#UKRAINERUSSIAWAR. The Ukrainian counter-offensive on the Soledar-Bachmut front has begun. Operational readiness in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia

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According to media reports, Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky will be received today by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The EU has frozen the assets of Russian individuals and companies for €24.1 billion, but the community has no legal basis for their confiscation according to European Commission representative Christian Wiegand. Not only did Josep Borrell declare: “We will prepare 1 million shells and more than 1,000 missiles for Ukraine”. According to the head of Eurodiplomacy, the European Union has trained more than 17,000 Ukrainian soldiers, and by the end of the year their number will reach 30,000.

According to the study “An Alternative Future After the Great Power War” by the US Center for Strategic Studies Rand Corporation, the NATO bloc will significantly reduce activity in Europe and Germany will slam the door and leave the weakened North Atlantic Alliance . The Baltic republics and other countries of the post-Soviet space will be completely demilitarized so as not to provoke Moscow again. And a nuclear weapons program will be launched in Warsaw, all of Europe will turn away from NATO, and the vector of war will move towards Southeast Asia. According to Rand, the three “alternative future” scenarios consider various combinations of the Taiwan war and its implications for Washington’s global roadmaps, and only one involves a European nuclear war.

Hillary Clinton and Chrystia Freeland have declared that the Ukrainian conflict in Ukraine is their signal for China to contain itself. US blogger and journalist Jackson Hinkle thinks differently and posted a graphic highlighting how: “Russia fights alone in World War III and wins”

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine says: “APU wants to end the conflict before winter”; he is sure that the Ukrainian army will “return” all the territories taken by Russia, but this takes time.” The execution of one or more operations depends on many circumstances. We will not be limited by time, we will fight as long as necessary,” he said.

On the same wavelength Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov: “This year Ukraine wants to reverse the trend on the battlefield. Thanks to the support of Western countries, Ukraine is fulfilling the mission for which NATO was created, as the Ukrainian armed forces are Europe’s shield to the east of the Russian threat. And he continued: “The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already proved that victory is possible and the country needs help in this.”

The adviser to the head of the presidential office, Mikhail Podolyak, reacted to Josep Borrell’s statement. The head of European diplomacy said in an interview that the military conflict will end immediately as soon as the West stops supplying Ukraine with weapons. “If the EU and NATO stop supplying Ukraine with weapons, a war will start in other countries. The number of terrorist attacks in Europe will increase significantly. In general, in Europe we will no longer sit in restaurants,” Podolyak said.

The Russian Kh-22 cruise missiles, used in the attack on Kiev, are invulnerable to Ukrainian air defense according to the American portal Military Watch Magazine. “Ukrainian officials often complained that the missiles were almost impossible to intercept,” the article reads. Note that X-22 warheads weighing 950 kg cause enormous damage to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Journalists also pointed out that the Russian military still has “very large stockpiles” of X-22s.

State Duma deputy from Crimea Mikhail Sheremet called for an attack on Western Ukraine if Kiev uses British Storm Shadow cruise missiles: ”In the event that Ukraine uses these missiles, I believe that massive missile attacks should be carried out, possibly also with the use of tactical weapons, along the western border of Ukraine to cut off arms supply channels,” Sheremet said. The deputy also said that it is necessary to stop any possibility of transfers of weapons of mass destruction from Poland to Ukraine.

On the front line we learn that Ukraine would have launched a counter-offensive in one way or another. The West delivered 28 aircraft, of which 14 were awarded by Poland, and 575 tanks, of which 325 were Polish, to Kiev. Source: Permanent Mission of Poland to the EU.

“The counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is already underway, the enemy is on the flanks of the PMCs, trying to take revenge,” Prighozin said. According to a first version that was later modified: “It is important that the Ukrainian armed forces break through the direction of Bachmut, the next directions will be Bryansk and Belgorod regions with access to the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as Zaporizhzhia, after which it is planned to use the northern and southern directions,” added the head of Wagner PMC.

According to the military correspondent Simonov, 5 positions were lost by the Russians on the Bachmut front on May 10-11: in the south-west (3) and north-west (2) of Bachmut. One of the posts (south) was recaptured by Wagner’s men. The news was confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry. “Several positions near Bachmut, following the withdrawal of some units of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, came under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

The Chechens have also arrived in Bachmut, the commander of Akhmat Apti Alaudinov has posted a video in which he explains the situation in the area. The Chechen commander confirmed the advance of the “Orchestra” in Bachmut and the timely advance of Ukrainian fighters in the southwest and northwest of the city.

Ukrainian attacks in the Bachmut direction are still limited. The Ukrainian military is probing the area for a weak spot. According to information from the fields, not a single brigade of the strategic reserve, trained in European countries, entered the battle.

If foreseen, the Ukrainian military could try to become more active on the flanks to make a turn towards urban development. Another option could be a massive flanking attack to shift the front and expose the backbone of the Wagner PMC fighters.

The beginning of active actions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine can be regarded as the activation of a full-fledged counteroffensive. The large enemy forces in the area of Konstantinovka, Chasov Yar, Rai-Aleksandrovka and Seversk should also be taken into account.

