Updated on 05/10/2023 23:02
For NATO, the biblical story of David and Goliath is the appropriate image for the development of the war in Ukraine. In the area around Bakhmut, the Russians appear to be losing ground. The day in the blink of an eye.
According to Ukraine, it achieved some successes in the Battle of Bakhmut. The attacks were carried out over a width of three kilometers and a length of 2.6 kilometers, the founder of the controversial Ukrainian Azov regiment Andriy Biletskyj said on Wednesday night in Telegram.
The territory is completely free of Russian soldiers. From a NATO point of view, Moscow’s armed forces in Ukraine are generally in an increasingly difficult situation. According to German Inspector General Carsten Breuer, however, Kiev is moving forward with preparations for its military offensive.
Mercenary chief Prigozhin fears Bakhmut siege
The head of the Russian mercenary force, Wagner, fears that his unit will be surrounded in the fight for the city of Bakhmut, in the east of Ukraine. “In view of the lack of ammunition, the ‘meat grinder’ now threatens to turn in the opposite direction,” wrote Yevgeny Prigozhin in Telegram on Wednesday night. Due to high losses, Wagner had to leave flanking protection to regular units of the Russian army, which, according to reports from the Ukrainian military, were pushed back up to two kilometers on Wednesday.
“There is now a serious danger that Wagner will be surrounded by the collapse of the flanks”, wrote Prigozhin. “And the flanks are already cracked and crumbling.” According to Prigozhin, Bakhmut “has no strategic value”. The Russian side only took over the Battle of Bakhmut to wear out the potential of the Ukrainian armed forces after the withdrawal of Russian troops from other parts of Ukraine.
NATO: “Goliath totters”
According to NATO, the duration and course of the war is increasingly affecting Moscow. “Russia is in the 15th month of a war that was thought to last three days,” Military Committee Chairman Admiral Rob Bauer said in Brussels on Wednesday. He added: “Goliath falters. And that’s because David, backed by 50 nations around the world, has shown tremendous resilience and tactical brilliance.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expects the alliance to launch new plans for defense strategy and expansion of weapons production at the July summit. “We are moving in the right direction, but not as fast as the dangerous world we live in demands,” warned Stoltenberg.
Inspector General: Ukraine’s morale remains very high
Bundeswehr Inspector General Breuer highlighted Ukraine’s consistently high combat morale. “I didn’t feel any war fatigue, but an almost irrepressible desire not only to end this war, but also to win it,” Breuer told the German Press Agency after a visit to the site.
Ground conditions are currently difficult. “The ground is still muddy and wet. There are still large lakes in some of the fields. The conditions for a comprehensive offensive have not been created in recent weeks,” continued Breuer. In every conversation, however, he was told that plans for the Ukrainian offensive were in the works.
The Czech Republic is supplying two anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine
The Czech Republic delivered two Soviet 2K12 Kub anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine. The delivery includes a “relatively large number of missiles”, Czech President Petr Pavel said in a radio interview on Wednesday. Ukraine can use this technology right away because its soldiers are familiar with it. The system can be used, for example, to protect armored units against air attacks.
As another possibility, the former general raised considerations to supply Kiev with Aero L-159 light fighters. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Czech Republic has supplied the attacked country with main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, helicopters, rocket launchers and large amounts of ammunition.
Drones attack Russian military site
According to official information, two drones attacked a Russian military base in the Voronezh region of western Russia, not far from Ukraine. The attack was repulsed, local governor Alexander Gusev wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. “One was blown off course by (anti-aircraft) action and crashed, the other was destroyed by bombing.”
Several media reported that more than ten Russian soldiers were injured in the attack. According to the independent internet portal Astra, the attack was aimed at the Pogonovo military training area, southwest of Voronezh. Because of the attack, ten ambulances were sent to Pogonowo, the number of wounded was “more than ten”.
London sees significant weaknesses in view of Moscow parade
According to British intelligence experts, the “Victory Day” parade over Nazi Germany on Tuesday in Moscow revealed the weaknesses of the Russian armed forces. Russia’s 15-month war of aggression in Ukraine presents material and strategic communication challenges, the Defense Ministry’s London daily intelligence report said on Wednesday.
Of the 8,000 military personnel who attended the parade, most were auxiliaries, paramilitaries and cadets. The only regular troops ready for action were contingents of railway troops and military police.
Russia before the official withdrawal of the KFE disarmament treaty
Russia is preparing to officially withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). This emerges from an order by President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin published on Wednesday. There, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was appointed plenipotentiary for the debate in Parliament.
The bill on the exit itself has not yet entered the Russian State Duma. The CFE treaty sets limits for the stationing of heavy weapons on the European continent. This includes main battle tanks and armored vehicles, heavy artillery, combat aircraft and helicopters. Moscow was one of the co-signatories of the agreement in 1990, but largely suspended its implementation as early as 2007. (dpa/cgo)