemn ceremony of presenting a brigade set of the Iskander operational-tactical missile system (OTRK) to the personnel of the missile formation of the Western Military District (ZVO) will take place. The transfer of this kit completed the rearmament of the existing missile formations of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The re-equipment of this brigade marked the final removal of Tochka-U from the armament of the Russian Armed Forces. As of 2022, according to the Military Balance, it was not in service with the Russian troops.

Russia had been phasing out its Tochka arsenal with the Iskander-M, which has greater range and can carry more than one missile per launcher. Tochka-U tactical missiles are not in service in Russian Armed Forces, Russian mission to the UN said in a letter to the UN Security Council and General Assembly 16 March 2022. "Given the proven record of the Kiev regime promoting false allegations and fake evidence, it should be noted that Tochka-U tactical missiles are not in service in the Russian Armed Forces," the letter said.

But missile launches by tactical complexes "Tochka" were practiced by units of the Russian Armed Forces during the exercises " Allied Resolve-2022 " in the Polessky area, the military department of Belarus informed 15 February 2022. The next day, it was reported by the official Rossiyskaya Gazeta "in the area of the Polessky area, units of the missile forces carried out combat launches with the Tochka-U tactical missile system. During the group strike, two mock enemy targets were hit at a distance of over 60 kilometers."

A Belarus-based analyst released video footage on 31 March 2022 reportedly showing a column of Russian military vehicles with “V” marks, which was moving from Rechitsa towards Gomel along the M10 highway. “There were at least 8 Tochka-U, several BTR-82a, about 9 KamAZ trucks, some of which are carrying Tochka-U missiles, communication vehicle and a crane,” the MotolkoHelp said. The quality of the video, acquired in a pretty heavy snow storm, does not permit positive identification of these vehicles.

The editor-in-chief of IA REGNUM Modest Kolerov, in the article “Compromise with the West will be equal to the surrender of Russia, that is, suicide” shared an observation about the behavior of the “elite layers of Russia” during the Russian military special operation in Ukraine: “ Someone is looking for a personal exit from Russia, and someone - the withdrawal of Russia, which is conducting a special operation, into a dead end of capitulation. Their names are on everyone's lips and in plain sight . People believe that Russia should not have any compromises with enemies. The country now has one main task - denazification. Some directly call the names of "pests". [the term used for those whom Stalin liquidated]

Any concession and compromise with the West and Ukraine will be perceived, at the very least, as a sign of Russia's weakness, and at worst, a defeat. But the most dangerous thing is that the Russian people may not understand such actions. This opinion was expressed in an interview with a REGNUM correspondent by the head of the faction "SR - Patriots - For Truth" in the State Council of Chuvashia Vladislav Soldatov.

“We first tried the language of negotiations, then warnings, the last straw was an ultimatum, but the Ukrainian authorities did not understand, and Russia was forced to use force to resolve the conflict. The mentality of the Russian people is such that if we have already got involved, then any path other than victory is not acceptable for us. If we started, then we need to bring the matter to the end, ”Vladislav Soldatov believes.

He recalled that history, including "from the recent past" , has shown more than once what the "weakness of the rulers" who make concessions leads to. In particular, in 1905, the Russo-Japanese War, and then the First World War, where the tsar and the government “made concessions” , led to defeat and became harbingers of the revolution and the breakdown of the entire world system, the collapse of a number of states.

“In my opinion, compromises and concessions will be misinterpreted by all parties, but the most dangerous thing is that the Russian people may not understand . The liberal wing is trying to push the president onto the path of compromise, but this, in my opinion, is the wrong path. At the same time, the United States with its European allies, which are "subdued" under NATO and America, are dictating their terms from a position of strength. And any concession is perceived by them as a sign of weakness, so you have to be very careful. As our ancestors said, measure seven times - cut one. We need to think seven times about the consequences of any compromise,” the deputy of the State Council of Chuvashia expressed his opinion.

Russia has entered a period of danger: Russophobic information and propaganda attacks have reached such intensity, after which a “Great Hunt for Russia” is likely, and our task is to prevent this. This was stated by the historian and publicist Andrei Fursov. “Russia has clearly entered a period of danger, Russophobic information and propaganda attacks have reached such an intensity, after which “metaphysics” will very likely be followed by “physics” - the Great Hunt for Russia. Our task is to prevent this Hunt, and in the event of its start, turn the hunter into a game, and make the start itself the final - not ours, of course, ” he wrote.

