On day 45 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military continues with its organization of forces to the east of Ukraine. The Ukrainian military is also refitting and regrouping its forces to counter the anticipated renewed Russian assault on the Donbas.
Meanwhile, indiscriminate Russian long-range strikes are wreaking havoc on Ukrainian cities and civilians.
An Ongoing Repositioning
In its daily estimate of the conflict, the British Ministry of Defense assessed that the Russian military is going to place more emphasis on southern and eastern Ukraine in an attempt to create a land corridor between annexed Crimean and the Donbas. Ukrainian resistance, however, continues to thwart the Russian plans, while Moscow keeps relying on long-range fires to terrorize the Ukrainian people.
“Russia continues to hit Ukrainian non-combatants, such as those killed in yesterday’s rocket strike on Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine. Russian operations continue to focus on the Donbas region, Mariupol and Mykolaiv, supported by continued cruise missile launches into Ukraine by Russian naval forces. Russian air activity is expected to increase in the south and east of Ukraine in support of this activity. However, Russian ambitions to establish a land corridor between Crimea and the Donbas continue to be thwarted by Ukrainian resistance,” the British Military Intelligence assessed.
Moreover, after 45 days of war, the Russian military finally appointed an overall commander for the war. General Aleksandr V. Dvornikov will oversee the next phase of the invasion and the Russian military’s attempt to capture the Donbas.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that as of Saturday, Ukrainian forces have killed approximately 19,100 Russian troops (and wounded approximately thrice that number), destroyed 151 fighter, attack, and transport jets, 136 helicopters, 705 tanks, 335 artillery pieces, 1,895 armored personnel carriers, 108 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), seven boats, 1,363 vehicles, 76 fuel tanks, 55 anti-aircraft batteries, 112 unmanned aerial systems, 25 special equipment platforms, such as bridging vehicles, and four mobile Iskander ballistic missile systems.
The Russian casualties claimed by the Ukrainian military have been steadily falling over the past week, a reflection of the ongoing repositioning of forces from the north of the country to east. But once the Russian reorganization finishes and Moscow launches its anticipated renewed assault on the Donbas, the numbers are expected to rise again.
Putin’s War of Terror
From the beginning of the invasion, the Russian campaign has been characterized by indiscriminate targeting of civilians. Whether that is a result of a lack of precision strike capabilities, such as the so-called “smart bombs,” on the part of the Russian military, or an intentional attempt to terrorize Ukrainian cities and put pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government to negotiate matters little to the dead women and children in towns and villages across Ukraine.
The latest indiscriminate strike came on Friday in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. There, a Russian missile struck the train station of the city that was packed with civilians looking to escape the incoming Russian assault and flee to the western parts of Ukraine. More than 50 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in the attack.
1945’s New Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
sprinter
April 9, 2022 at 6:14 pm
The Ukrainians have claimed to have destroyed 2,600 armoured vehicles, which includes tanks. Since the original ukraine invasion consisted of 10,000 vehicles, that leaves 7,400 armoured vehicles. Half the original invasion force of 150,000 has been neutralized through fatalities or wounding. Multiply fatalities of 19,000 x 4= 76,000/150,000.
Western anti tank weapons to ukraine were 20,000, which means nearly three anti tank weapons to each remaining armoured vehicle.
I was a shrewd gambler, recognising to walk away after first loss. Putin is a bad loser, not walking away when the odds don’t fsvour his half swastika army. That’s what bad losers do, they double up and lose double and more.
When Russia’s only supporters are paria states like North Korea and Iran, that’s when the writing is on the wall. Putin would do well to note how his hero Nazi Hitler ended.
Alex
April 9, 2022 at 8:06 pm
And now, not the hysteria of the Bandera Nazi in the comments, but the facts:
1. Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war in Donbass do not have a swastika.
All Bandera prisoners have swastika tattoos on their backs, chests and shoulders. I think even the comments here are not good enough to understand who the real Nazis are.
