Due to heavy losses, an unorganized withdrawal of entire units of the VFU began
The Allied forces went directly to Lisichansk, the Russian Defense Ministry said on July 1. An oil refinery, the Matrosskaya mine, a gelatin plant and the village of Topolevka were taken under the control of the Russian Federation and the LPR. According to the military department, the enemy is suffering serious losses, and the number of deserters and evaders from participating in hostilities is also growing. Military experts note that it is not necessary to talk about the high morale of the armed formations of Ukraine now. The same online complaints about commanders demonstrate a lack of faith in the military leadership and the search for protection from the public.
The enemy is deserting
The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday reported on the successes of the Armed Forces in the area of Lisichansk. Over the past three days, the Lisichansk oil refinery, the Matrosskaya mine, the gelatin plant, and the Topolevka settlement have been taken under control. The Allied forces went directly to Lisichansk, the Defense Ministry said.
The Ukrainian army is suffering heavy losses in this area. Only in the village of Verkhnekamenka more than 120 people were killed during the day, in Verkhnekamensk — 70.
— The failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield provoke an increase in the number of deserters and evaders from participating in hostilities. There is an unorganized withdrawal of individual units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Lisichansk," said the official representative of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov.
A fighter of the special purpose police regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Chechen Republic at a position near Lisichansk
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Gennady Dubovoy
According to him, the Ukrainian command in every way conceals the facts of understaffing of units. In particular, in one of the battalions of the 17th tank Brigade operating in the area of the settlement of Novaya Poltavka (DPR), no more than 20% of the personnel of the regular strength remained in service.
At the same time, the Kiev regime found those responsible for the military failures of the armed formations of Ukraine (VFU) in another cauldron in the Donbass.
— So, criminal cases have been initiated by the second department of the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine in the city of Kramatorsk against the command and 171 soldiers of the 42nd battalion of the 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade who defended in the "Gorsky Boiler", - Igor Konashenkov said.
According to the Ministry of Defense, they were detained and placed in a temporary detention facility in Kramatorsk.
In the Lisichansk direction, the command of the VFU did not give the order to retreat for a long time, forcing people to hold on without fire support, although there was such an opportunity. Such an attitude always negatively affects army units, military expert Alexey Leonkov told Izvestia.
— All this has a demoralizing effect on the personnel, — he believes. — Ukrainian formations are not as persistent as propaganda paints them. Finding themselves without artillery and other fire support, they defended themselves with what they could. Now they have heard: "You retreated without an order, so you will have to answer to the law." Such a turn of events does not bode well for the Ukrainian side.
The soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who surrendered near Lisichansk
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti
The expert noted that there are more and more messages on the Internet from the Ukrainian military that they refuse to go to the front without appropriate equipment and fire support.
— There are no persistent cyborgs, or they are over, — said Alexey Leonkov. — There are more and more territorial defense formations or reservists at the front who are poorly trained. These are ordinary people, and the durability of such parts is much lower than that of personnel. This affects the army as a whole. All online appeals are a lack of faith in the command and the search for protection from the public. Therefore, it is not necessary to talk about high morale now.
At the same time, he noted that it is not worth relaxing.
— There are a lot of people who have been fighting in the Donbass for eight years, and they are motivated, — the expert summed up. — And not everywhere the situation is as bad for them as near Lisichansk.
Two Su-25s were shot down
The armed forces of the Russian Federation continue to strike military targets on the territory of Ukraine.
— High-precision weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed two control points, five ammunition depots in the areas of the settlements of Ivano—Darievka, Seversk (DNR), Belogorovka (LNR), Nikolaev, Lepetikha of the Mykolaiv region, as well as manpower and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 26 districts, - said Igor Konashenkov.
During the counter-battery struggle, two MLRS platoons and two artillery platoons firing at DPR settlements were destroyed by high-precision weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
The Tor-M2U anti-aircraft missile system of the Russian Armed Forces is operating in the zone of a special military operation in Ukraine
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti
Operational-tactical, army aviation, missile troops and artillery hit 32 control points of the VFU, a radar station for detecting air targets, three ammunition depots and 297 areas of concentration of troops.
