Now I understand why this Ukraine soldiers were holding up in the complex.

It is large and wide

It will require a systematic and proper mop up operation

����⚡MLRS are fired at the fortified areas of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from near Donetsk

����⚡ Explosions are heard in the vicinity of Nikolaev

owagbeba:
����⚡An air alert has been declared on the territory of all regions of Ukraine.

Imagine being in a military Command & Control centre in Kyiv, the air raid klaxons go off with distant rumbles and explosions going off, and then you watch the situation map on the central screen in the centre goes all red.....mehn, that's scary.

Russia Has Launched Phase Two Of Its Operation In Ukraine

The neo-conservative 'Institute for the Study of War' (ISW) releases daily 'Russian offensive campaign assessments'. A lot of people in Washington DC seem to read them.

They are of course pure propaganda only slightly aligned with the actual tactical situation in the Ukraine. I confess that I read them once a while purely for my amusement.

Their main source seems to be the Ukrainian defense ministry which is of course lying left and right about the state of the war.

This for example is from their assessment from Sunday, April 17:

Russian forces continued to amass on the Izyum axis and in eastern Ukraine, increasingly including low-quality proxy conscripts, in parallel with continuous – and unsuccessful – small-scale attacks. Russian forces did not take any territory on the Izyum axis or in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts in the past 24 hours. Russian forces deploying to eastern Ukraine reportedly continue to face significant morale and supply issues and appear unlikely to intend, or be able to, conduct a major offensive surge in the coming days. Deputy Ukrainian Minister of Defense Anna Malyar stated on April 17 that the Russian military is in no hurry to launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine, having learned from their experience from Kyiv – but Russian forces continue localized attacks and are likely unable to amass the cohesive combat power necessary for a major breakthrough.
I have no idea how anyone could have come to those conclusions.

"appear unlikely to intend, or be able to, conduct a major offensive surge in the coming days"
and

"the Russian military is in no hurry to launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine"
and

likely unable to amass the cohesive combat power necessary for a major breakthrough
What are these guys smoking?

Yesterday evening heavy artillery attacks on Ukrainian frontline positions announced the launch of the expected offensive.

Belatedly ISW took note of that:

ISW @TheStudyofWar - 23:40 UTC · Apr 18, 2022
#Donetsk and #Luhansk Oblasts Update:
#Russian forces likely began large-scale offensive operations in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts on April 18. These offensive operations are unlikely to be dramatically more successful than failed operations around #Kyiv.
Today the start of phase two of the Russian operation was officially announced:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow was starting a new stage of what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine which he predicted would be a significant development.
"Another stage of this operation (in eastern Ukraine) is beginning and I am sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation", Lavrov said in an interview with the India Today TV channel.

After the heavy artillery preparations last night several offensives were launched into multiple directions.

A major one is from Izyum (in the upper left on the map) towards Slovyansk. The distance between the two cities is 27 miles (47km).

Several villages on that route have already been taken. The "low quality proxy conscript" who "continue to face significant morale and supply issues", as ISW claims, might have something to do with that.

Phase two will include the liberation of all of Donetzk and Luhansk as demarcated on the above map by the dashed red lines.

I expect the whole phase two operation to take four to six weeks with maybe some extra time necessary to clean up the well defended cities Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.

Questions remain. Will there be a third phase? What will it include?

www.moonofalabama.org

����⚡Krasnopol high-precision artillery ammunition destroys the command post of a motorized infantry unit of the Ukrainian army. According to the Ministry of Defense, the headquarters was located in an industrial building.

���� Five Ukrainian soldiers from Azovstal chose life and laid down their arms

Leaflets previously dropped on the Mariupol industrial zone helped them make this choice

�� The guard ship "Donbass" of Ukrainian Navy was flooded in the port of Mariupol

Anna news

Over the past 24 hours, there have been reports of the start of large-scale offensive operations by the allied forces in the Donbass. Moreover, from various sources, including official ones. The first, as always, was the President of Ukraine V. Zelensky. In the traditional nightly address, he stated that Russia had begun the "battle for the Donbass." According to him, now there are significant forces of the Russian army, which were "preparing for the offensive."

Indirectly, what is happening at the front was confirmed by Russian Foreign Minister S. Lavrov. He spoke diplomatically in an interview with one of the Indian TV channels: “The Russian operation in the east of Ukraine is aimed at - as already announced - the complete liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics. This operation will continue, the next phase of this special operation is now beginning. And it seems to me that now there will be an important moment during this special operation, ”said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

In military language, this is called fire preparation for an attack or offensive. Considering the powerful fire strikes that were inflicted in the area of ​​the Donbass arc. This is confirmed by the statistics voiced by General I. Konashenkov during daily briefings at the Ministry of Defense.

characteristic detail. Whereas missile and air strikes have lately been carried out mainly against military targets in various regions of Ukraine, including the western regions, now the enemy on the front line is being subjected to massive fire damage. During the night and evening, high-precision missiles of the Russian Aerospace Forces suppressed 13 strongholds of Ukrainian troops in the areas of Slavyansk, Barvenkovo ​​and Popasnaya.

