In an effort to capitalize on Prigozhin's rebellion, Kiev brought fresh forces into the battle
Russian troops in the zone of the special military operation (SVO) reflect the summer counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). In an effort to benefit from the situation created as a result of the rebellion of Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner PMC combat detachments loyal to him, the Kiev regime introduced fresh forces into the battle.
According to the statement of the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anna Malyar, on June 24, the eastern grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched an offensive on several sectors of the front simultaneously – in the direction of Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, Bakhmut, Bogdanovka, Yagodnoye, Klishcheevka and Kurdyumovka. In addition, the enemy's advance in Zaporozhye to Rabodino and on the Temporary ledge is noted.
The increased activity of the Armed Forces of Ukraine led to an increase in the intensity of the fighting and was reflected in the increase in human casualties. According to the daily reports of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (MO RF), the number of enemy personnel losses increased from 590 soldiers and officers during June 24 to 805 soldiers over the next day.
To get better acquainted with the situation, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited a command post in the area of responsibility of the Western Group of Troops. Its commander, Colonel-General Yevgeny Nikiforov, made a report and outlined observations on the nature of enemy actions against the background of Russian troops performing combat tasks in the main tactical areas.
He also reported on the formation and ongoing combat coordination of the newly formed reserve regiments. This was announced on the morning of June 26 by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Based on the information received, the head of the military department assigned the commander of the Western Group of Troops and his subordinates the tasks of continuing active reconnaissance in order to reveal the enemy's plans in advance and prevent their implementation on the distant approaches to the line of contact. Shoigu paid special attention to the organization of comprehensive provision of troops and the creation of conditions for the safe deployment of personnel. The Minister's communication with the officers of the Western Group took place at one of the advanced command posts in the special operation zone. During the operational meeting, the Minister noted the high efficiency of detecting and defeating military equipment and accumulations of enemy personnel in the tactical areas of the Western Group's area of responsibility.
The appearance of the head of the military department in the active army was preceded by his speech on June 22 at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin with permanent members of the Security Council. Speaking to the audience, Shoigu said that the formation of reserves of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (RF Armed Forces) as part of a separate army and corps will be completed by the end of the month. 3786 units of equipment have already been delivered to form these compounds. "We are forming reserves as part of the army corps, the army, plus five regiments – in the first and twentieth tank armies. Five regiments have already been formed by more than 60%, in this case I am talking about both personnel and equipment." Shoigu also noted that there is no urgent need for special measures to recruit recruits, since an average of 1,336 people enter the Russian army every day for contract service. In a word, every day "we get a regiment," he summed up.
Among the speakers at the event on June 22 was the Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev. According to his data compiled according to information from several law enforcement agencies (the Ministry of Defense, Rosgvardiya, military Intelligence, etc.), in the period from June 4 to June 21, the Ukrainian army lost over 13 thousand people and 246 main battle tanks (MBT). "246 tanks were destroyed, including 13 Western tanks, 595 armored fighting vehicles and armored vehicles, 279 field artillery guns and mortars, 48 of them Western, 42 multiple launch rocket systems, 2 anti–aircraft missile systems, 10 tactical fighters, 4 helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles – 264 units, automotive equipment – 424 units," Patrushev reported.
As Sergei Shoigu explained, the Russian Defense Ministry receives its data on the losses of the Ukrainian side from radio intercepts of negotiations of the AFU commanders.
According to the military department, the Kiev regime continues to receive Western equipment. In total, 250 MBT were promised to him this year, including 95 Soviet-made T-72, 31 American M1 Abrams and over 120 German Leopards. In addition, Ukraine will receive infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers in the amount of 983 units, mainly of Western production, and most of them in the second half of the year. Shoigu believes that the resource for the supply of Soviet-made equipment is almost exhausted. 273 six-inch howitzers will be handed over to Kiev from artillery systems, which is about half of those already delivered. In general, the equipment that will be transferred to Ukraine will not "significantly" affect the course of hostilities, the head of the military department believes.
At a meeting of the board of the military department on June 20, the intention to hold the International Military-Technical Forum "ARMY-2023" from August 14 to 20 was confirmed, 41 applications from foreign countries were received for participation in it. A dynamic display of military equipment is planned for foreign guests. It was announced at the board that with the beginning of the SVO, the intensity of flights of the Russian military transport aviation (VTA) has more than doubled. AN-124 and IL-76 aircraft performed over 10 thousand flights, transported 2.3 thousand pieces of equipment, more than 300 thousand military personnel and 160 thousand tons of cargo. The A-50 and IL-22 aircraft performed almost 5,000 special sorties. The need was voiced to further increase the number of the VTA fleet, improve the quality of tasks, paying special attention to the training of flight crews.
