Will Russian planes sweep over Ukraine? On the 411th day of the invasion of the country decided by Vladimir Putin, fears are centered around Ukrainian air defense systems. They could soon fall into the harbor, harassed by Russian missiles, according to American intelligence, which has also suffered major data leaks in recent weeks. At the same time, the city of Bakhmout, which has become the epicenter of the fighting, is still disputed. The municipality of Marinka sees more and more Russian tanks leading the assault on its territory – ruins, for the most part. Focus on the conflict.
The risk of escalating Russian air attacks
Weakened by repeated barrages of Russian drones and missiles, air defense could fracture, warn US officials in New York Times. These statements come as a leak of US intelligence documents recently highlighted the low stockpile of Ukrainian air defense missiles. The S-300s, which account for 89% of Ukrainian protection, were expected to run out in mid-May, according to this information.
If these documents have not been publicly updated since, the American authorities warn of the risk of intensification of Russian air attacks, with a view to taking advantage of the situation. Such a strategy would then constitute “one of the priority problems of the war”, according to Pentagon officials, quoted by the New York Times. Last week, Joe Biden’s cabinet announced an additional $2.6 million in air defenses for Ukraine. Until now, the Ukrainian army had managed to keep the Russian air force at bay.
Trips by Russian officials to Bakhmout
The head of the Russian occupation of the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, visited the center of Bakhmout, the epicenter for months of fighting in Ukraine and where the Russians seem to be advancing, according to a video published on Monday. In this content, the man is seen in combat gear in a debris-covered plaza that appears to be Freedom Square in central Bakhmout.
“Here is our Artiomovsk (Russian name for Bakhmout) being liberated by (the Russian paramilitary group) Wagner. it in this short, undated video. In recent days, Ukrainian forces seem to have lost ground in the city center. Already, Russian troops had advanced north and south of Bakhmut, cutting several Ukrainian supply routes and seizing its eastern part.
19 years in prison for anti-military mobilization action in Russia
A Russian court sentenced on Monday to 19 years in prison a former soldier and a former rescuer who had thrown Molotov cocktails at a town hall to protest against the mobilization to fight in Ukraine. This is the heaviest sentence handed down so far for this type of attack against official buildings, which have multiplied across Russia since the start of the offensive against Ukraine.
The two men, Roman Nasryev and Alexei Nuriev, were convicted by a military court in Yekaterinburg (Urals), in particular for “act of terrorism” in an organized gang, indicated the state press agency TASS. According to investigators, in mid-October, Roman Nasryev and Alexei Nuriev, who then worked respectively in the National Guard and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, had broken a window on the ground floor of the Bakal town hall during the night, a small town in the Chelyabinsk region.
Marinka, under new assaults
As Russia prepares for a Ukrainian counter-offensive, digging large trenches around the occupied territories in eastern Ukraine, British intelligence alerted on Monday to Russian assaults in Marinka. In this ruined city, located 20 kilometers from the city of Donetsk, ravaged by the fighting, which started in 2014, Russian armored vehicles continue to attack the area, and seem to be strengthening their efforts. “Russia is deploying significant resources for very relative gains,” the statement said.