Russo-Ukraine War - 13 April 2022 - Day 49
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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.
“These are real men who have chosen the path of war. Do not make heroes of deserters. They have chosen the path of shame and it is impossible to glorify these people” Azov’s commander in Mariupol, Denys Prokopenko, said. “We will continue to carry out combat tasks,” added Marine commander Serhii Volyna. “Our morale is strong. We know what we are doing and why we are here. We will do everything necessary to complete the battle task.”
Russian military vessel "Moskva" was reportdly struck by a Neptune anti-ship missile. Unconfirmed as of now, he writes “the cruiser is on fire and there is a storm at sea.” the "Moskva" was one of the ships involved in the Attack on Snake Island. It was Moskva and Vasily Bykov that attacked the Island with their deck guns after Ukrainian soldier Roman Hrybov replied "Russian warship, go fuck yourself" when told to surrender. Adviser to the President's Office, Oleksiy Arestovych, said the ship is on fire. He said 510 crew members are on board the vessel.
The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia together with the Ukrainian PM visited Borodianka, Kyiv Oblast, severely damaged by Russian invaders. Zelenskyy thanked presidents"for reliable support of each of you". Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has branded Russia’s war on Ukraine “terrorism” as he visited Kyiv with his counterparts from the Baltics. “This is not war, this is terrorism. If someone sends planes and soldiers to bomb residential areas and kill civilians, that is not war. It is cruelty, banditry, terrorism,” Duda said at a press conference with Zelenskyy.
Biden stood by his characterisation of Russia’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide”, saying Putin “is trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian”. "I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian and the evidence is mounting,” Biden told reporters. “We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me,” he said.
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has said that if she were elected to office, then she would propose closer links between NATO and Russia once the war is over. “As soon as the Russian-Ukrainian war is over and has been settled by a peace treaty, I will call for the implementation of a strategic rapprochement between NATO and Russia,” Le Pen told a news conference packed with international reporters.
French President Emmanuel Macron steered clear of calling Russia’s actions in Ukraine genocide. “I am prudent with terms today … Genocide has a meaning. The Ukrainian people and Russian people are brotherly people. It’s madness what’s happening today. It’s unbelievable brutality and a return to war in Europe,” Macron replied when asked on France-2 television about Biden’s use of the term.
“But at the same time, I look at the facts, and I want to continue to try the utmost to be able to stop the war and restore peace. I’m not sure if the escalation of words serves our cause,” he added. Macron did, however, accuse Moscow of having “unleashed an excessively brutal war in a unilateral way” and said it had been “established that war crimes have been committed by the Russian army”.
Zelenskyy denounced French leader Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to call killings in Ukraine “genocide” and his reference to Russians as a “brotherly” people. “Such things are very painful for us, so I will definitely do my best to discuss this issue with him,” Zelensky said at a press conference.
Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that there is currently nothing to talk about the results of negotiations with Ukraine. Representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that the Ukrainian side in contacts with Russia continues to make efforts to delay the negotiations. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made yet another attempt to contact Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu a few days ago, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing. According to him, "the Russians had no interest" in the call of the Pentagon chief.
Ministry of Defense of Russia stated "The Russian Defense Ministry sees attempts of sabotage and strikes by Ukrainian troops on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation. If such incidents continue, the RF Armed Forces will strike at decision-making centers, including in Kyiv, from which the Russian army has so far refrained." The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation recorded attempts of sabotage and strikes by Ukrainian troops on Russian territory. If the trend continues, the Russian army will strike at Ukrainian decision-making centers, including in Kyiv, which the Russian armed forces have so far refrained from doing, Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing. “We see attempts of sabotage and strikes by Ukrainian troops on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation,” he said. The representative of the Ministry of Defense added that in the event of continued strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the territory of the Russian Federation, the Russian side would inflict retaliatory attacks on the decision-making centers of Ukraine, including those located in Kyiv.
Command posts, ammunition depots and areas of concentration of military equipment of the Ukronazis were the targets of the operational-tactical aviation of the RF Armed Forces, the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov said. Russian missile forces and artillery hit another 693 targets in Ukraine as part of a military special operation. He specified that 676 accumulations of personnel and equipment, 11 command posts, five warehouses of logistics were hit.