A powerful task force of the RF Armed Forces with allies of the DPR and LPR is concentrated in these areas. Active hostilities are unfolding on the western bank of the Seversky Donets River to the south and west of Izyum, as well as in other areas of the Kharkov region. From the south, the offensive is supported by the forces of a new strike force in the steppe near Gulyai-Pole, which was also formed during the regrouping of troops during the operational pause.

There is information about high-intensity battles in the area south of Izyum and about the movements of mobile units of Russian troops east of Gulyai-Polye. First of all, we are talking about artillery preparation and intensive work of bomber and attack aircraft. The intensity of the sorties is confirmed by Western intelligence data. Artillery and missile strikes are carried out both on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of ​​the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, and along all Ukrainian positions on the eastern bank of the Seversky Donets. The concentration of these strikes is several times higher than what happened a few days ago.



All this can only mean one thing - the offensive of the allied forces in several directions begins. They can be conditionally related to the Donbas arc. In the northern sector, units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the LPR occupied Kremennaya. For this settlement there were fights for several days. Parts and subunits of the Armed Forces of Ukraine tried to organize defensive lines in this area, even to counterattack. For several days, real artillery duels were going on in this area. Then, under the onslaught of armored tactical groups, with air support, the enemy suffered significant losses. Intense battles took place in the area of ​​the Dolgonkoye settlement. The enemy is well fortified, but the aviation and artillery of the Russian army grinds strong points and places of accumulation of equipment and personnel. Only yesterday there were a record number of such strikes - 1260. The units of the DPR and LPR are successfully advancing on the Severodonetsk-Avdeevka line. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the National Battalions, which are being squeezed into a vice, receive reinforcements from among the hastily mobilized volunteer brigades. In addition, the enemy grouping in the Donbas is still receiving equipment and weapons from NATO countries.

This should be said specifically. Some, especially zealous political scientists and experts are perplexed and persistently call for the bombing of all bridges across the Dnieper, the destruction of railway stations and other routes for the transport of equipment and weapons from the western regions of Ukraine in order to cut off the right-bank part of the country from the left-bank. From a military point of view, bombing the junction stations and bridges across the Dnieper is not particularly difficult for the Aerospace Forces. Our military has recently proved this very convincingly. But then what to do with the inevitable consequences in the form of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe?



The territory of the entire left-bank Ukraine is still under the control of the Ukrainian "authorities". Pinpoint strikes have already destroyed most of Ukraine's oil refineries and fuel storage facilities. In fact, the mass use of vehicles for the delivery of humanitarian goods is very difficult. The railway remains the only way to supply at least some goods to these territories, as well as the only way to evacuate the population from these areas. This is first. Modern methods and methods of conducting reconnaissance make it possible to track in time the entire route of delivery and unloading of military echelons to specified areas. These are the places where the attacks are being made. Now imagine that Russia bombed bridges and railways. Will it stop the delivery of military cargo and the same equipment? Of course not. It will make it difficult, yes, but it will not stop.

Speaking at the board of the defense department, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation S. Shoigu emphasized that during the second stage of the special military operation, the army uses new, non-standard possibilities for conducting combat operations. The issues of military transport logistics, in my opinion, are no exception.

Gennady ALEKHIN , special correspondent for ANNA-News.

LNR troops develop offensive in Donbass
The people's militia of the LPR is developing an offensive in the Donbass in the area of ​​​​the 29th stronghold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine


LUGANSK, April 20 - RIA Novosti. The people's militia of the LPR continues to develop the offensive in the area of ​​​​the 29th stronghold of the Ukrainian security forces, Dmitry Medvedev, an employee of the press service of the defense department of the republic, told RIA Novosti.
“The enemy is snapping back quite harshly. Today he dug in not only here, on the first line of defense, but also on the second, and now, according to the good old technique, he occupies positions in residential buildings. You yourself see what serious fortifications are here, dug into the ground for five, eight, ten meters, and that's not counting the fact that most of the fortifications are filled with a thick layer of concrete," the source said.
He noted that it would be very difficult to knock out an opponent “from a swoop”, therefore the troops of the republic work “methodically”, artillery and Russian aviation help.
“We are slowly loosening up and moving forward,” Medvedev concluded.
The military of the LPR recaptured the 29th checkpoint, an important stronghold of the Ukrainian troops in the area of ​​​​the village of Novotoshkovsky, on April 6. The Armed Forces of Ukraine held these positions for seven years. As stated by the official representative of the People's Militia of the LPR Ivan Filiponenko , the checkpoint will be converted to organize an offensive.
Destroyed military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson region - RIA Novosti, 1920, 04/13/2022
April 13, 08:00
Western society is preparing for the third world
Units of the People's Militia of the LPR, with fire support from the Russian army, are finishing the cleansing of the settlements of Popasnaya and Rubizhnoye . Only the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysichansk , as well as several adjacent villages, remain under Kiev 's control . Refugees are regularly evacuated from these areas to the territory of the LPR.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine . President Vladimir Putin called its goal "the protection of people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The army completed the main tasks of the first stage - significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal of the operation in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass . On April 19, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the start of the next phase of the special operation.