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, said that NATO countries should not make a distinction between the supply of defensive and offensive weapons to Kiev. He said this when he arrived at a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the countries participating in the military bloc. The Secretary General specified that the ministers are discussing the supply of various types of weapons, including heavy ones (tanks, armored personnel carriers).

There are disagreements among the NATO countries. And they concern how to further build relations with Russia against the backdrop of the situation around Ukraine. A group of countries, which includes Poland and the three Baltic powers, believe that it is high time to completely break off any relations with the Russian Federation. And do everything to bring these eastern barbarians to their knees. But in France, Germany and Turkey they are in favor of maintaining contacts with Moscow.

Vladimir Putin discussed with the permanent members of the Security Council the special operation and the course of the negotiation process between representatives of Moscow and Kyiv. Separately, the need for active counteraction to informational and other sabotage by the Ukrainian side was discussed. For example, those that took place in Bucha near Kiev.

Lloyd Austin, said at a budget hearing in the US Senate that he had not been able to get through to Sergei Shoigu for a month and a half. And it's not just his connection that's messed up. The head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, has also been regularly trying to contact colleagues from Russia - since mid-February. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armed Forces of NATO in Europe, American General Todd Walters, also complained about the lack of audio contact with the military leadership of the Russian Federation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in Borodyanka, a town northwest of the capital, Kyiv, was “significantly more dreadful” than in Bucha, where Ukrainian authorities said they had found hundreds of bodies. He did not cite any evidence.

After Russian forces withdrew from areas around Kyiv, Ukrainians begsn returning to their homes in the capital and its suburbs. The numbers were so huge that drivers spent hours in traffic jams.

On the Eastern Front, to the south of Izyum, there are battles for the village of Suglinovka. The soldiers report that the remnants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have settled in the basements, the artillery is actively working. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, in turn, continue to carry out artillery strikes on Izyum. “Yesterday and the day before yesterday, the enemy DRG, up to a platoon, tried to enter the positions of our troops near the village of Donetsk. After a short shooting battle, the enemy retreated to a forest plantation, took cover and was covered by a TOS strike,” Russian comrades write from the scene.

In the Lugansk People's Republic, there was an epic battle in Popasnaya at night with explosions, shooting, glow and luminescence from lighting charges - "chandeliers". In the neighborhood, near Novotoshkovka, near the famous 29th checkpoint, the LPR army recaptured enemy positions, there were up to 300 militants on them. This attack opened the way for the LNR troops to Lisichansk. In Rubizhne, fighting continues for quarters, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to cover residential areas that have already been liberated from the enemy in retaliation with artillery.

In Mariupol, Russian fighters from the DPR and the RF Armed Forces finally reached the sea and were fighting in the port of Mariupol. A significant part of the port is already in the hands of the allies. According to the Ministry of Defense, in addition to the Nazis from the Azov Battalion (banned in the Russian Federation) and the remnants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there are also foreign mercenaries in Mariupol . This became known from radio intercepts - in addition to Ukrainian and Russian, radio negotiations are conducted in six more languages.

It is also reported that in the Mariupol port there are civilian vessels with at least 60 people on board: at least citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. All civilian sailors were held by the "Nazis of Azov" (banned in the Russian Federation) as hostages. Telegram channel "Vargonzo" reports that thanks to the actions of the units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the NM of the DPR, the sailors have been released, they are being assisted. Well, Chechen fighters today announced that they had taken control of the Azovstal industrial zone in Mariupol. The completion of the liberation of Mariupol is getting closer.

On the Southern front only arrivals in Odessa and the region are reported. "Onyxes" hit the regional center of electronic intelligence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the outskirts of the village of Krasnoselka, as well as large warehouses of rocket and artillery weapons in the area of the village of Nimirovskoye. The Ministry of Defense also reported that aircraft equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed at the Kanatovo military airfield in the Kirovograd region.

“In the center of Mariupol, the main battles have ended,” said Eduard Basurin, a representative of the people’s militia of the DPR, “they have moved to the port and Azovstal. In the port, we begin to defend the territory and squeeze their forces into the industrial zone at Azovstal. According to him, about three thousand Ukrainian servicemen are actively resisting in these points of Mariupol. And some scattered throughout the city. By the way, in the port they burn foreign ships - and they will shove them back on us."