Moscow claims 1,026 Ukrainian soldiers have surrendered in the besieged southeastern port city of Mariupol. Ukraine’s defence ministry said it had no information about the surrender of a Ukrainian marine brigade in Mariupol that was earlier reported by Moscow. The mayor of the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko, said in televised remarks that more than 100,000 people remained in the city awaiting evacuation.
Volunteers who joined the ranks of the Cossack units to participate in Russia's special operation in Ukraine are confident in the rightness of their cause. The ataman of the All-Russian Cossack Society Nikolai Doluda drew attention to this , evaluating the results of the combat coordination of the Cossacks of the Don and Taurida detachments.
Foreign mercenaries fighting on the side of neo-Nazis in Ukraine use drugs. There is information about the pumping of foreign legionnaires by the Ukrainian leadership with intoxicating substances to maintain morale. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov , announced this.
Positional battles were conducted in Kharkov, the work of artillery is observed. Explosions thunder every day in dozens, mostly in the suburbs. The head of defense of Kharkov reports civilian casualties, but at the same time states that there are no reasons for evacuation. Russian troops were firmly entrenched in this direction, continue to advance on Slavyansk. Artillery is constantly working in the LPR from both sides. The people's militia of the republic with volunteers from Chechnya clean up Rubizhne and advance to Popasnaya. Fighting was also going on in the direction of Lisichansk and on the outskirts of Severodonetsk.
In Avdiivka, Ukrainian resources report " fierce clashes " and an attack by the RF Armed Forces. Active artillery work is underway. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, in turn, subject the areas of Donetsk to massive shelling. Explosions in Yasinovataya, Tekstilshchiki, Petrovsky district, Aleksandrovka, etc. It was also reported about the attack of Russian forces in the Bolshaya Novoselka area. Attacks are being made in the area of Gulyai-Polye and Ugledar. To the north of the settlement The canopies during the 5-hour battle of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were able to knock out the Armed Forces of Ukraine from positions, equipment and manpower of the enemy were destroyed. This defeat was confirmed by the speaker of the Zaporozhye Regional Military Administration.
In Mariupol, the "cleansing" of the Ilyich plant continues, from where a huge number of marines from the 36th brigade surrendered yesterday. In total, on the evening of April 13, they reportedly surrendered 1350 Marines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The port area was completely under the control of Russian forces. The authorities of the Kursk region reported the shelling from small arms at a checkpoint in the village of Gordeevka on the border with the Sumy region of Ukraine. The firing points were suppressed, there were no casualties or destruction on the Russian side.
“Nobody will stop Russia except Ukraine with heavy weapons,” the Ukrainian president said in a video address, calling for heavy artillery, armoured vehicles, air defence systems and combat aircraft, in particular. “Western countries have everything to make it happen. The final victory over the tyranny and the number of people saved depends on them,” he added. Zelenskyy also warned Russia still has the capacity to attack other states, claiming “Poland, Moldova, Romania, and the Baltic states will become the next targets if the freedom of Ukraine falls.”
Russia will view any United States and NATO vehicles transporting weapons on Ukrainian territory as “legal military targets”, Sergei Ryabkov, the country’s deputy foreign minister told the TASS news agency.
A number of Czech RM-70 Vampire MRLS were transferred to Ukraine. Just like the transfer of Dana SPGs, a number of journalists and researchers quickly became aware of these transfers but didn't publish the info. Poland has dispatched reportedly 100 T-72 #tanks (some with upgraded passive IR sights) to Ukraine. Equivalent to a full tank brigade/three battalions. Wonder if US has arranged faster M1 backfill... Also BWP-1 IFVs, probably same as Ukrainian BMP-1s. Minister Florence Parly announced that France will provide Ukraine with additional military capabilities, adding to the existing 100 million euros in equipment donations.
The ruling coalition in Germany agreed on the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine. This was announced on April 13 by Markus Faber , an expert of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) faction on defense issues. “I am glad that we, the FDP faction, were able to convince our coalition partners of this ,” Faber wrote. According to him, now Germany will quickly supply heavy weapons to Ukraine.
Russia was resupplying Ukraine with more armor than the West. There were visually confirmed some 200 captured tanks and 282 captured AFVs + IFVs. This armor flow is almost one-directional and more than Ukraine has lost in total (by one count, 110 tanks, 155 AFV+IFV).