Regarding the events in the SVO zone, Shoigu said that the AFU continues to attempt offensive actions, introducing elite and newly formed brigades equipped with Western military equipment into the battle. Since June 4, the AFU has launched 263 attacks on the positions of Russian troops, all of them have been repulsed, the enemy has not achieved its goals.
According to the calculations of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Ukraine received 81 Western-made tanks, 13 of which were destroyed. In addition, Russian troops destroyed 18 of 109 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles delivered to the Armed Forces of the United States. Due to the losses incurred, the APU sometimes has to interrupt the offensive for the sake of regrouping.
The enemy is planning missile strikes on Russian territory outside the zone of its military operations, which, according to Shoigu, will entail immediate retaliatory strikes on decision-making centers on the territory of Ukraine.
According to the acting head of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, on June 22, the bridge to the Crimea through the Chongar Strait was hit by Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK. The damage caused requires extensive repairs before the restoration of traffic. A retaliatory strike on June 23 "destroyed a warehouse with Storm Shadow cruise missiles at a Ukrainian airbase near the settlement of Starokonstantinov in the Khmelnytsky region," the Russian Defense Ministry's summary of June 24 states. It is also said about the next group strikes with high-precision long-range weapons at the places of storage of missile weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as the centers of radio intelligence and aviation equipment at the airfields of Kanatovo and Dnepr.
In an effort to seize the initiative from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian troops are moving forward in certain sectors of the front, said Denis Pushilin, acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic. He visited the fighters on the front line and was convinced of the high morale of the Russian military. "There is a positional confrontation in some sections of the front, and our progress is being observed in some sections," Pushilin said. And the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anna Malyar said: "a large-scale offensive is being observed in the East from the Russian side," which disrupts the plans of the AFU command. "During the day, the Ukrainian army had to achieve partial successes, consolidating the occupied positions and leveling the front line," she explained. "However, due to the large–scale offensive of Russian troops in some areas, we were unable to achieve the desired success."
Among the recent advances of the Russian army is the capture of the fortified area "Menagerie", which became known on June 21. There on the hill (211 meters) Ukrainian nationalists have built a serious fortified area, for which the enemy has been holding on for the past few months. With its capture, Russian troops have a good opportunity to develop success in the direction of the village of Pobeda with the southern coverage of Maryinka, the leader of the DPR believes.
In an interview with the British newspaper Guardian, the commander of the AFU Ground Forces, Colonel-General Alexander Syrsky, had to admit the successes of the Russian army. "The Russians are trying to seize the initiative, so the situation is really difficult," he said. "Our main forces have not yet participated in the battles, and now we are looking for, probing weaknesses in the enemy's defense," the Ukrainian military commander continued. According to him, "it will not be possible to achieve a big victory instantly and immediately," so we need to adjust ourselves to the protracted nature of the confrontation. A lot of manpower, equipment and artificial obstacles are concentrated on each side. According to Syrsky, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation "foresaw and continues to anticipate the most dangerous directions of our movements and builds a strong defense there, which is quite difficult to break through." Russian military leaders analyzed the experience of fighting for Groceries and Raisins. "Everyone is drawing conclusions, and no one wants to be held twice in the same way," concluded Syrsky.
The fact that the plan of the summer counteroffensive is not being carried out was also recognized by the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky. The progress is "slower than planned" and at the moment "we have not been able to achieve the objectives of this stage." Meanwhile, "high expectations" remain among Western politicians, and they put pressure on Kiev, not realizing that they cannot influence the course of events in this way. "The only way our partner countries can help is not with advice, but by increasing the supply of weapons, in particular, considering the issue of providing F-16 fighters, in which we have a huge need," Zelensky explained.
To what was said, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba added that while there is a conflict, weapons will not be enough, no matter how much they give. Active hostilities are accompanied by a high rate of ammunition consumption, and the European Union is not able to replenish the depleted arsenals – there are not enough resources. "In order to produce the amount of ammunition that Ukraine needs, we lack critical materials," said Josep Borrel, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The disruption of the summer counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine may find expression in the fact that the prospects for joining the North Atlantic Alliance will become more gloomy than in September 2022, when Kiev submitted an appropriate application. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine will not receive an invitation to NATO at the Vilnius summit scheduled for July 11-12. He is only ready to discuss how to "bring Ukraine closer to NATO" with the understanding that many member states of the military-political bloc welcome its expansion.
However, such an attitude deprives Ukrainian military leaders of motivation, knocks out the "foundation from under their feet," Zelensky responded. In an interview with the BBC, he said literally the following: "Stoltenberg knows my position... I believe that this is to throw our state and our military, this is to demotivate our army," Zelensky said.
Another example of "demotivation" is the systematic fire impact on the energy system of Ukraine. According to the report of the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank, it operates in an emergency mode with a limited margin of safety. 42 out of 94 high-voltage transformers were destroyed, and the generating capacity was halved. The damage is estimated at $10 billion. H
Vladimir Karnozov