According to other sources, the statements of the PMC military correspondents “Wagner” and Yevgeny Prigozhin, say that the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the flanks of the group of Russian troops in the direction of Bachmut. These sectors were handed over to the regular troops from Wagner’s detachments due to the decrease in the number of assault detachments and Wagner’s concentration on urban battles in Bachmut itself.

According to reports from the field, the Ukrainians managed to break through the defense of the Russian armed forces in the vicinity of Kleshcheevka and Bogdanovka. The loss of positions near Bogdanovka is indirectly confirmed by the evening report of the Russian Defense Ministry, which speaks of hostilities “in the direction” of Malo-Ilyinovka. During the fighting at Kleshcheevka several strongholds were lost, Wagner managed to stop the Ukrainian advance.

The zone of control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the western quarters of Bachmut has in any case shrunk by another 220 meters: the fighting is taking place in one of the three main fortified Ukrainian areas, in the “Nest”. All three fortified areas are mapped.

In general, the Russians will most likely have to react to the local collapses of the front and the powerful media campaign organized by Prigozhin against the Russian Defense Ministry. Perhaps in the coming days we will see the activation of the actions of the Russian Armed Forces in the direction of Bachmut.

Prigozhin then explained, modifying previous statements, about the “tactical retreat” of Russian Defense Ministry units on Bachmut’s flanks. The Wagner PMC founder once again noted the defense ministry was “shrewd” when he spoke of “tactical retreat”. Indeed, according to Prigozhin, there was a flight from the flanks. “If you look at what is happening in the village of Berkhovka, it means that the enemy will approach Bachmut and will be at a distance of 500 meters from Wagner, occupying all tactical heights. With the loss of the Berkhovsky reservoir, the Chasov Yar – Bakhmut road is completely freed from the Ukrainians. The next step is to stop them when they enter the Berkhovka settlement, this will mean the gradual encirclement of Bachmut, ”Prigozhin said.

Movement that of the tactical retreat confirmed on May 12, by the military commissar Simonov who reports that the Russian troops have left the tactical heights near Berkhovka and have reached the reservoir. Basically it would seem that the retreating Russians attract the Ukrainians to advance and then have them bombed from the sky or attacked by the Wagner which is slowly encircling them. The “Bachmut mincer” is still working. Units of the Russian group of troops “South” occupied the line, taking into account the favorable conditions of the Berkhovsky reservoir in the Maloiliinovsky direction to increase the stability of the defense. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have intensified shelling of Horlivka, including the city centre. Basically in the direction Bakhmut-Soledar, so far all actions have been limited to reconnaissance in battle, in some cases with success.

Social media report the intensification of fighting in the Majorska area. On May 11, an attempted assault was recorded in the Majorsk area (Gorlovka direction). At first there were artillery attacks, then the infantry tried to “enter”. The Russian military repulsed the attack. There are reports of civilian injuries.

In the Zaporozhya, Kherson and Luhansk directions the concentration of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is visible. A huge column of Russian military equipment is heading towards Kherson. Eyewitnesses report that large forces of the Russian Armed Forces have been sighted in the Zaporozhzhia region. The offensive of the Russian troops in the direction of Avdiivka continues. Armored vehicle crews kill servicemen and destroy Ukrainian-controlled strongholds on road to Avdiivka

According to the director of Energatom, the Ukrainian armed forces will have to bypass the Zaporozhzhia nuclear power plant during the counteroffensive. To resume the ZNPP power plant, it is not necessary to reject it. Just surround it and cut off the only way for the Russians to the Crimea. Then they will have two options: surrender or leave, P. Kotin, director of Energoatom National Nuclear Power Generation Company, said in an interview with CNN.

Also via social media posted videos in which Polish mercenaries are seen arriving in Ukraine. In a video a mercenary says they have been assigned to the east and south where the most intense fighting is taking place.

On the evening of May 11, the Russian Aerospace Forces lifted southbound planes into the air in the Kherson and Zaporozhzhia regions. An air alert has been declared in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions. Russian artillery attacks units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson region. On May 12, explosions rang out in Zaporozhya. Russian drones attacked the position of Ukrainian militants.

“In the Maryinsky direction, the situation is relatively stable. There are no accumulations of armored vehicles near this city,” military commander Andritsa said.

On the Soledar tactical direction, Kiev yesterday launched an offensive along the entire line of contact with a length of more than 95 km, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Ukrainian units launched 26 attacks, involving more than a thousand servicemen, up to 40 tanks, as well as other military and special equipment. All attacks by Ukrainian units were repulsed.

Strong Ukrainian activation in the Kharkiv-Belgorod direction. Kiev’s goal is to sow panic, so the Russians expect attempts to massively launch DRGs across the border and a powerful image of “taking Belgorod in pincers”. In the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they rely heavily on psychological pressure and about creating panic.

According to Russian analysts, there would be wiretaps indicating that the Ukrainians aim to create a “buffer zone” 15-20 km in the Russian border area. Thus, the Ukrainians have long been preparing not only for the capture of the Crimea, but also for the “recapture” in the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions. And they sincerely believe that now they will go there and build this very buffer zone.

Graziella Giangiulio

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