The AFU grouping in Donbass is being cut off from supplies, military experts explained
The Russian armed forces have embarked on a new stage of military operations in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Indian media on April 19 that it was aimed at the complete liberation of the people's republics of Donbass. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted that this plan is being consistently implemented, measures are being taken on the territory of the republics to establish peaceful life. Also, the head of the Russian military department said that during the SVO, Russian troops began to use new methods of warfare. According to experts, now, before the big offensive in the Donbass, the Russian military is conducting the so-called isolation of the theater of military operations.
Cut and isolate
The fact that a new stage of the operation is coming on Tuesday morning was announced by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "The next stage of this operation is beginning, and I am sure that this is a very important moment for the entire special operation," he said in an interview with Indian media.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs recalled that the SVO is aimed at the complete liberation of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Sergei Shoigu noted that the plan for the liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics is being consistently implemented, and measures are being taken to establish peaceful life there.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian troops again struck at the territory of Russia. On April 19, 76 houses and 17 cars were damaged as a result of the morning shelling of the village of Golovchino with multiple rocket launchers "Hurricane", Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Three local residents were injured, two of them seriously. The strike was carried out by cluster munitions.
On this day, Russian troops continued to strike in support of the second stage of the special operation.
Artillery and rocket troops were active on the night of April 19. The Ministry of Defense announced strikes on 1,260 objects. This is the largest number of them mentioned in all reports since February 24. Among the declared targets are 25 control points of the Ukrainian army, two Buk—M1 anti-aircraft missile launchers at Gulyai Pole and Nikolaevka 2, as well as 1,214 troop concentrations.
— During the day of April 19, missile troops hit two control points of Ukrainian troops, an ammunition depot, an artillery battery, as well as a cluster of Ukrainian military equipment, — said the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov.
Air-launched cruise missiles carried out 21 strikes on strongholds and places of concentration of Ukrainian troops during the day.
Operational-tactical and army aviation hit more than 90 objects. Among them are two storage depots for the heads of tactical missiles "Tochka-U".
Russian air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter near the village of Malinovka in the Donetsk region. Two Tochka-U ballistic missiles were also intercepted in the air and seven drones were destroyed.
In total, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 140 aircraft, 490 unmanned aerial vehicles, 253 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2,367 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 256 multiple rocket launchers, 1,021 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 2,225 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation.
According to military expert Dmitry Boltenkov, the Russian military is now conducting the so-called isolation of the theater of operations
— The Russian military forces of operational and tactical aviation, as well as precision weapons, strike Ukrainian supply routes, stocks of material assets and control points, - the expert explained. — It's called "isolation of the theater of operations." That is, we are cutting off the Ukrainian group in the Donbas from all possible assistance. They will not be able to receive replenishment, replenish stocks of material resources, etc., which is very important for the successful completion of the second phase of the operation. The better the Russian Armed Forces cope with isolation, the easier it will be for the Allied troops on the ground to smash Ukrainian armed formations.
As the expert noted, the Russian military approached this task responsibly and efficiently. Important Ukrainian facilities are being hit, not only in the immediate rear, but also at the strategic level. As an example, the strike on April 18 on the logistics center of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Lviv. But as the second stage of the operation develops, the main strikes will be concentrated on Ukrainian facilities located close to the line of contact.
A new approach
At the board of the Ministry of Defense on April 19, Sergei Shoigu said that "the United States and controlled Western countries are doing everything to delay the special military operation as much as possible. The growing volumes of foreign arms supplies clearly demonstrate their intentions to provoke the Kiev regime to fight "to the last Ukrainian."
The Defense Minister noted that the plan for the liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics is being consistently implemented, and measures are being taken to establish peaceful life there.
— The actions of our troops and the quality of the weapons used once again show the correctness of the priorities defined by the military-political leadership of the country for the construction of the Russian Armed Forces, — said Sergei Shoigu.
He also noted that the consistent implementation of the Plan of Activity of the Ministry of Defense is aimed at further development of the army and Navy and providing them with advanced military equipment. In addition, the introduction of new methods of warfare will make it possible to better adapt troops to modern conditions of armed confrontation.
The saving corridor
The head of the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, said that on April 19, the Russian Armed Forces opened a humanitarian corridor for the exit of Ukrainian formations that had laid down their arms, blocked at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol. The Russian military called on the official authorities of Kiev to order the militants to stop resisting.
