Increase pressure: Russian troops are preparing to put the main forces in the Donbass into battle

According to military experts, the intensity of hostilities will increase in the coming days

The troops of Russia and the People's Republics of Donbass continue to advance. As reported on April 21 in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, as a result of the rapid actions of the assault detachments, it was possible to take the village of Kremennaya without serious destruction of infrastructure and residential buildings. The Russian armed forces are striking military targets on the front line and in the rear. According to experts, progress has been made in a number of areas, but the main forces have not yet been put into battle, and the intensity of hostilities will increase.

About the movement

The Russian armed forces continued attacks on Ukrainian military facilities on the frontline and in the rear.

Rocket troops and artillery carried out more than 1,450 strikes on Ukrainian military facilities overnight and during the day. Only in the Cherkassky and Alexandrovka districts, as a result, up to 120 nationalists were declared destroyed, as well as more than 30 armored vehicles and cars.

— During the day, high—precision air-launched missiles struck 14 objects of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, - said the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov. — As a result of the strikes in the area of the Popasnaya settlement, the following were hit: a control point, two ammunition depots, two areas of concentration of manpower and Ukrainian military equipment, as well as two nationalist strongholds.

During the day and night, tactical and army aviation hit 84 objects. Among them are 17 areas of concentration of manpower and Ukrainian military equipment in the areas of Krasny Liman and Drobyshevo and two warehouses of rocket and artillery weapons near the city of Zaporozhye.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of 14 enemy unmanned aerial vehicles during the day. In the Donetsk region, air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian tactical Tochka-U missile in the air.

The wreckage of the downed Ukrainian Tochka-U missile

Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti

— Apparently, Russian troops are now at the early stage of a new offensive operation in the Donbass, — military expert Vasily Kashin told Izvestia. — Progress has been made in a number of areas. But judging by what we see, the main forces have not yet been put into action. The capture and entry of the Russian and Allied armed forces into settlements in which they had not been before has been recorded and proved by photographic materials. Statements should be treated carefully, but there are facts recognized by both sides. Based on this, we can say: there is a fairly noticeable advance of Russian and allied troops. Apparently, the intensity of the fighting will increase in the coming days.

On April 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to cancel the storming of the Azovstal industrial zone in Mariupol, where militant groups are hiding. The Head of State instructed to securely block all exits from this facility.

According to Vasily Kashin, the decision to block the forces remaining in the Azovstal industrial zone is due to the fact that its assault would inevitably be accompanied by losses.

— This object is a powerful fortress that cannot be completely destroyed by aerial bombardment due to the presence of deep-laid underground structures. Proceeding from this, the capture of this fortress by starvation and by constant bombing without storming is probably the preferred option," the expert explained.

With extreme cruelty

On April 21, the head of the National Defense Control Center (NCSO), Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, announced the recorded facts of the inhumane attitude of the Kiev authorities to civilians. According to him, in Zaporozhye, SBU officers attract armed bandit groups to intimidate local residents who are considered insufficiently "patriotic".

— For this purpose, the militants move freely around the city, including during the curfew period, and they are also given "complete freedom of action" against the population. Knowing about their impunity, the militants show special cruelty and cynicism to all categories of residents of the city, including the elderly, women and children," Mikhail Mizintsev said. — International organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (Romanian branch), suspend all deliveries of humanitarian aid to Odessa due to mass embezzlement by officials of the military administrations of the city and the region of the supplied food and medicines. Such actions of the Ukrainian authorities testify to their inhumane attitude towards their own people and complete disregard for all norms of morality and international humanitarian law.

The general warned about the provocation, which, according to the Russian military, is being prepared in the village of Voskresenskoye in the Mykolaiv region.

— At the direction of the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, specialists of information and psychological operations conducted staged filming of "acts of looting" allegedly committed by Russian servicemen against civilians: militants of the 191 battalion 123 Territorial Defense Brigade disguised in Russian uniforms using cars with the "Z" sign defiantly robbed private houses and carried out photo and video filming of their outrages on mobile phones phones. We warn the so—called civilized West in advance that this next fake from the Kiev authorities "about the atrocities of the Russians" is planned to be distributed in the near future through "objective" and "independent" Western media with the full approval of your curators in Kiev," Mizintsev said.

The head of the NCSO cited data on evacuees: 14,877 people, including 2,288 children, were taken out of dangerous areas of Ukraine and the People's Republics of Donbass during the day. A total of 908,907 people, including 166,049 children, have been evacuated to Russia since the beginning of the operation.

They held the line

On April 21, the Russian Defense Ministry told about the soldiers and officers who showed courage and dedication in the battles. A separate motorized rifle brigade under the command of Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov destroyed up to a battalion of militants and more than 40 pieces of equipment during offensive battles. The Ukrainian unit opposing the motorized skirmishes completely lost its combat capability and no longer took part in the fighting. In three weeks, the brigade repelled more than 50 attacks using tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and heavy artillery at the occupied line.

— The reliably built defensive positions and the decisions made by Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov ensured the control of one of the main directions, — the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Photo: RIA Novosti

Image source: iz.ru

During the offensive, the calculation of the launch rocket battery of Lieutenant Alexey Zelensky hit the command post of the Ukrainian group with one of the blows. Two helicopters, eight tankers and 23 militants were destroyed there, as well as three helicopters were disabled and about 30 servicemen were wounded.

"During the strike, the most important enemy objects were destroyed and its combat potential was significantly reduced," the Defense Ministry noted.

The motorized rifle company of Captain Nikolai Zubets liberated one of the settlements, destroying four tanks, six infantry fighting vehicles and two equipped machine gun emplacements. During the battle with superior forces, Nikolai Zubets personally destroyed the enemy squad and three armored personnel carriers with RPG shots. After that, he evacuated the wounded with the soldiers, including the battalion commander from the damaged armored personnel carrier. The company of Mykola Zubets suffered significant damage to Ukrainian formations, forcing him to continue his retreat, the Russian military department noted.

Anton Lavrov