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Russo-Ukraine War - 05 April 2023 - Day 406

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

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. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) 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. 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]

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that on the 28th March 2023, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that a move to issuing some of Russia's sovereign debt in foreign currencies was 'under development'. The move is almost certainly an indication that Russia anticipates external financial support from foreign states it deems 'friendly'.

Once the development is completed, investors from other countries will be able to purchase Russia's sovereign debt and therefore finance some of Russia's future budget shortfalls. Such investors would be indirectly financing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In recent months, Russia's own banks have been the main entities purchasing Russian state debt. However, they are unlikely to have the capacity to fully fund anticipated future budget deficits. Russian officials likely see external debt issuance as one way to plug gaps in Russia's finances as they plan for a long war in Ukraine. However, it remains unclear whether Russia will succeed in implementing the measures.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day, Russian forces launched 3x missile and 21x air strikes, launched more than 35 attacks from MLRS on the positions of our troops and the civilian infrastructure of populated areas. The probability of launching missile and air strikes on the entire territory of Ukraine remains high.

Russia continues to focus its main efforts on conducting offensive actions on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mar'yinka directions - more than 40x attacks were repelled during the day. The settlements of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mar'yinka remain at the epicenter of hostilities.
Volyn', Polissya, Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: the operational situation has not changed significantly, and no signs of formations of Russian offensive groups have been detected. During the day, Russian forces shelled the settlements of Turya, Leonivka, and Pechenyuga in the Chernihiv Oblast, Seredyna-Buda, Stukalyvka, Bezsalivka, and Volfyne in the Sumy Oblast, as well as Udy, Chervona Zorya, Veterinarne, Kozacha Lopan, Liptsi, Neskuchne, Zybyne, and Bochkovye in the Kharkiv Oblast.
Kupyansk axis: the settlements of Topoli, Dvorichna, Masyutivka, Kupyansk, Kucherivka of the Kharkiv Oblast and Novoselivske and Stelmakhivka of the Luhansk Oblast were hit by Russian fire.
Lyman axis: Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the areas of the settlement of Nevske and Serebryansk Forestry. Makiivka, Nevske and Bilogorivka in the Luhansk Oblast and Terny, Zarichne, Torske, Spirne and Rozdolivka in the Donetsk Oblast were hit by artillery fire.
Bakhmut axis: Russia is trying to take full control of the city of Bakhmut, and continues to storm it. They led unsuccessful offensive actions near Bohdanivka and Ivanivskyi. During the day, units of the Ukrainian defense forces repelled about 15x Russian attacks on the indicated section of the frontline. Vasyukivka, Minkivka, Orihovo-Vasylivka, Novomarkove, Hryhorivka, Bakhmut, Ivanivske, Chasiv Yar, Toretsk and Shumy of the Donetsk Oblast were affected by Russian shelling.
Avdiivka and Mar'yinka axes: Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the Novokalynovoy, Avdiivka and Mar'yinka areas. At the same time, Russian forces shelled Novokalynovka, Avdiivka, Pervomaiske, Krasnohorivka, Georgiivka, Maryinka, and Pobyeda in the Donetsk Oblast.
Shakhtars'ke axis: Russian forces did not conduct offensive operations. Unmanned aerial vehicles were actively used to adjust artillery fire. The Russian adversary shelled the settlements of Novomykhailivka, Vugledar, Prechistivka and Velyka Novosilka.
Zaporizhzhya and Kherson axes: Russia is building up defensive lines and positions with fortification. They carried out shelling of populated areas. Among them are Vremivka and Novopil' of the Donetsk Oblast; Malynivka, Gulyaipilske, Mala Tokmachka, Novopavlivka, and Kamianske in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, as well as Novooleksandrivka, Kozatske, Mykolaivka, Ivanivka, Antonivka, Stepanivka, and Chornobayivka in the Kherson Oblast.

The Russian occupiers are strengthening the counter-intelligence and police regime in the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson Oblast. In particular, in the Kakhovsky district, since March 23 of this year, the armed forces of the Russian Federation have been carrying out raids to check the personal phones of the local population for the presence of photo and video materials, as well as "forbidden" content. During such inspections, the Russian occupiers search the homes of local residents. First of all, those who make phone calls to free Ukraine are subjected to inspection.

Aviation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces made 12x strikes on areas where the Russian occupiers were concentrated during the day.

At the same time, Ukrainian defenders on the eastern front destroyed a Russian Ka-52x helicopter. Units of missile and artillery troops hit 2x Russian control points, 2x ammunition warehouses, 2x positions of anti-aircraft defense equipment and 4x radio electronic warfare stations.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that war correspondent Alexander Simonov, during a speech on television, confirmed that the fighters of the Wagner PMC, after the liberation of the central district of Bakhmut, occupied school No. 11, advanced to the Metallurg stadium and entrenched themselves on the street. Sibirtsev. Even the day before, they began moving to the west, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) are holding private and high-rise buildings.

Administrative and industrial facilities are already occupied by the Wagnerites, while the threat of a Ukrainian counterattack remains. There are now 10-15 thousand enemy soldiers in the city, and about 80 thousand in the agglomeration itself.

The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine constantly transfers reinforcements here along the highway from Slavyansk, trying to prevent the encirclement of their group in Bakhmut. Fierce battles continue.

Also in the evening, columnist Boris Rozhin reported that two Georgian mercenaries who fought on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, David Kuchukiani and Vakhtang Barabadze, were liquidated in the battles for the city today.

The situation in other directions

The Russian army in a day struck 89 artillery positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and 112 areas of accumulation of manpower and equipment. In Lastochkino and Novomikhailovka, the command and observation posts of the 110th and 95th Ukrainian brigades were destroyed.

Fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a MiG-29 of the Armed Forces of Ukraine over Selidovo, and air defense systems intercepted 13 missiles from HIMARS and 22 drones, as well as HARM ammunition.

About 120 Ukrainian servicemen, three armored combat vehicles, four vehicles and a D-30 howitzer were killed in the Kupyansky and Limansky directions in a day. In the Seversk area, an enemy attack was thwarted by artillery and flamethrower systems.

Meanwhile, 410 AFU soldiers were killed or wounded in the Donetsk sector of the front, two armored personnel carriers, a tank, four armored combat vehicles, two vehicles and a D-30 gun were destroyed.

In the South-Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Kherson directions, up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen, an armored car, four cars, and an Akatsiya self-propelled gun were liquidated per day.

The activities of three sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the enemy in the areas of the settlements of Vladimirovka, Mirnoye and Nikolskoye were stopped. At the same time, two ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were blown up in Novomikhailovka and Gulyaipole.