2.The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to 123,890 people killed, 76,000 wounded and seriously wounded;
The losses of the national battalions exceeded 56,000 killed, the wounded are not counted, but often finished off;
The losses of the Volkssturm and Freikorps, as well as the National Guard and the National Police, exceeded 55,700 killed. The ongoing waves of mobilization in Ukraine speak of the great enthusiasm of the civilian population in signing up for defense, about 110,000 have already been mobilized, however, with the loss of 180,000 ATO and UAF fighters, as well as Nazi and nationalist battalions, they make these thousands of civilians an easy target and potential deserters and strikebreakers.
74% of Uuraina’s armored forces, 68% of aircraft, 98% of UAVs, 80% of MLRS were destroyed. The Nazis always failed.
troll-feeder
April 10, 2022 at 12:21 am
Alexis,
I didn’t know you were working weekends! Info wars must be going worse than your actual war, which is really saying something. Remember when you said “of course kyiv would be taken”? Good times ?
Shouldn’t you be calling them “prisoners of special military operation?” Just trying to keep you on the right path, I hear calling it a war is a crime in your country. That’s what friends are for.
PS Your copy+paste game is getting better. Try to mix it up a little more though.
Alex
April 10, 2022 at 11:21 am
Bandera Nazi troll: I cite data from independent sources, not from the fake Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. I provide articles by independent journalists from the USA, Britain, Germany, China and many other countries. I understand that their opinion and facts for you will only mean that they were “bought by the Kremlin.” You Bandera Nazi trolls can only squeal this when those who are and were there and saw everything themselves tell you the truth. We, free people, are sure of only one thing: Russia will carry out a special military operation as it was intended. And tell your fakes to your mother or a friend with a huge hole as you like.
CK
April 10, 2022 at 4:56 pm
Man, you can see the quality of the propaganda diminishing by the day. Alex, your obvious trolling just doesn’t cut through like you might think it does. What happened? Are you nervous now? Are you angry Russia is losing? Have your superiors and mentors been sent to the front? Are they not checking your homework now?
You’re as obvious as an open book, or should I say, an open script. I even gave you a little checklist the other day, and word to word, you repeat it every day.
I guess these days, you have to work weekends to make ends meet huh, now that your currency is worth nothing and your economy is in shambles. Sad really.
Alex
April 10, 2022 at 7:13 pm
I would like to remind you why Russia’s special military operation for denazification and demilitarization in Ukraine is not a war:
1. Ukraine has not declared war on Russia. Strange, right?
2. Russia did not disconnect Ukraine from electricity, water supply, food supplies. How is this possible if this is a war?
3. People’s Police of Donbass and Russian forces free the population, which thanks them in all the videos. How is this possible?
Conclusion: now even people in the Anglo-Saxon countries are waking up and supporting Russia. The plan of Britain and the United States is falling apart irrevocably. This is a fiasco, motherfuckers. All Bandera Nazis will face trial, but not only them, but also those who are thousands of miles away from Ukraine. Everyone will answer.
Eric
April 10, 2022 at 7:40 pm
Alex is quoting Ivan Ilyin, a Russian fascist philosopher, while calling the Ukrainians fascist.
Alex
April 10, 2022 at 8:50 pm
Eric (Bandera Nazi): Ivan Ilyin was an opponent of communism. But you Bandera Nazis only like Bandera. Above him for you, only Hitler and Mussolini for you.
No, motherfucker. Ukrainians are NOT fascists. But – Bandera Nazis have nothing to do with Ukrainians. From 2014 to 2022, Bandera Nazis killed Ukrainians in the Donbass. There is a lot of evidence, the whole world is watching and seeing.
Not only those who kill Ukrainians will answer. Their curators will answer. Those who, as you write here, will also answer. It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you are from. Nazism will be destroyed.
Martin Harvey
April 11, 2022 at 9:01 am
Back away from the tin foil hat Alex.
How are you able to get access to a computer or mobile phone when these things are not given to people living in the nut farm….you clearly are in need of meds….the Russian army obviously denied you joining up years ago and your having flash backs….
Mind you i do find it entertaining….psml….you do know what that means right…
Alex
April 11, 2022 at 10:34 am
Martin: All I understand is that you are delusional and hallucinating. Take Xanox and visit your psychiatrist.