WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine vows not to give up on Bakhmut amid constant Russian attacks
Ukraine's top military commanders have vowed to keep defending the besieged city of Bakhmut, where Russia is hoping to make its first major wartime gain in more than half a year, and will strengthen their defences, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Amidst some of the bloodiest fighting of the more than one-year long invasion, Moscow says capturing the city would be a step towards its major objective of seizing the full territory of the surrounding Donbas region.
The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces late on Monday reported that the city and surrounding areas were under "constant attacks" as "the enemy takes no account of losses."
After Russian gains in recent weeks, at the culmination of a winter offensive, Ukrainian troops have been reinforcing positions west of Bakhmut in apparent preparation for a possible retreat.
However, late on Monday, Zelenskiy said that at a meeting of top military officials he had asked the commander of the regional grouping and Ukraine's commander in chief how they proposed to proceed.
"Both generals responded not to withdraw but to strengthen (our defences)," he said in his nightly address.
"I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut."
The intense battle has depleted both sides' artillery reserves, with thousands of shells fired daily along the eastern and southern fronts. Kyiv's European allies are working on a deal to procure more ammunition for the fight.
The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, which is leading the Bakhmut assault, said on Monday he needed the regular army to supply him with more ammunition, reinforcements and covering support if he was to win the battle.
The appeal from Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin came amid signs of a deepening rift between him and the Russian defence ministry whom he has bitterly criticised for months and accused of deliberately starving his men of ammunition, an allegation it has rejected.
"I'm knocking on all doors and sounding the alarm about ammunition and reinforcements, as well as the need to cover our flanks," he said in a statement released by his press service.
"If everyone is coordinated, without ambition, screw-ups and tantrums, and carries out this work, then we will block the armed forces of Ukraine. If not, then everyone will be screwed."
There was no immediate response from the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Separately, Reuters reported Kyiv has broadened a request for controversial cluster bombs from the United States to include a weapon that it wants to cannibalize to drop the anti-armor bomblets it contains on Russian forces from drones, according to two U.S. lawmakers.
A National Security Council spokesperson said that while Ukraine and the White House "closely coordinate" on military aid, she had no "new capabilities to announce."
BAKHMUT MORE SYMBOLIC THAN STRATEGIC, SAYS U.S.
After losing ground during the second half of 2022, Russia launched a winter offensive of intense trench warfare, making use of hundreds of thousands of reservists called up late last year.
Russia's offensive has produced no notable gains, failing to seize ground in Luhansk province further north and taking heavy losses in particular around Vuhledar to the south.
Ukraine has focused mainly on defence for the last three months, trying to inflict high casualties while preparing for a counter-offensive when new weapons arrive and the muddy ground dries out.
Speaking to reporters in the Middle East on Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he would not predict when or if Ukrainian troops might leave Bakhmut, but that should it fall that "won't necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight".
"I think it is more of a symbolic value than it is strategic and operational value," Austin said.
Kyiv says Russia's losses in trying to seize a city already reduced to rubble could determine the future course of the war by destroying combat power ahead of decisive battles later this year.
Russia refers to the campaign as a "special military operation" but has increasingly reframed initial denunciation of "Nazis" in Ukraine to describe it as a fight against the "collective West" which threatens its very existence.
Ukraine and the West describe Russia's actions as an unprovoked war of aggression aimed at expanding territory.
On Monday, Russia's FSB security service said it had thwarted a Ukraine-backed car bomb attack against a prominent nationalist businessman who has been a cheerleader for Moscow's war. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Air defenses repel Ukrainian strike over Russia
Ukrainian forces have attempted to target the town of Novy Oskol in Russia’s Belgorod Region with missiles, but the incoming projectiles were intercepted by air defenses, local Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said.
“In Novy Oskol, our air defense system was activated. Three missiles were shot down,” Gladkov wrote on Telegram on Monday morning.
According to preliminary data, a man suffered shrapnel wounds to his arm as a result of the incident.
The debris from the intercepted missiles also caused minor damage to power lines and several homes in the villages around the town, he said.
All the relevant operational and emergency services have been deployed to the scene, the Belgorod Region governor added.
Novy Oskol is a town of some 18,000 people, located 109km (68 miles) northeast of the regional capital Belgorod.
The Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk, which all border Ukraine, have been the targets of numerous drone and missile attacks by Kiev’s forces since the start of the Russian military campaign a year ago.
The strikes were aimed against energy infrastructure and residential areas, resulting in destruction, injuries, and several civilian deaths.
In recent weeks, Gladkov has been reporting some form of attacks on settlements in Belgorod Region almost on a daily basis.
Last Thursday, a Ukrainian cross-border incursion into two villages in Bryansk Region left two people dead and a ten-year-old boy injured. The gunmen were forced back to Ukrainian territory and hit with a “massive artillery strike,”according to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). President Vladimir Putin slammed the incident as a “terrorist attack,” in which civilians were targeted deliberately.