The White House announcned it was "authorizing an additional $800 million in weapons, ammunition, and other security assistance to Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has used the weapons we are providing to devastating effect. As Russia prepares to intensify its attack in the Donbas region, the United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself. This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine. These new capabilities include artillery systems, artillery rounds, and armored personnel carriers. I have also approved the transfer of additional helicopters."
The list of weapons in the latest US aid package is unusually broad and includes some new systems:
- 18 155mm Howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds
- 10 AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radars
- 2 AN/MPQ-64 air surveillance radars
- 300 Switchblade tactical UAVs
- 500 Javelin missiles and thousands of other anti-armor systems
- 200 M113 Armored personnel carriers
- 100 Armored high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles
- 11 Mi-17 helicopters
- Unmanned coastal defense vessels
- chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear protective equipment
- medical equipment
- 30,000 sets of body armor and helmets
- More than 2,000 optics and laser rangefinders
- C-4 explosives and demolition equipment for obstacle clearing
- M18A1 claymore anti-personnel munitions
Oryx reported Russia is now visually confirmed to have lost 500 tanks since it began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. This are the tanks for which there is a visual proof. Probably there are other couple of hundreds not visually confirmed. Tanks and material looses are one thing but they most probably lost a lot of experienced crew with those tanks because Russian/Soviet tanks aren't exactly famous for crew survivability in case of successful penetration. Some 2800 were active before the war, and 500 of them are now destroyed or captured. Over 10,000 are in storage. Those 10K in storage are older and obsolete and will require months to get moving.
Newly released Maxar Technologies satellite imagery has shown a convoy of military vehicles in southeastern parts of Ukraine in recent days, and ground forces moving towards Russia’s border with Ukraine, likely in preparation for an offensive. In Ukraine, Maxar said it had noted convoys of military equipment travelling in and near the Donbas region – adding they comprised about 200 vehicles including tanks, artillery and armoured personnel carriers.
Finland’s prime minister has said the country will make a decision about whether to apply to join the 30-member NATO transatlantic military alliance in the next few weeks. “There are different perspectives to apply [for] NATO membership or not to apply and we have to analyse these very carefully,” Sanna Marin told reporters in Stockholm on Wednesday during a joint news conference with her Swedish counterpart. “But I think our process will be quite fast, it will happen in weeks,” she added.
Russia said that it had introduced sanctions against 398 members of the US Congress in retaliation against Washington’s punitive measures over Ukraine and said more sanctions would follow. The Russian foreign ministry said in a separate statement that it had introduced sanctions against 87 members of the Senate of Canada.
The World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations World Food Program and World Trade Organisation have called for urgent, coordinated action on food security, and urged countries to avoid export bans on food or fertiliser. In a joint statement, the leaders of the four institutions warned that the war in Ukraine was adding to existing pressures from the COVID-19 crisis, climate change and increased fragility and conflict, threatening millions of people worldwide.
Viktor Medvedchuk, considered Vladimir Putin's closest ally in Ukraine, has been captured in an operation that security services described as "lightning-fast and dangerous." He had already been placed under house arrest on charges of treason. At the start of the invasion, pro-Kremlin channels were spreading the rumor that the leader of the Opposition Platform - For Life, Viktor Medvedchuk had been extracted to Russia by the RU Spetsnaz. Zelenskyy offered to exchange him for Ukrainians held hostage by Russia. The fact he was left to be captured by Ukraine will be one more major egg on Putin's face. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it is too early for him to tell whether the footage of pro-Kremlin oligarch, Victor Medvedchuk, being detained by Ukraine is authentic. Medvedchuk , cannot be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war, because he is not a citizen of Russia, in addition, he has nothing to do with the special military operation being carried out on Ukrainian territory, the press secretary of the President of Russia told reporters on April 13 Dmitry Peskov.
“Individual freaks who call themselves “Ukrainian authorities” report that they want to extract evidence from Viktor Medvedchuk, then “quickly and fairly” convict him, and then exchange him for prisoners. These figures should carefully look around and firmly lock the doors at night so as not to be among the exchanged persons themselves," Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, wrote.
Jerome at Military Land reported
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