Radio intercepts indicate that a significant number of mercenaries from several European countries have been blocked in Mariupol along with the Nazis of Azov (an organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation), Major General Igor Konashenkov, Spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said at a briefing. “Obviously, it is not the defenders of the so-called European values that are blocked in the city, but foreign mercenaries. Arrived to kill the Slavs for American dollars, hiding behind a "human shield" of civilians. The Kyiv nationalist regime refused to withdraw the militants from Mariupol. With this in mind, the city will be unconditionally liberated by the troops of the Donetsk People's Republic and units of the Russian Armed Forces ,” Konashenkov stressed.

The operational-tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 54 military facilities of Ukraine during the day, including a command post, two fuel depots, a field ammunition depot, two installations of multiple launch rocket systems, as well as 45 strongholds and areas of concentration of Ukrainian military equipment. Air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft in the air near the Novomikhailovka settlement.

“Operational-tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces and missile forces hit 81 military facilities of Ukraine. Among them are two command posts, a launcher for the Osa air defense missile system, three installations of multiple launch rocket systems, as well as 9 strongholds and 59 areas where Ukrainian military equipment is concentrated," Konashenkov said at a briefing.

According to Konashenkov, Russian air defense forces shot down two Ukrainian military Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters in the air near Staraya Zburyevka and five drones, including two Bayraktar TB-2 near Krivoy Rog. He also pointed out that the high-precision missiles of the Russian Bastion coastal missile system near Krasnoselka, located northeast of Odessa, destroyed the center for the collection and training of foreign mercenaries.

The military equipment of the Ukrainian troops that arrived in Donbas from the reserve was destroyed by air-launched high-precision missiles. The ministry said that the military equipment and weapons of the reserves of the Ukrainian troops that arrived on the trains were destroyed by high-precision air-launched missiles. It is specified that the strikes were carried out on targets at the stations of Pokrovsk, Slavyansk and Barvenkovo.

The special forces of the Russian Guard destroyed the artillery weapons of the enemy in the Kharkiv region, the press service of the Russian Guard told REGNUM on April 8. In a battle in the vicinity of one of the settlements of the Kharkov region, they managed to capture a 122-mm D-30 howitzer and mortars of 120 mm and 80 mm caliber.

Lieutenant General Sergei Zakharov, Commander of the North Caucasian District of the Russian National Guard Troops, presented Lieutenant General's epaulettes to the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. This was reported by ChGTRK Grozny. But the reaction of Kadyrov himself: “To receive any award and any title is a big responsibility. You must correspond to this title and the awards that you are awarded. For me it is pleasant and exciting, because there is a lot to be done.”

British military intelligence said Russian forces are shelling cities in the east and south and had advanced further south from the city of Izyum, which is under their control. Capturing the southeastern port city of Mariupol is still the main focus of Russian troops, the Ukrainian military said. Russian battalions, meanwhile, were blockading and bombarding the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Prime Minister Eduard Heger said Slovakia has donated its Soviet-era S-300 air-defense system to Ukraine. The comments from Heger on April 8 came as he was visiting the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with top EU officials ahead of a planned meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy mentioned S-300s by name when he spoke to U.S. lawmakers by video last month, appealing for defense systems that would allow Ukraine to "close the skies" to Russian warplanes and missiles. NATO members Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Greece have the S-300s, which can fire missiles hundreds of kilometers and knock out cruise missiles as well as warplanes. Slovakia previously said it was willing to give its S-300 to Ukraine on condition that it had a proper replacement. The United States will relocate one Patriot air defense system to Slovakia, the Pentagon chief announced on April 8 Lloyd Austin announced. He specified that the complex would be operated by the US military.

The World Food Programme warned that the fighting in Ukraine could cause the worst global food crisis since World War Two. The country known as the "breadbasket of Europe" might be running out of grain, leaving millions of people around the world at risk of food insecurity. The WFP says the war has already disrupted harvests, triggering a wave of "collateral hunger" elsewhere in the world. Russia and Ukraine are responsible for about 30% of the global wheat trade. Even Ukraine alone, it used to grow food for 400 million people. In Germany, since the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine, 383 crimes against immigrants from Russia have been registered. Such data was given by the head of the German Interior Ministry, Nancy Feser. Citizens of Ukrainian origin suffered two times less - 181. There were not only insults and damage to property, but also acts of violence. The Minister called on the police to protect all fellow citizens, regardless of their national roots.

Jerome at Military Land reported