** Chinese cars filling void left by Western brands in Russia
Chinese car brands have embarked on a major expansion in Russia amid the exodus of European, American, and Japanese brands, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
In 2022, Chinese automakers Geely, Chery, and Great Wall Motors took a 17% share of Russia’s car market, filling the void left by the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, such as Volkswagen, Nissan, Renault, and Toyota, which pulled out of the country last year.
Economic sanctions and political pressure made it difficult for many automakers to continue operations in Russia last year. In particular, logistical disruptions arose once imports of cars and spare parts to the country were stopped.
French automaker Renault suffered one of the biggest blows among businesses that were forced to leave Russia, the outlet said. The company lost $2.4 billion in assets as a result of pulling out of its second-largest market.
Some experts believe that Chinese automakers also risk facing pressure over their business in Russia, while others say that they have been able to “fly under the radar” due to not being well known in Europe, Bloomberg said.
According to the Russian analytical agency Autostat, the four best-selling vehicles last year were Chinese-made.
Russian sales of Chery, the second-largest Chinese car exporter worldwide, averaged 4,475 vehicles per month last year. Great Wall was second with a monthly average of 2,940 cars sold. Geely, which sells models such as Coolray and Atlas, was third with 2,035, according to Autostat.
** Russian forces wipe out US-made radar in Ukraine operation
Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system, an S-300 radar and a US-made counter-battery radar station over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Monday.
"In the area of the settlement of Troitskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a Ukrainian Buk-M1 self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system was destroyed. In the area of the community of Andreyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a guidance radar of a Ukrainian S-300 surface-to-air missile system was obliterated. In addition, a US-manufactured AN/TPQ-37 counter-battery radar station was destroyed near the settlement of Gulyaipole in the Zaporozhye Region," the spokesman said.
"In the past 24 hours, operational/tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Russian group of forces struck 86 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions, manpower and equipment in 117 areas," the general said.
Russian fighter aircraft shot down a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet and a Mi-8 helicopter while Russian air defenses downed a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"Fighter aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 plane in an aerial battle near the community of Trudoolenovka in the Zaporozhye Region. In addition, a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter was downed near the settlement of Novopavlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
Also, Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jet near the city of Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the general added.
Russian forces struck Ukrainian army units in the Kupyansk area, eliminating over 40 Ukrainian troops in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kupyansk direction, assault and army aviation aircraft and artillery of the western battlegroup struck the enemy’s units in areas near the settlements of Timkovka in the Kharkov Region and Novosyolovskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
The strikes eliminated enemy manpower and equipment, the general said.
"As many as 45 Ukrainian personnel, two armored combat vehicles and three pickup trucks were destroyed," Konashenkov reported.
Russian forces struck Ukrainian manpower and equipment in the Krasny Liman area, eliminating over 160 enemy troops, a tank and a Grad multiple rocket launcher over the past day, he said.
"In the Krasny Liman direction, units of the battlegroup Center and artillery inflicted damage on the enemy’s manpower and equipment in areas near the settlements of Yampolovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic as a result of their active operations," the spokesman said.
The enemy lost over 160 troops, a tank, three infantry fighting vehicles, five armored combat vehicles, three motor vehicles and a Grad multiple rocket launcher in that area in the past 24 hours, the general specified.
Russian forces eliminated about 225 Ukrainian troops in their advance in the Donetsk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Donetsk direction, as many as 225 Ukrainian personnel, five infantry fighting vehicles, nine armored combat vehicles, five pickup trucks, four motor vehicles, an Uragan multiple launch rocket system and a D-30 howitzer were destroyed as a result of the continued active operations by units of the southern battlegroup and artillery fire," the spokesman said.
In addition, Russian forces obliterated an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 55th artillery brigade in the area of the settlement of Dachnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and a US-made AN/TPQ-37 counter-battery radar near the community of Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the general said.
Russian forces destroyed about 65 Ukrainian troops in the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
In the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas, artillery of the battlegroup East struck the Ukrainian army units in areas near the settlements of Ugledar, Prechistovka and Novosyolka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the spokesman said.
"As many as 65 [Ukrainian] personnel, two armored combat vehicles, two pickup trucks and Uragan and Grad multiple rocket launchers were destroyed in those areas in the past 24 hours," the general specified.
Russian forces destroyed three Ukrainian armored combat vehicles and an Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer in the Kherson area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kherson direction, artillery fire eliminated three armored combat vehicles, eight motor vehicles and an Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer," the spokesman said.
Russian air defenses destroyed nine Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles and shot down 15 HIMARS and Uragan rockets over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the past 24 hours, air defense capabilities intercepted 15 rockets of the HIMARS and Uragan multiple launch rocket systems and destroyed nine unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Berestovoye in the Kharkov Region, Karmazinovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Blagodatnoye, Novoandreyevka, Kirillovka and Verkhnetoretskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Chubarevka and Magedovo in the Zaporozhye Region and Lesnoye in the Sumy Region," the spokesman said.
In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 396 Ukrainian warplanes, 217 helicopters, 3,345 unmanned aerial vehicles, 410 surface-to-air missile systems, 8,192 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,054 multiple rocket launchers, 4,284 field artillery guns and mortars and 8,771 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.
Reuters/RT/TASS
