Ukrainian formations will be seriously drained of blood by the autumn, which will affect their combat capability, experts sayIn April 2023, the armed formations of Ukraine lost more than 15 thousand people, eight aircraft, 430 tanks and armored vehicles, 277 UAVs, as well as many other military equipment, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on May 2.
Experts note that Ukraine has squandered the bulk of these forces in Artemovsk and such a high rate of losses will affect the combat capability of all VFU by the autumn. Meanwhile, the Wagner PMCs continues to attack in this city — the assault detachments managed to break through the enemy's defenses on Tchaikovsky and Levandovsky streets, after which only a few blocks of the private sector and high-rise buildings on the western outskirts remained under the control of the VFU.
Ukrainian losses
In April, the armed formations of Ukraine, despite unprecedented assistance from Western countries, lost more than 15 thousand people, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a departmental meeting on May 2.
According to him, in one month Kiev missed eight planes, 277 UAVs, 430 tanks and other armored vehicles, 18 multiple rocket launchers and 225 field artillery and mortars.
— We continue to eliminate weapons supplied to the needs of the Ukrainian armed forces by the West, — said the head of the military department.
15 thousand people of losses are three full—blooded brigades, military expert Vladislav Shurygin explained to Izvestia.
"Ukraine has suffered all these losses to no avail," he said. — VFU is gradually being deprived of controlled territories. In the same Artemovsk, they are slowly but surely being knocked out of city blocks. These Ukrainian losses are largely the result of the work of the Bakhmut meat grinder, where we lose many times fewer people and military equipment.
The expert noted that the VFU can still put up with such a level of losses.
— Now they have accumulated reserves, which are planned to be thrown into the offensive, — he noted. — But it is already obvious that such a rate of losses will begin to affect the combat capability of the entire Ukrainian army in the most serious way by the autumn.
At the meeting on May 2, Sergei Shoigu also paid special attention to the timely replenishment of stocks of weapons, equipment and means of destruction, on which the actions of Russian troops largely depend. He noted that the system of interdepartmental interaction works effectively.
— As a result, compared with the beginning of 2022, the number of purchased basic weapons has increased 2.7 times, and especially in demand — seven times, — said the head of the military department.
In 2023, sufficient ammunition has already been supplied to the armed forces to inflict effective fire damage to the enemy, he noted.
"In general, the military—industrial complex meets the needs of the army and navy," the minister said.
In addition, Sergei Shoigu said that at present, the daily number of repaired weapons exceeds those that have failed in the ratio of three to two.
— Thanks to the organizational measures taken, the number of faulty equipment to be repaired has been reduced by one and a half times. At the same time, it is necessary to continue and increase its pace in these areas," the minister summed up.
Western quarters
In the western part of Artemovsk, Russian assault detachments continued active actions to destroy the enemy. Airborne units were pinned down by the VFU on the flanks. During the day, aviation carried out seven sorties to support advanced units in the Artemovsk area, the group's artillery performed 74 firing tasks, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
According to Izvestia sources familiar with the situation, currently only a part of the private sector and capital houses in the western part of the city remain under the control of Ukrainian militants. The Wagner PMCs was able to break through Ukrainian fortified areas on Tchaikovsky and Levandovsky Streets in several places.
The enemy units in the areas of the settlements of Chas Yar, Bogdanovka and Grigorovka in the DPR were defeated by the strikes of operational-tactical and army aviation, artillery fire and heavy flamethrower systems of the Southern Group of Troops.
During the day, up to 290 Ukrainian servicemen and foreign mercenaries, one tank, four armored fighting vehicles, six cars, as well as a D-20 howitzer were destroyed in the Donetsk direction.
In the counter-battery struggle, the Russian army actively uses powerful 220-millimeter MLRS "Hurricane". The work of the Russian rocket artillery was monitored by the correspondent of Izvestia, Daniil Levin.
The Hurricanes go to the firing position with a motorized rifle unit of cover. It always happens that way. While the gunners will perform a combat mission, the shooters will protect them from the attack of enemy sabotage groups.
From above, the combat vehicles of the "Hurricanes" are covered by special mesh canopies — this is protection from enemy UAVs and kamikaze drones.
— Our lives depend on speed. The crew directly, and yours. Therefore, we need to quickly orient the car, work on the target and also hide," said the topogeodesist with the call sign Apostol.
The "reactivators" say that the VFU has NATO artillery on their site: M-109, 777, "Crabs". There are also Slovak howitzers.
Scouts are looking for a target for MLRS. We are launching a fire attack on the Polish self-propelled installation "Crab".
—They suppressed about eight targets and destroyed five or six howitzers," the commander of the Hurricane battery with the call sign Irtysh told Izvestia.
After the MLRS strike, they quickly leave their positions so that the enemy does not strike back. They are accompanied by infantry from the cover unit.
Minus three planes
On May 2, at least 495 people and 35 pieces of military equipment, including tanks, howitzers, self-propelled guns and armored vehicles, were lost in the special operation zone in all strategic directions of the VFU, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
The actions of two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been suppressed in the Kharkiv region. In addition, an ammunition depot of the 14th mechanized brigade of the VFU was destroyed there. In the DPR, the Russian army hit the ammunition depot of the 81st airmobile brigade of the VFU, and in the Kherson region - the 124th Air Defense Brigade.
Air defense shot down three aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force. Two MiG-29 fighters are located near the settlements of Ulyanovsk in the DPR and Mirolyubovka in the Kherson region. The Su-25 attack aircraft was shot down near the village of Veletenskoye, Kherson region.
Convoys fight back
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation told about the servicemen who showed courage and dedication in the battles.
When changing the area, a unit of Russian paratroopers was attacked by Ukrainian militants. During the collision, the car of Sergeant Vladimir Razdorozhny was damaged. The commander decided to take a circular defense and make a stop to repair the car.
The paratroopers repelled the militants' attack while Vladimir was repairing the car, replacing the failed components and assemblies.
Another column of paratroopers was attacked while advancing to the combat mission area. Being in its head unit, Sergeant Alexey Varlamov, together with his comrades, immediately moved to help his colleagues leading an unequal battle.
Approaching the battlefield in short dashes, Varlamov bypassed the militants from the flank, which constrained their actions and distracted attention to himself.
Having taken a convenient position, Alexey destroyed a machine-gun crew and three militants with targeted fire. Then the paratroopers counterattacked the enemy, destroying a car with anti-tank weapons, two mortars and over 10 militants.
The enemy was forced to retreat with heavy losses, without achieving the desired results.
Having repaired the damaged equipment, the Russian servicemen continued to move to the specified area. There were no casualties among the personnel.
Andrey Fedorov
Alexey Ramm
Bogdan Stepovoy