And what does the beginning of military maneuvers on the territory of an Eastern European country mean
On April 28, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the defeat of more than 140 military facilities of Ukraine by planes and helicopters, including control points, ammunition and fuel depots and troop concentrations. The air defense forces shot down a Su-24 bomber and twelve drones. On the same day, the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, said that the Polish government was considering the possibility of introducing peacekeeping forces into the territory of the western regions of Ukraine. Warsaw did not confirm this information, but announced major military exercises in the border areas. Experts did not rule out Poland's intention to occupy the western Ukrainian regions and called the conditions under which their contingent could be considered truly peacekeeping.
Polish maneuvers
The Polish leadership is discussing the possibility of introducing its troops into the territory of Ukraine in order to further "reunite" with part of its territory. On Thursday, this was stated in the press bureau of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), quoting the words of Sergei Naryshkin, who heads it.
According to the head of the SVR, they want to deploy "peacekeepers" in the regions of Ukraine with a minimal threat of a collision with Russia. Their tasks will include "the gradual interception from the National Guard of Ukraine of control over the strategic objects located there." According to preliminary agreements with the United States, the operation will take place without a NATO mandate, but with the participation of "willing states".
Warsaw expects that after consolidation in the west of Ukraine there will be a split of the country, allowing it to take control of the territories with "Polish peacekeepers," Sergei Naryshkin explained. He recalled that after the First World War, Poland received from the Entente countries the right to occupy part of Ukraine, ostensibly to protect residents from the "Bolshevik threat", after which these territories were included in its composition.
Poland refused to confirm the statements of the head of the SVR of Russia. The press secretary of the minister-coordinator of the country's special services Stanislav Zharin said that Warsaw is not going to seize the western regions of Ukraine. Such information, the official believes, is being distributed in order to undermine the existing cooperation between Poland and Ukraine.
At the same time, on April 28, the Polish Defense Ministry announced large-scale exercises from May 1 to the end of the month. The ministry warned that there would be heavy movement of military convoys in the eastern and northern parts of the country and asked the population not to remove them and not to publish information about the movement of troops.
— They would like to do it, it's clear, — former Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation and former UN Deputy Secretary General Sergei Ordzhonikidze told Izvestia. — Instead of helping to treat the patient, they begin to cut him, surgically solve the problem. It is not difficult for them to find a reason for the entry of troops — they will come up with some kind of another shootout and say that they were attacked. They started maneuvers, and this is usually a harbinger. If they move troops, then they can move them anywhere, in the direction they need. But how much political determination and military courage they have, I do not know. If they plan to send troops under the pretext of "protection from Russian aggression", in this case there should be an appeal from the Ukrainian government to the Polish government with a corresponding request. I would not rule out such an option either. A UN member State recognized by the international community may apply.
In order for the contingent to receive the status of a peacekeeping force, a decision of the UN Security Council is necessary, the diplomat added. And in this case, much will depend on Moscow's position.
Su-24 over Nikolaevka
On April 28, 42 military facilities of Ukraine were hit by high-precision air-based missiles of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
— Three control points, 22 strongholds of Ukrainian nationalist formations, seven areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment, as well as six warehouses of rocket and artillery weapons, ammunition and fuel in the areas of the settlements of Alexandrovka, Gusarovka, Dolgenkoe and Barvenkovo were destroyed, - said the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Major General Igor Konashenkov.
Operational-tactical and army aviation hit more than 140 military facilities of Ukraine during the day. Among them are six control points, two company strongpoints, two large warehouses of rocket and artillery weapons and fuel in the settlements of Preobrazhenka and Orekhov, as well as 55 places of concentration of enemy manpower and military equipment.
On the night of April 28, the air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-24 bomber in the LPR over Nikolaevka. In addition, twelve unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed in the air during the day.
In total, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, 142 Ukrainian aircraft, 111 helicopters, 621 unmanned aerial vehicles, 277 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2,629 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 302 multiple rocket launchers, 1,154 field artillery and mortar guns, as well as 2,445 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation.
Missile attacks
On the evening of April 27, at about 23 o'clock, Ukraine launched a massive attack with unguided and ballistic missiles on residential areas in the center of Kherson.
Russian air defense units repelled a missile attack by Ukrainian troops, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Twelve shells of a high-power multiple rocket launcher system, as well as two Ukrainian Tochka-U ballistic missiles, were shot down in the air over the city. Fragments of one of the "Dots" fell in Shevchenko Park. A sports school, a maritime college, a House of Trade Unions and other civilian facilities were damaged by fragments of ammunition.
The city of Izyum was also shelled by the Tochka-U rocket the next morning. There, the target of the strike was the city hospital, where a Russian medical detachment is located, providing assistance to the population of the Kharkiv region.
"The Kiev nationalist regime's indiscriminate missile strikes on residential areas of Izium and Kherson is a war crime and a gross violation of international humanitarian law," Igor Konashenkov said.
The blows did not go unpunished. The Defense Ministry's summary shows the destruction of the Tochka-U tactical complex launcher by Russian missile forces on April 28. The air defense forces intercepted three more such ammunition in the area of the settlements of Petropavlovsk and Malaya Kamyshevakha.
For communication
On April 28, the Russian Defense Ministry told about the soldiers and officers who showed courage and dedication in the battles.
The commander of the command brigade, Colonel Yevgeny Volkov, promptly established a routine telephone connection at the curfew stations located on the routes of the main forces of the Russian grouping. He also provided for the installation of an additional communication system, which simplified the command of troops. Repeated attempts by the enemy to disrupt communications were unsuccessful — the connection worked flawlessly all the time.
During one of the clashes, Colonel Volkov led the actions of subordinates under mortar fire. When trying to break through the defense by the Ukrainian forces, his units were subjected to massive artillery fire.
"In an extremely difficult situation, he ensured reliable communication, and also organized the evacuation of equipment and personnel from under enemy fire," the Russian Defense Ministry noted.
The commander of the communications platoon, Senior Lieutenant Roman Matyuk, during the liberation of one of the settlements, discovered a car of Ukrainian saboteurs heading at high speed to the rear of the Russian column. Having instantly assessed the situation, Roman, together with his subordinates, opened targeted fire on the car, destroying the saboteurs who were in it. Three hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers and a large amount of explosives were found in the car.
Already during the street battles, he noticed a Ukrainian grenade launcher aiming at a tank. The senior lieutenant destroyed him with accurate fire, which saved the crew of the combat vehicle.
"The bold and decisive actions of Senior Lieutenant Roman Matyuk contributed to the development of the offensive of Russian troops," the Defense Ministry stressed.
Senior Sergeant Alexander Popov and his motorized rifle squad have repeatedly accompanied supply convoys. During the next march, Alexander, moving in the head patrol, found a group of Ukrainian saboteurs on an armored personnel carrier armed with a grenade launcher and small arms. They were positioned on one of the secondary roads, preparing to attack the column.
Having instantly oriented himself, Senior Sergeant Popov destroyed the BMP with a well-aimed shot from an RPG, after which he led the squad to attack. During the fleeting battle, a group of saboteurs was eliminated. The courageous and decisive actions of Senior Sergeant Popov made it possible to preserve the column of Russian troops and withdraw it to a given area without losses, the Russian military department noted.
Anton Lavrov
Roman Kretsul
Bogdan Stepovoy