The Ukrainian troops are in marching order. On Sunday March 12, the Kyiv army continued to defend Bakhmout, with the aim of “gaining time” before launching a counter-offensive against the advances of Russian forces in this city in eastern Ukraine, including Moscow. tries to seize since the summer, at the cost of heavy losses. The Russians have been trying for several weeks to encircle this city of some 70,000 inhabitants before the conflict and have succeeded in cutting off several important routes for the supply of Ukrainian soldiers. Faced with sustained attacks from Moscow, the objective is to be able to retaliate soon.
Soon a counter-offensive in Bakhmout?
“The real heroes are the defenders who hold the Eastern Front on their shoulders,” said Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Oleksandre Syrsky. “We must gain time to accumulate reserves and launch a counter-offensive, which is not far off,” he said, quoted by the army press service on Saturday. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces had the day before “repelled more than 100 enemy attacks” in key combat areas.
“At the beginning of the war, we didn’t have drones. The missions were more complicated and less efficient. But in the summer, we started to receive drones and other equipment. Today, we are more efficient” , Petro, the pilot of one of the three MI-8 attack helicopters which had just carried out a raid against a target near Bakhmout, told AFP. The UK Ministry of Defense said that “over the past four days” the Russian paramilitary group Wagner had “taken control of most of eastern” Bakhmout. “Ukrainian forces control the west of the city and have demolished key bridges over the river” which crosses it, the ministry said.
Ammunition, training… The Minister of Foreign Affairs presses Germany
In an interview published on Sunday, Ukraine’s foreign minister urged Germany to speed up ammunition supplies and start training Ukrainian pilots on Western fighter jets. Dmytro Kuleba told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that ammunition shortages were the “number one” problem in Ukraine’s attempt to repel the Russian invasion. He said German arms manufacturers told him at the Munich security conference last month that they were ready to deliver but were waiting for the government to sign contracts.
“So the problem lies with the government,” Kuleba reportedly said. The latter made it clear that he did not expect Western allies to give Ukraine the fighter jets it demanded anytime soon. But he said Ukrainian pilots would have to be trained anyway, so they would be ready once that decision was made, the newspaper wrote. If Germany were to train Ukrainian pilots, it would be a “clear message of its political commitment”, he said.
Russian losses heaviest among ethnic minorities
Russian combat losses vary widely across regions of Russia, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence update. In proportion to their population size, the wealthiest cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg are relatively spared. This is especially true for the country’s elite families. On February 21, 2023, senior Russian officials were photographed forming the front two rows of the audience for President Putin’s State of the Nation address. None of these are known to have children serving in the military.
In many eastern regions, the death rate is, as a percentage of the population, almost 30 times higher than in Moscow. In some places, ethnic minorities are the most affected; in Astrakhan, some 75% of the victims come from the Kazakh and Tartar minority populations. As the Russian Ministry of Defense seeks to fill its persistent shortage of combat personnel, isolating the more affluent and influential elements of Russian society will most likely remain a major consideration.
In one year, Ukraine was bombed more than 40,500 times
Russia has bombed Ukraine more than 40,500 times since its invasion in February 2022, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Bombings have destroyed more than 152,000 residential buildings since the start of the war, reports Euromaidan, citing Klymenko. Russian missile strikes targeted “critical infrastructure” in Zaporizhia, reported the Kyiv Independent. The strikes launched on Saturday likely came from S-300 air defense missiles, the military administration of Zaporizhia Oblast reported.
More than 90 Russian attacks repelled in 24 hours, according to the Ukrainian general staff
The Ukrainian army repelled more than 92 Russian assaults in five areas during the day on Saturday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said during its morning briefing on March 12, reports thee Kyiv Independent. According to the General Staff report, Russian forces are focusing their efforts on conducting offensives against Lyman, Bakhmout, Avdiivka, Mariinka and Shakhtarsk in Donetsk Oblast. In the past 24 hours, Russia has launched five missiles, targeting the city of Zaporizhia, 12 airstrikes and 56 MLRS attacks against Ukraine, targeting the city of Kherson, which have caused civilian casualties, he said. added.
The Ukrainian Air Force carried out six strikes on temporary Russian bases, while Ukrainian rocket and artillery forces struck four Russian temporary bases, an ammunition depot and two electronic warfare stations, it said. he continued. The Ukrainian military warns of a still high threat of missile attacks across Ukraine.