The complete capture of the city will be the largest military success since the beginning of the special operation, experts say
The troops of Russia and the Donetsk People's Republic continue to push the militants in Mariupol. As reported on April 8 in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in addition to them and the AFU units, there are many foreign mercenaries in the city — radio conversations in addition to Russian and Ukrainian are conducted in six languages. According to experts, the final capture of the city will be one of the biggest successes since the beginning of the operation. Over the past day, Russian air defense systems have shot down a Su-27 fighter, two helicopters and two drones.
Crowding the mercenaries
The joint operation of the DPR group of troops and units of the Russian Armed Forces to completely liberate the city of Mariupol continues.
— The results of radio intercepts show that in addition to the Nazis from the Azov battalion and the remnants of the Ukrainian armed forces, there are a significant number of foreign mercenaries in the occupied areas of the city, — said the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov. — Radio conversations, in addition to Ukrainian and Russian, are conducted in six other — mainly European — foreign languages.
Earlier in the day, video footage appeared from the commercial port of Mariupol occupied by the joint grouping, which for a long time remained one of the main hotbeds of resistance.
— When the assault on Mariupol ends, it can be considered the largest military success of a special military operation so far achieved, — military expert Vasily Kashin believes. — We are talking about taking the most heavily fortified of the Ukrainian fortress cities and destroying the grouping of the highest-quality Ukrainian troops numbering, according to various estimates, from 8 to 18 thousand people, possibly more.
Mariupol itself is a fairly large city, it was fortified stronger than any other, huge stocks of ammunition and food were concentrated there, the expert added.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Ilya Pitalev
Image source: iz.ru
— How long the last pockets of resistance will remain is already a technically difficult question. But when they are cleaned up, it will, of course, be a great success, which will lead to the release of significant forces of Russia and the Donetsk People's Republic for actions in other directions. Apparently, these will be actions to encircle the main Ukrainian group in the Donbass," suggested Vasily Kashin.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a Su-27 fighter jet in the Novomikhailovka area and Mi-24 and Mi-8 military helicopters near the village of Staraya Zburyevka were shot down by air defense means during the day. Two Bayraktar TB2 attack drones were also destroyed near Krivoy Rog. A missile strike was also carried out on aircraft at the Kanatovo military airfield in the Kirovograd region.
On the afternoon of April 8, high-precision air-launched missiles destroyed a large warehouse of rocket and artillery weapons near the village of Nemirovskoye, Odessa region.
During the night and day, 135 military facilities of Ukraine were hit by strikes of tactical aviation and missile troops. Among them are the Osa air defense missile launcher, five MLRS, more than a hundred strong points and areas of concentration of troops.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced the destruction of 126 aircraft, 421 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,024 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 225 MLRS installations, 876 field artillery and mortars, as well as 1,923 units of special military vehicles.
Threat of provocations
Izvestia has already told about the tragedy in Kramatorsk, where 50 people were killed and dozens more were injured by a rocket attack with cluster munitions.
— Tactical missiles "Tochka-U", the wreckage of which was found in the area of the Kramatorsk railway station, are used only by the Ukrainian armed forces, — said Igor Konashenkov. — The analysis of the radius of destruction of the warhead, as well as the characteristic position of the body of the tail part of the Tochka-U rocket, unequivocally confirm that its launch was carried out from the southwest direction from Kramatorsk.
According to military intelligence, one of the divisions of the 19th Missile Brigade, armed with Tochka-U missile systems, was located 45 km southwest of Kramatorsk, near the city of Dobropolye, Donetsk region, at the time of the attack on Kramatorsk.
Photo: Global Look Press/Keystone Press Agency/Cover Images
Image source: iz.ru
The Russian Defense Ministry has warned that the threat of Kiev's provocations and missile strikes on civilians remains high. The Ukrainian armed forces still possess a significant arsenal of Tochka-U missiles. Before the start of the special military operation, they had 20 Tochka-U complexes, each of which includes two launchers. During the special military operation, eight Ukrainian Tochka-U launchers and about 90% of missiles in arsenals have already been destroyed.
Humanitarian situation
On April 8, the head of the National Defense Control Center (NCSO), Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, spoke about the humanitarian situation in the combat areas. According to him, over the past day, 19,612 people, including 3,356 children, were evacuated to Russia from the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and dangerous regions of Ukraine without the participation of the Ukrainian authorities.
Every day from 10 am Moscow time, the Russian military opens humanitarian routes in the Kharkiv and Mariupol directions. At the same time, the Ukrainian side has never confirmed the guarantees of the security of the humanitarian corridor and continues to deliberately hinder the implementation of these humane initiatives, Mizintsev said.
The general called the most acute issue of the condition of Russian servicemen in captivity. He noted that neither Western countries nor international organizations, including the UN, OSCE, the International Committee of the Red Cross and others, reacted in any way to the statements of the Russian side about the monstrous tortures and brutal reprisals of Russian prisoners of war. On April 7, the NATO Secretary General called for investigating all reports of war crimes in Ukraine, but at the same time refused to comment on the materials about the murders of Russian prisoners of war, referring to the fact that "he does not know anything about it," despite the fact that The New York Times confirmed the authenticity of the relevant video the day before.
