The territory controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Mariupol is shrinking
On April 9, the Russian armed forces struck an airbase in Mirgorod, hitting a MiG-29 fighter and an Mi-8 helicopter, the Defense Ministry reported. In addition, a large ammunition depot in the Dnipropetrovsk region was destroyed. The military department told about unsuccessful attempts to take out the leadership of the armed formation "Azov" from Mariupol by sea. This is the third attempt to evacuate militant commanders from the city. Experts note the prompt response of the Russian Navy.
Infrastructure strikes
On Saturday, April 9, the Russian Armed Forces continued attacks on the military infrastructure of the Ukrainian troops.
— Aerial reconnaissance found planes and helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the Mirgorod airfield in the Poltava region. As a result of the strike on the airbase, a MiG-29 fighter and a transport Mi-8 of the Ukrainian air forces were destroyed, as well as a warehouse with aviation weapons," said the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov.
High-precision air-launched missiles destroyed a large ammunition depot of the Ukrainian armed forces near the city of Novomoskovsk, Dnipropetrovsk region.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, during the night and day, tactical aviation and missile troops hit 150 military facilities of Ukraine. Among them are three multiple rocket launchers and four self-propelled artillery guns, command posts, ammunition depots, strong points and areas of concentration of troops.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the defeat of seven Ukrainian drones by air defense means during the day. Including the Bayraktar TB—2 strike near the village of Sakhnovshchyna in the Kharkiv region.
Igor Konashenkov said that 127 Ukrainian aircraft, 98 helicopters, 428 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,037 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 229 multiple rocket launchers, 886 field artillery and mortar guns, as well as 1941 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation.
Attempts to escape
The official representative of the Ministry of Defense told about the unsuccessful attempt to evacuate the leadership of the Azov group fighters by sea. On the evening of April 8, the Ukrainian cargo ship Apache under the Maltese flag was traveling in a caravan of ships from the Taganrog Bay to the Kerch Strait. Suddenly, he abruptly changed course and headed for Mariupol, conducting radio exchange with the coast. At the same time, signal fires were seen on the coast.
A warship of the Black Sea Fleet and border patrol ships conducted a warning firing along the ship's course. After refusing to stop on the Apache, artillery fire was opened to kill. As a result, a fire broke out on its stern and the Ukrainian cargo ship drifted, agreeing to fulfill the requirements of the border service.
— As a result of the fire impact, there are no casualties among the crew members on the ship, — Igor Konashenkov said. — By the forces of the ship's crew, the fire was extinguished independently. After the inspection, the Ukrainian cargo ship Apache with its crew is escorted to the port of Yeysk.
Before that, Kiev twice tried to evacuate the leadership of the Azov group from the surrounded city. On March 31, two Mi-8 helicopters that were flying out of Mariupol at night were shot down by portable anti-aircraft missile systems. Two more were destroyed during a second attempt on April 5.
— It is very important that the fleet worked this way, stopping an attempt to evacuate the garrison of Mariupol by sea, — said military expert Dmitry Boltenkov. — But this idea was initially doomed to failure. Our ships are on duty there not only in case of such raids. A reliable blockade in this direction is also necessary in order to prevent the supply of ammunition, supplies and reinforcements. The experience of wars, including World War II, shows that in the coastal direction, cities surrounded by land can hold for months if there is at least some possibility of supplying them by water. Therefore, measures have been taken for complete isolation.
The movement of civilian ships in the Sea of Azov is now under the closest control, Dmitry Boltenkov explained. This is necessary, among other things, to protect the bridge to the Crimea from possible provocations. Therefore, the strange maneuvers of the Ukrainian cargo ship were promptly detected and stopped.
The territory controlled in Mariupol by the AFU and the Azov grouping is shrinking. And neither by land, nor by air, nor by sea, the remnants of the garrison will not be able to escape. The defenders there do not have many options — to surrender, to leave the city along the agreed corridors or to die under artillery and air strikes, the expert concluded.
Humanitarian situation
On April 9, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev of the National Defense Control Center said that over the past day, almost 26.7 thousand people, including 3,447 children, were evacuated to Russia from dangerous areas of Ukraine, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, without the participation of Kiev.
— From Mariupol through the humanitarian corridor in the eastern direction, without any participation of the Ukrainian side, 134,299 people have already been rescued from the lawlessness organized by the nationalists, including 716 over the past day, - the general said.
According to him, the militants continue to hold 6,362 citizens from 13 countries. ️The Ukrainian authorities, under the threat of shelling and mine danger, block 77 ships from 18 countries in their ports.
— The Russian Federation is taking a full range of comprehensive measures to ensure civil navigation in the waters of the Black, Azov and Mediterranean Seas, — said Mizintsev. — Once again, we call on the International Maritime Organization, as well as the management of shipowners' companies to influence official Kiev for the immediate adoption of measures aimed at unblocking and ensuring the safe exit of foreign vessels from the ports of Ukraine.
Medical service
On April 9, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation told about the soldiers and officers who showed courage and dedication during the fighting.
A unit under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Paskar stormed a heavily fortified building during the liberation of one of the settlements. During the inspection, a cache of ammunition and weapons, including Javelin anti-tank missile systems, was found in the basement. While pursuing the retreating militants, the lieutenant colonel came under heavy mortar fire, receiving a shrapnel wound. Despite this, he continued to lead his unit until the nationalist formation was completely destroyed, the Defense Ministry noted.
Senior Sergeant Kirill Ivshin, together with his subordinates, acted as part of the tactical group of the howitzer division. During the tactical air assault in the enemy's rear, he skillfully organized artillery support, he himself more than once effectively directed and corrected fire. Russian soldiers under the command of a senior sergeant destroyed a battery of the Grad multiple launch rocket system, firing positions of D-30 howitzers and mortars, as well as more than 100 nationalists.
— In total, at the beginning of the special military operation, Senior Sergeant Kirill Ivshin completed more than 70 firing tasks, — the Ministry of Defense noted.
From the first day of the military operation, the head of the military hospital, Lieutenant Colonel of the medical service Arkady Smolnikov, is responsible for organizing medical support for one of the Russian groups. With a powerful fire attack on the hospital, where 25 wounded were then, he managed to competently organize the evacuation, avoiding losses.
— In the area of responsibility of the group, under the leadership of Arkady Smolnikov, more than 100 sanitary evacuations of wounded by road and air transport were organized, during which more than 1,000 wounded were evacuated, — the Russian military department noted.
Thanks to the courage, dedication and the highest professionalism of the lieutenant colonel, highly qualified medical care and prompt evacuation of victims were organized in the grouping of Russian troops, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
Anton Lavrov