Russian air defense units shot down two Su-25 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, 11 unmanned aerial vehicles and eight multiple rocket launchers.
— In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 226 aircraft, 134 helicopters, 1,411 unmanned aerial vehicles, 353 anti—aircraft missile systems, 3,873 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 699 multiple rocket launcher combat vehicles, 3,067 field artillery and mortars, as well as 3,948 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed, - Igor listed Konashenkov.
$500 for provocation
The VFU continues to use residential buildings, educational institutions and other social infrastructure facilities for military purposes, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the National Defense Management Center of the Russian Federation, said on July 1.
In Zaporozhye, a strongpoint was deployed in the building of the city Palace of Children's Creativity of the VFU, an armament and ammunition depot was equipped, and firing and sniper points were set up along the perimeter of the institution and on the upper floors of nearby residential buildings.
In Kramatorsk (DPR), militants equipped barracks in the dormitory of the technological college on Uralskaya Street and the premises of Gymnasium No. 1, and armored vehicles and large-caliber artillery were placed on the territory of the Yubileyny city park.
A soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on one of the streets of Odessa
Image source: Photo: Global Look Press/Kay Nietfeld
In Bakhmut (DPR), AFU units deployed temporary deployment points in the buildings of the Industrial Vocational College, and armored vehicles, mortar positions and heavy artillery were placed in the adjacent territory. Under the pretext of ensuring security, the militants have banned local residents from leaving their homes, and all their attempts to evacuate to safe areas are severely suppressed.
Another provocation is being prepared in Odessa. Up to 20 representatives of foreign media, as well as employees of the international organization UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), were brought to the city from June 26 to 28 to cover it.
The military administration of the Odessa region plans to stage a fire attack with cluster munitions on one of the social facilities of the city. To do this, a "crowd" of 30 anti—Russian activists has been prepared in advance - they will have to portray the dead and injured. All participants of the staged scenes after the video filming are provided with a monetary reward of $ 500, while $ 100 has already been paid in advance to each.
— We warn the world community and international organizations in advance that this and other similar fakes about alleged Russian atrocities, fabricated by the Kiev authorities with the support of Western curators, are planned to be widely distributed in the media in the near future, — Mikhail Mizintsev said.
Flank strike
On Friday, the military department told about the soldiers and officers who showed courage and dedication during the special operation.
The group of Senior Sergeant Alexander Tkachenko was responsible for the security of the command post. In a nearby forest belt, Alexander discovered Ukrainian saboteurs and joined the battle, despite their numerical superiority. During the clash, Alexander Tkachenko and his subordinates destroyed the commander of the sabotage and reconnaissance group and nine nationalists. The surviving militants, having lost their leadership, retreated, leaving the wounded on the battlefield. During the persecution, all of them were eliminated. There were no losses in Senior Sergeant Tkachenko's group, the Russian military department noted.
The tank platoon, which included Corporal Bogdan Sharovarin, liberated the settlement from the Ukrainian nationalists. Having met fierce resistance, the tankers decided to bypass the stronghold. Corporal Sharovarin came to the enemy from the flank and took an advantageous position at the edge of the forest. He immediately found a convoy of vehicles, behind which militants were hiding, firing at Russian attacking units. With accurate shots, he destroyed two enemy infantry fighting vehicles and up to 20 nationalists.
A serviceman of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the southern sector of the special military operation in Ukraine
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Maishev
The courage and professionalism of Corporal Bogdan Sharovarin allowed the Russian troops to oust the nationalists from the settlement and take it under their control, the Defense Ministry said.
During the liberation of the settlement, Sergeant Junaidullo Safarov was responsible for the destruction of enemy positions and armored vehicles. During the battle, Junaidullo destroyed an armored car, a firing position and a machine-gun crew of nationalists. The enemy began to withdraw armored vehicles. At this time, the sergeant with a well-aimed shot from the ATGM destroyed the enemy BMP.
The actions of Junaidullo Safarov allowed the Russian troops to develop an offensive in an important direction and prevent losses among personnel, weapons and military equipment, the Defense Ministry noted.
Bogdan Stepovoy
Andrey Fedorov