��⚡Western partners did not transfer any military aircraft to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"We haven't had any deliveries of any aircraft yet," he said in an interview with French TV channel BFMTV, a recording of which was released on Thursday by the president's office. At the same time, Zelensky indicated that he was counting on the provision of heavy military equipment by partners and saw attempts to increase such assistance. "But for now, we have what we have," he added.

����⚡LPR troops reached the borders of the Kharkov region and cleared the road to Kharkov.

��❗Shoigu reports to Putin:

▪️At the time of the encirclement of Mariupol, the number of the AFU grouping, foreign mercenaries was about 8,100 people;

▪️More than 2,000 militants are "securely blocked" on the territory of Azovstal, 1478 have already surrendered;

▪️The Russian army and units of the Donbass republics in Mariupol took all measures to protect the population;

▪️ Militants in Mariupol 4 times covered themselves with civilians when they retreated, driving them out of the basements of houses;

▪️More than 142,000 civilians have been evacuated from Mariupol.

����⚠️ GRAPHIC
in the first days of second phase, a lot of infantry and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed

Many soldiers were captured. The allied troops continue their offensive against Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, and from the side of Izyum another group of troops advances towards them. In the photo, the destroyed unit in the Slavic direction, ours buried them in the cemetery.

Eastern Ukraine map update

��⚡The cancellation of the "frontal" assault on "Azovstal" is not at all the cancellation of air, missile and artillery strikes on "Azovstal"

�� In the Polish city of Siedlce, a monument to the fallen Soviet soldiers was demolished

Russia getting to the boundary of kharkiv is a mean fit

Russia attacked areas of concentration of Ukrainian manpower and military equipment near Shnurki;

Russia attacked areas of concentration of Ukrainian manpower and military equipment near Novonikolaevka;

Russia attacked areas of concentration of Ukrainian manpower and military equipment near Aleksandrovka;

Russia attacked military assets of the AFU in Andreevka with a high-precision air-launched missile;

Russia attacked military assets of the AFU in Yazykovo with a high-precision air-launched missile;

Russia attacked military assets of the AFU in Kramatorsk with a high-precision air-launched missile;

Russia attacked military assets of the AFU in Shevchenko with a high-precision air-launched missile.

���� 65 Arsenal - a storage base for artillery and rocket ammunition of the Central Rocket and Artillery Directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Amazing history of the arsenal. It was built in 1918 in Balakleya to supply the Red Army. Our army was supplied with ammunition from here during the Second World War. After the collapse of the USSR, the arsenal was handed over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. And it became the largest BC warehouse in the country.

Since 2014, the arsenal has been supplying cannon and rocket artillery shells to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbass. These shells killed people who live in the DPR and LPR.

Now the Russian Army has taken the arsenal

���� SITUATION ON THE EASTERN FRONT AS OF APRIL 21, 2022

����⚡During the second phase of the special operation, the Russian army plans to establish full control over the Donbass and southern Ukraine, to provide a corridor to the Crimea - Deputy Commander of the Central Military District

����⚠️ GRAPHIC WARNING
Aftermath of Russian attack on hohol stronghold

����⚡"The Russian military quickly adapted to the ambush tactics of Ukrainian units, which they used in the first days of the war," - from today's statement, Deputy. com. Central Military District Rustam Minnekaev.

����⚡Control over the south of Ukraine will give the Russian armed forces one more outlet to Transnistria, where "there are facts of oppression of the Russian-speaking population" - Deputy Commander of the Central Military District Rustam Minnekaev

owagbeba:
����⚡Control over the south of Ukraine will give the Russian armed forces one more outlet to Transnistria, where "there are facts of oppression of the Russian-speaking population" - Deputy Commander of the Central Military District Rustam Minnekaev

So goes half of ukraine.

Russia will aim to take East and south of Ukraine

����⚡Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed the Ukrainian S-300 air defense system and up to 80 nationalists overnight

Rocket troops and artillery completed 1,285 fire missions during the night

���� Russian SOF hunting hohols at night

owagbeba:
����⚡Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed the Ukrainian S-300 air defense system and up to 80 nationalists overnight

Rocket troops and artillery completed 1,285 fire missions during the night

So Ukraine still has s 300 playing around
That is interesting to know

���� The European Commission allows payment for Russian gas in rubles, but under certain conditions, writes Reuters.