The Russian Federation has demonstrated to the world community that it does not prevent the export of agricultural products from Ukraine
The Russian armed Forces have withdrawn their garrison from the island of Zmeiny in the Black Sea. The country made a gesture of goodwill and demonstrated to the world community that it does not prevent the export of agricultural products from Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on June 30. Experts note that it did not make much sense to hold the island further from a military point of view. The Russian fleet has complete superiority over the enemy in the Black Sea — if necessary, the Russian Armed Forces will be able to deploy the necessary forces quickly on the Serpentine. On the same day, the Defense Ministry said that the exchange of 144 for 144 prisoners that took place the day before allowed the lives and health of the released Russians to be preserved.
A gesture of goodwill
As a step of goodwill, the Russian Armed Forces completed their tasks on the island of Zmeiny in the Black Sea on June 30 and withdrew the garrison there, the Defense Ministry reported.
"Thus, it has been demonstrated to the world community that the Russian Federation does not hinder the efforts of the UN to organize a humanitarian corridor for the export of agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine," said the official representative of the military department, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov.
The Defense Ministry stressed that this decision will not allow Kiev to speculate on the impending food crisis, referring to the impossibility of exporting grain due to Russia's total control of the northwestern part of the Black Sea.
"Now it's up to the Ukrainian side, which has not yet cleared the Black Sea coast off its shores, including the port waters," the general stressed.
Snake Island was liberated by the Russian Armed Forces on February 24. Then 82 Ukrainian border guards and marines surrendered without resistance.
Since May 7 and 8, the armed formations of Ukraine have made several unsuccessful attempts to seize the island. Three Su-24 bombers and a Su-27 fighter jet were shot down in the Zmeiny area, as well as three Mi-8 helicopters with landing troops on board and an attack Mi-24. 29 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed, including eight Bayraktar-TB2 attack aircraft.
During an attempt to land troops on the night of May 8, three armored Ukrainian amphibious assault boats of project 58181 "Centaur" with servicemen of the Ukrainian Navy were destroyed. More than 50 Ukrainian saboteurs were killed at sea and on the coast, 24 bodies were found on the island alone.
Another attempt to capture the island of VFU was made on June 20. Russian anti-aircraft systems "Pantsir" and "Tor" repelled the enemy attack. 13 UAVs, four Tochka-U missiles and 21 Uragan MLRS rockets were shot down. The Ukrainian missiles did not reach the target. The failed fire strike forced the enemy to abandon the amphibious operation and shell the offshore platforms of Chernomorneftegaz.
In response, Russian troops launched cruise missile strikes on hangars with Bayraktar-TB2 drones near Odessa. In addition, two artillery platoons of 155 mm M-777 howitzers and two launchers of the S-300 anti-aircraft system were destroyed.
We will return it at any time
After Ukraine receives MLRS and self-propelled guns from Western countries, the island will be constantly shelled, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov believes.
"As a result, there will be casualties among our military," he told Izvestia. — Any air defense system can be penetrated. For example, knowing that you have 100 missiles, 110 can be launched on the island. As a result, the ammunition of the air defense systems will run out, and you will miss the strike. All this will lead to casualties. The island is small — 300 by 300 meters, and rocky. For these reasons, you can't dig and build special shelters there quickly.
According to the expert, the VFU will definitely try to enter the Snake, because in the absence of real ones, they need at least media victories.
— They will not miss the opportunity to show off on the Snake, — the expert believes. — But such an action will be expensive. We have complete superiority at sea, in the air and can instantly destroy any landing force. Also, if necessary, it will not be difficult for the Russian armed forces to re-occupy Zmeiny.
The whole story that Russia does not allow grain to be exported from Odessa, which provokes world hunger, is artificial and far-fetched, according to former UN Deputy Secretary General Sergei Ordzhonikidze.
— It is needed to put pressure on Russia. Now there will be no such reason," the diplomat noted. — Ukraine provides about 1% of grain in the world. In tons, this figure looks solid, but on a global scale it is absolutely not critical. In addition, shipping in this area of the Black Sea was hindered not by Snake Island, but by sea mines installed by Ukraine. They were told a hundred times to clear the port of Odessa, but they never did it.
According to the expert, it is necessary to pass ships for grain, but, of course, with inspection.
— Ukraine, according to our data, hides weapons in passenger rail cars, as well as in civilian trucks. They will try to do the same thing at sea — they will try to deliver weapons by civilian vessels," Sergei Ordzhonikidze suggested.
Nationalists are abandoning positions
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the enemy continues to suffer significant losses. In particular, on June 28, a high-precision sea-based weapon destroyed the control point of the operational-strategic group "Khortytsia" in the area of Deprotsk.