— Taking into account the numerous documented facts of gross violations of the Geneva Convention, testifying to the inhumane treatment of Russian prisoners of war, the Russian Federation is making every effort to ensure that real, truthful information about the atrocities of the Kiev regime becomes the property of the entire civilized world. To this end, all incoming reports of crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and nationalist battalions are carefully recorded,
and the generalized materials are sent to international organizations, including the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the OSCE and embassies of foreign countries," Mizintsev said.
The Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response continues to record the facts of the inhumane attitude of the Kiev authorities to civilians. Mikhail Mizintsev gave several examples.
Workers cover the windows with sandbags in the hospital
Image source: Photo: Global Look Press/Keystone Press Agency/Andriy Andriyenko
— In Kramatorsk, in the buildings of schools and kindergartens located on Yubileynaya Street, the AFU equipped firing positions and placed heavy weapons. Local residents under threat of execution were forced to build fortifications around multi—storey residential buildings, dig trenches and create fortified areas," the general said.
The head of the NCSO also separately focused on what happened on April 8 in Kramatorsk.
— The special cynicism of this atrocity is that the local authorities gathered people in advance near the station under the pretext of evacuation, — Mikhail Mizintsev said.
According to him, in Avdiivka, militants of nationalist formations have fully prepared an inhuman provocation with mass poisoning of residents of adjacent areas with toxic chemicals. To do this, the neo-Nazis mined storage facilities with toxic chemicals at a coke plant, which they plan to blow up when approaching the city of the formations of the Donetsk People's Republic.
— In Kharkiv, the local population remaining in the city is intimidated by the militants of nationalist formations, who open fire to kill civilians who have left their shelters in search of food and basic necessities, — continued the head of the NCSO. — Such actions of Kiev once again demonstrate an inhumane attitude to the fate of its own citizens and indicate a complete disregard for all norms of morality and international humanitarian law. At the same time, Western countries are not only aware of Kiev's gross violations of the provisions of the Geneva Convention, but are also trying to help the Ukrainian authorities hide all their cynical crimes against their people.
Mikhail Mizintsev drew attention to the blatant bias and one-sidedness of the coverage of events in Ukraine by international organizations and Western media.
— On the one hand, there is an inflated hysteria around the obviously fabricated events in Bucha, and on the other — complete silence about the concrete evidence of the Russian servicemen released from captivity about the numerous atrocities of neo-Nazis. All this testifies to objective signs of collusion against Russia," the general said.
Saved at the cost of his life
For courage and heroism, the title of Hero of the Russian Federation was posthumously awarded to Lieutenant of the Rosgvardiya Maxim Konets. He led a reconnaissance group that found and destroyed the saboteurs. During the battle, the lieutenant personally suppressed the firing point, which made it possible to surround the enemy. Even after receiving several wounds, he destroyed the grenade launcher and continued to lead his subordinates.
Photo: Rosgvardiya
Image source: iz.ru
— As a result of the courageous actions of Lieutenant Maxim Kontsov, the sabotage group of nationalists was destroyed, several saboteurs were captured, and the scouts of the Rosgvardiya seized and liquidated a large cache of weapons and ammunition. Having sacrificed himself, the officer of the Russian Guard saved his comrades," the press service noted.
Timely and lossless
On April 8, the Ministry of Defense told about soldiers and officers who showed courage and dedication during the fighting. The group of Lieutenant Nikita Yuganson, having organized a night ambush, managed to seize a car with Ukrainian spotters. Phones with programs for managing the artillery fire were seized from the prisoners and escorted to the headquarters. A few days later, the scouts found a prepared firing position for the battery and set up an ambush there. When the Ukrainian mortar crews appeared, they transmitted the coordinates of the positions. The militants were destroyed without firing a single shot at Russian positions, the Russian military department noted.
Photo: TASS/Bobylev Sergey
Image source: iz.ru
Senior Sergeant Vladislav Penkin, being in the head outpost of the column, found the militants ready to open fire. Instantly assessing the situation, the sergeant immediately destroyed three shooters, a grenade launcher and the position of a heavy machine gun. After being hit by a grenade launcher, Penkin's car caught fire. Even after being wounded, the sergeant continued the fight, ensuring the landing of his comrades from the burning BMD.
— The armed formation of Ukrainian radicals was destroyed, which allowed the column to arrive in a given area in a timely manner and without losses, — the Ministry of Defense noted.
The commander of the motorized rifle company, Senior Lieutenant Artem Fokin, attacked the detected positions of Ukrainian formations on the move. Having suffered heavy losses, the militants retreated to the settlement to the main forces. During the eight-hour battle, the motorized infantry managed to take him as well.
In the course of further advancing deep into the enemy's defense, a company under the command of Artem Fokin liberated four more settlements, the Russian military department noted. In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, the senior lieutenant's company has destroyed up to 15 armored vehicles, up to 7 tanks and more than 100 militants, the Defense Ministry added.
Roman Kretsul