— Over the past day, a number of publications have been recorded in the Ukrainian media, in which official representatives of Kiev declare that civilians are allegedly on Azovstal. We are sure that this is another fake information stuffing, invented solely to save the nationalists. We appeal to the representatives of the Kiev authorities: "if the civilian population is on the Azovstal, we demand to take all measures for their release and exit through the humanitarian corridors created by the Russian Armed Forces," Mikhail Mizintsev said.
According to him, the Russian leadership guarantees the safe evacuation of all civilians without exception.
"At the same time, we declare that the forcible detention of civilians as a "human shield" in accordance with the norms of international humanitarian law is terrorism, and the officials of the Kiev authorities and the direct perpetrators of this inhumane action on Azovstal are war criminals and terrorists," the general continued. — I would like to emphasize that the leadership of the Russian Federation guarantees the preservation of life, complete safety and the provision of qualified medical care to all those who have laid down their weapons.
He added that Russia has repeatedly, including by the example of Ukrainian marines who laid down their arms and surrendered, in practice has already confirmed its humane attitude towards prisoners of war, full compliance with international humanitarian law. And this time the Russian side guarantees compliance with the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of Prisoners of war, Mikhail Mizintsev stressed.
Later, the media reported that during the operation of the silence regime, about 120 civilians came out along one of the humanitarian corridors. They took refuge in residential buildings near the Azovstal checkpoint.
At the end of the day on April 19, Colonel-General Mizintsev stated that none of those on Azovstal had used the corridor. One of the reasons he called the fact that representatives of the Kiev authorities continue to deceive their people, convincing them that there is no possibility of evacuation of the garrison. In addition, according to Mizintsev, according to the content of the radio intercepts, the commanders of the armed formations remaining on Azovstal, realizing the hopelessness of the situation, are ready to lay down their arms, but only on command from Kiev.
— Without receiving such an order, the commanders of the Ukrainian armed formations cannot make a decision on their own, since for these actions in Ukraine they will face a military tribunal with a verdict, up to execution, — said the head of the National Defense Control Center.
According to him, civilians who may be at the Azovstal plant (according to the Ukrainian side) are not given the opportunity to evacuate, as the militants use them as a "human shield".
— This reliable information was confirmed by the testimony of captured Ukrainian servicemen and intercepted radio conversations during the fighting in the city limits of Mariupol, — said the general.
Mizintsev said that despite the inaction of the Kiev authorities, the Russian Armed Forces again offer militants and foreign mercenaries to cease hostilities and lay down their arms from 14.00 on April 20.
Covered with armor
On April 19, the Russian Defense Ministry told about soldiers and officers who showed courage and dedication in battles. The battalion tactical group, where Private Vasily Shpilchin served, took part in the liberation of one of the cities. Moving towards the train station, Vasily found on the top floor of one of the buildings a Ukrainian unit armed with a grenade launcher, an anti-tank missile system and small arms. Having secretly approached them, Private Shpilchin destroyed the militants and the calculation of the anti-tank missile system with accurate fire from the RPG-26.
— The courageous and selfless actions of Private Vasily Shpilchin deprived the nationalists defending in the station building of fire support. As a result of the rapid storming of the station, the militants capitulated," the Russian military department noted.
The commander of a separate medical battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Khazbi Makoev, deployed a military field hospital. During particularly fierce battles, the hospital came under heavy shelling, and Makoev himself was shell-shocked. Despite this, he managed to organize a quick evacuation of the wounded to the basements, which saved the lives of soldiers and officers.
In total, since the beginning of hostilities, the forces of the medical battalion under the command of Khazbi Makoev have provided medical assistance and evacuated more than 1,000 soldiers and officers to the rear.
— The lieutenant colonel personally provided first aid to 120 servicemen, which ensured the preservation of their lives, — the Ministry of Defense noted.
The tank company of Senior Lieutenant Andrei Skachkov fought fierce battles in the village. Attacking the positions of the Ukrainian formations, he noticed that one of his tanks was seriously damaged. Despite the serious threat, he covered the immobilized tank with his car, after which he destroyed the enemy's firing points.
In that battle, he destroyed up to 10 militants, a truck with ammunition, enemy fortifications and a strong point. The actions of senior Lieutenant Andrei Skachkov helped to liberate the settlement, the military department noted.
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