On June 30, as a result of strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces on the control point of the 123rd Brigade of the territorial defense in Mykolaiv and the ammunition depot of the 79th airborne assault brigade in the Mykolaiv region, more than 20 Ukrainian and more than 80 foreign fighters, as well as six units of armored and automotive equipment, more than a thousand artillery shells, more than three hundred mortar mines and a hundred shots for MANPADS.
In addition, two temporary locations of the 113th Territorial Defense Brigade were destroyed in Kharkiv. It housed up to 140 personnel. During the fire attack by Russian troops in the units of the 14th mechanized and 56th motorized Infantry brigades, more than 50% of the personnel were destroyed.
During the day, 13 Ukrainian servicemen of the 34th battalion of the 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade, including officers, voluntarily left their positions due to high losses and unsatisfactory supplies.
The Russian armed forces continue to strike military targets on the territory of Ukraine.
— High-precision weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed five warehouses with ammunition and weapons in the districts of Kharkiv, Zelenodolsk, Dnipropetrovsk region, as well as Seversk and Bakhmut of the Donetsk People's Republic, manpower and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 34 districts, — said Igor Konashenkov.
As part of the counter-battery struggle, two platoons of the Hurricane and Grad MLRS were destroyed, as well as two Hyacinth-B artillery platoons.
Operational-tactical, army aviation, rocket troops and artillery hit 218 areas of concentration of troops of the VFU and 39 control points.
Planes and helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down two Su-25 attack aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, as well as destroyed a self-propelled Buk-M1 air defense system in a firing position and a S-300 air defense radar station.
Russian air defense units shot down a Su-27 aircraft, nine Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles and five MLRS rockets.
— In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 224 aircraft, 134 helicopters, 1400 unmanned aerial vehicles, 353 anti—aircraft missile systems, 3,859 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 698 multiple rocket launcher combat vehicles, 3,059 field artillery and mortars, as well as 3,916 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed, - Igor listed Konashenkov.
Barracks at the Lyceum
The VFU continues to use the civilian infrastructure for military purposes, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the National Defense Management Center of the Russian Federation, said on June 30. So, in Kramatorsk (DPR), at school No. 35 and in private households, the military personnel of the VFU, foreign mercenaries and militants of the nationalist formation "Azov" (criminal cases have been initiated against its participants in Russia) equipped strongpoints, placed sniper points, armored vehicles and firing positions of mortars. At the same time, civilians are forcibly held in the basements of houses, hiding behind them as a human shield.
In Kharkiv, barracks were equipped in the building and on the territory of the Technological Lyceum No. 9 of the VFU, armored vehicles, artillery and MLRS were placed.
In Nikolaev, territorial defense units are quartered on the territory of school No. 51, ammunition depots are equipped and armored vehicles are located. In Slavyansk (DPR), VFU units are stationed at the Art lyceum, armored vehicles, long-range artillery and MLRS are deployed. The approaches to the lyceum are mined.
In Zelenodolsk, Dnipropetrovsk region, specialists of the Center for Information and Psychological Operations of the VFU conducted another provocation to accuse the Russian Armed Forces of destroying civilian infrastructure facilities. The nationalists took grain stocks out of the granary of the agricultural enterprise in advance and blew them up. The local administration distributed fabricated photo and video materials in the Ukrainian and Western media.
— Such fakes are regularly replicated by Ukrainian propaganda with the support of the countries of the collective West, — said Mikhail Mizintsev.
Prisoner exchange
The Ministry of Defense reported that on June 29, an exchange of prisoners took place in the "144 to 144" format.
— It was organized and conducted on the direct instructions of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, because the lives, health, release of our servicemen, fighters of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, who make up the majority of those returned, is the most important task, — said Igor Konashenkov.
He clarified that almost all of those released were wounded or seriously wounded. They are provided with the necessary medical care. The representative of the Ministry of Defense recalled that the total number of captured or surrendered Ukrainian servicemen is more than 6 thousand people.
On the same day, the department told about the soldiers and officers who showed courage and dedication during the special operation.
The group of Private Alexey Zaripov stormed the stronghold of the nationalists. During the battle, Alexey discovered the enemy's anti-tank crew and, opening fire with a machine gun, destroyed it. After that, he destroyed up to ten more militants. The actions of Private Alexey Zaripov allowed the group to take possession of a strong point without losses, where samples of foreign-made weapons were found, the military department noted.
From the first days of the special military operation, Junior Sergeant Vladimir Balabanov, Corporal Dmitry Merkulov and Corporal Nikolai Minosyan, as part of the calculation of the radar reconnaissance complex, performed combat missions to detect enemy artillery and mortar positions. Thanks to their professionalism and coherence, the servicemen discovered and transmitted to the command post in time data on the location of more than 500 armored vehicles, air defense systems, tactical missile launchers, artillery positions and mortar crews.
Based on the information received by Corporal Merkulov, high-precision strikes were inflicted on the positions of the nationalists, which weakened the combat capabilities of the nationalists, the military department noted.
Bogdan Stepovoy
Andrey Fedorov
