Breaking news from the Russian-Ukrainian war continues to come. Spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov stated that they hit the S-300 air defense missile system, which was given to Ukraine by Slovakia, with “Kalibr” high-precision missiles from the sea, together with its personnel.
Konashenkov gave information about the activities of the Russian army in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Noting that high-precision weapons were used against targets in Ukraine yesterday, Konashenkov said, “The S-300 air defense missile system, which was delivered to the Kyiv regime by a European country on the southern outskirts of the Dnipro region, was destroyed with high-precision missiles from the sea, the S-300 air defense missile system hidden in the hangar. Four S-300 launchers and up to 25 personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces were shot down.” used the phrase.
Sharing the information that they destroyed the Ukrainian army’s weapons and weapons repair base, including the “Buk-M1” and “Osa-AKM” air defense missile systems, located near the Velikaya Novoselovka settlement, with high-precision rockets from the air during the night, Konashenkov said that 2 arsenals in Mykolayiv and Jovtnevoye He noted that the radar used for the guidance of the S-300 system was destroyed in the Uspenovki region.
Konashenkov stated that they shot 9 tanks, 5 howitzers and 5 Grad multi-barrel rocket launchers near Vozdivijenka and Ivanovka in the Donetsk region with high-precision weapons.
Noting that 2 “Su-25” warplanes belonging to the Ukrainian army were shot down near the city of Izyum, Konashenkov said that 78 military elements of the Ukrainian army were destroyed.
Konashenkov said, “To date, 129 aircraft, 99 helicopters, 243 air defense missile systems S-300, Buk-M1 and Osa AKM, 441 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2 thousand 79 tanks and armored vehicles, 239 multi-barrel rocket launchers, 909 howitzers belonging to the Ukrainian army. and howitzers, 2 thousand 3 private military vehicles were destroyed.” used the phrase.
Last week, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced that they had given Ukraine the S-300 air defense missile system.
IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR, THE BARREL WAS TURNED TO DONBAS
Russia’s war in Ukraine is shifting towards the Donbas region in the east of the country in its second month.
After recognizing the independence of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic on February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the Russia-Ukraine War on February 24 under the name of “special military operation” against Donbas in the early morning.
At the same time as Putin’s decision, explosions took place one after another in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, and in cities such as Kharkiv, Mariupol, Mykolaiv and Odessa.
Russian military units entered the Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions under the control of the Kyiv administration, simultaneously from the Russian border to the Kharkiv, Sumi, and Chernihiv regions, and through Belarus to the Chernobyl region. The Russian army landed troops in the Kherson and Melitopol regions via the Crimea.
After a while, Russian troops, with the support of airborne troops, surrounded Kiev from the west, east and northwest. Intense clashes took place between Russian and Ukrainian troops at Gostomel and Irpen near Kyiv.
In the following days, there were occasional explosions in cities such as Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Jitomir in western Ukraine. Russia announced that it is targeting military sites there.
“MAIN PURPOSE IS THE Liberation of Donbas”
The Russian Ministry of Defense declared that “the first phase of the operation in Ukraine has been completed”, arguing that they inflicted great losses on the Ukrainian army in the first month of the war.
Russian army leaders pointed out that their main effort was the “liberation of Donbas”, which was the main goal.
While the war was continuing, Russia and Ukraine started negotiations on the Ukrainian border in Belarus on February 28 for a ceasefire. The fourth face-to-face negotiations were held in Istanbul.
Concrete steps were taken in the negotiations held in Istanbul. After the negotiations, the Russian side announced that it had decided to significantly reduce military actions in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions in order to “increase mutual trust, continue negotiations and create the necessary conditions for achieving the final goal”.
THE RUSSIAN ARMY CONDENSES ON DONBAS IN THE SECOND STAGE
After the negotiations in Istanbul, starting from March 30, Russian troops began to withdraw from the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions.
The Russian side, which frequently targets the forces, weapons, resources and military equipment of the Ukrainian army with high-precision missiles, stated that they carried out this strategy in order to prevent the use of Ukraine’s forces in the Donbas.
“The purpose of the regrouping of the Russian Armed Forces is to intensify actions in priority areas and, above all, to complete the operation to completely liberate the Donbas,” spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov. He signaled that the Russian army would concentrate in the east of Ukraine in the second stage.
Russian military units are increasing their military actions to ensure full control of the region with the separatist forces in Donbas.
According to Russian officials, more than 93 percent of the territory of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, and more than 54 percent of the territory of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, is under control. It is stated that more than 90 percent of the control in Mariupol, the most important and strategic port city of Donetsk, where intense conflicts have been experienced for a long time, has been taken by the Russian side.
Russia has cut off Ukraine’s connection with the Sea of Azov, keeping not only the Donbas but also the city of Melitopol and the port city of Berdyansk in the Kherson and Zaporozhian regions under its control.
However, the fact that Russia could not take full control of the Donetsk region and started to shift power here shows that in the second stage of the war, conflicts will increase in the region where it is stated that there are more than 100 thousand Ukrainian soldiers.
THE PURPOSE OF CONCENTRATION OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY ON DONBAS
After recognizing the so-called Donetsk Republic and the Luhansk Republic, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed “friendship and cooperation” agreements with these administrations.
Russia’s recognition of the so-called republics in the east of Ukraine gave signs of “which borders” Moscow would consider and where it would focus its “military intervention”.
While starting the war against Ukraine, Putin stated that the so-called separatist administrations requested military aid from Russia.
In Putin’s words, “Russia, while recognizing these administrations, will have recognized their constitution and other official documents,” so the borders declared by the so-called constitutions of both administrations will be accepted by Moscow. Therefore, the Russian army will seize the entire Donetsk and Luhansk lands, some of which are under the control of the Kyiv administration, and will hand them over completely to the control of the separatists.
The constitution of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics states that the boundaries of their administration are “determined by the boundaries that existed on the day of its founding”.
Accordingly, the borders of the Donbas region, where the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk are located, are expanding to the administrative borders of Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Zaporojya regions.
Since 2014, pro-Russian separatists have controlled Donetsk and Luhansk city centres.
The remaining areas belonging to both administrative units, namely “the borders claimed by the separatists, are today under the control of the Ukrainian army”.
Russia’s recognition of the borders in the so-called constitution of governments gives an idea of the area it will reach in the war against the territory of Ukraine.
On the other hand, the idea of the so-called governments joining Russia with a referendum, and bringing the referendum to the agenda in Kherson outside of Donbas, is considered as a sign of the tension and change in the region in the coming days.
DONBAS CRISIS
After the pro-Western government came to power after the square events in Ukraine in 2014 and President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country, separatists declared administrations in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where the population of Russian ethnic origin is densely populated, by opposing the Kyiv administration.
Hard and bloody clashes took place between the separatists who declared the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, which nobody knew in those days but Russia supported, and the Kyiv administration forces.
Although Minsk agreements were signed in 2014 and 2015 to stop the conflicts, ceasefire violations continued and it is stated that around 14 thousand people lost their lives in these clashes.
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