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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.

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

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

Eastern Ukraine map update

����⚠️ 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.

��❗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.

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

��⚡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.

AntiBMC:
The rate at which people die from high blood pressure increased with this present administration.

When the presidential hospital in Aso Rock doesn't have common paracetamol, it'd be foolish to be expecting top-notch medical help anywhere else in the country.

The only thing all the agencies have learnt to do is teach their spokespersons how to debunk reports. You will see a PRO, who was probably relaxing in his house when an incident occurred, coming to debunk eyewitness reports like he/she was there when the entire thing happened. Failed nation.

I think it’s important for Nigerians to learn to take care of their health. Our diet is heavy. That’s the reason you see many ladies and men walking about big tummy. And the culture of “big man” “big madam” really has to stop.

We eat late dinners, coupled with madam stuffing you full with heavy meals as a show of care... it’s madness!

We have to change our ways. Eliminate cultures that impact negatively on our health. Stop late night meals. Start the day with healthy meals..(not sweet margarine bread..please!). We are in a tropical region... so many lovely fruits and vegetables to start the day

Advocate better eating habits. Stuffing full on “agege” bread with hydrogenated oil called margarine will certainly lead to early cardiac issues.

See your high school sweetheart turn to obese “mumster” after marriage all due to no exercise and meals heavy on calories, coupled with lack of self care after childbirth.

Though “buba” and “agbada” are helping cover our lards, it will not help you when cardiac issues arise as a result of poor diet and meals heavy of calories.

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.

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.

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

���� 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

����⚡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.

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

Any one notice how threads that do not align with the western narrative on events never make it to the front page?

Some are even deactivated for not kowtowing to this narrative.

An examples is this thread I have been using to post Russo-Ukraine war update. This thread are mostly sourced from pro-Russian channels as a counter to the western-dominated news on Nairaland so as people here can get a balanced view of events as they unfold. This thread has been deactivated by BOT or Mod for 24hrs ? I have no clue as to why it was deactivated for 24hrs. I sent the mod an email for clarification, if I had broken any forum rules. I am not holding my breath for a reply. It may never come. it’s somehow gives me the understanding that this site is somewhat part of the “multiplier” complex running on strict western narrative only.

https://www.nairaland.com/7066584/russo-ukraine-war-update

This is intended to make Nairalanders under how propaganda is multiplied and how it filters down to our local media and, even Nairaland forum

How Global News Agencies and
Western Media Report on Geopolitics

It is one of the most important aspects of our media system, and yet hardly known to the public: most of the international news coverage in Western media is provided by only three global news agencies based in New York, London and Paris.

AP. AFP. REUTERS

The key role played by these agencies means Western media often report on the same topics, even using the same wording. In addition, governments, military and intelligence services use these global news agencies as multipliers to spread their messages around the world.

A study of the Syria war coverage by nine leading European newspapers clearly illustrates these issues: 78% of all articles were based in whole or in part on agency reports, yet 0% on investigative research. Moreover, 82% of all opinion pieces and interviews were in favor of a US and NATO intervention, while propaganda was attributed exclusively to the opposite side.

https://swprs.org/the-propaganda-multiplier/

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

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

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

����❗Russian troops have begun the battle for Donbass, which they have been preparing for so long - Zelensky

���� Azovstal after Russian Airstrikes
FAB3000

�� Russian President Vladimir Putin:

•The Russian Federation withstood the unprecedented pressure of sanctions from the West.

• After a short hype, demand in Russia has returned to normal.

•The attempt of the West to carry out the collapse of the banking system and the shortage of goods with the help of sanctions failed.

• It is important to support domestic demand, to avoid its contraction.

• It is necessary to support the Russians and cope with the inflationary wave.

����⚡ Special Forces from Russia and DPR took control of one of the sectors of Azovstal and are cleaning it up.

���� A considerable number of the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed, some were captured, including a high-ranking SOF officer who owns many valuable information.

Weapons captured from them

����⚡Epic footage of missile strikes on the US and NATO weapons base in Lviv

���� A bunch of captured Ukrainian soldiers

���� Russian troops occupied Kremennaya in the morning after the battle.

���� Another captured Ukrainian military near Izyum. And these are professional contractors. not mobilized

����⚡Strikes in Lviv. Building is on fire near the railway junction of Lviv.