Ukrainian personnel are expanding their resolute defense against Russian aggression at a simply remarkable pace. According to Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command, the country’s defenders — specifically, rocket and artillery units and aircraft in Ukraine’s Armed Forces — launched over 100 strikes on Russian troops positioned across southern Ukraine on May 12, which was Thursday.
Other recent Ukrainian battlefield successes include the destruction of dozens of Russian armored vehicles alongside an unknown number of troops in tandem with an attempted crossing by the Russian personnel of the Siverskyi Donets River. “Images indicate that during the crossing of the Siverskyi Donets river west of Severodonetsk, Russia lost significant armoured manoeuvre elements of at least one Battalion Tactical Group as well as the deployed pontoon bridging equipment,” U.K. defense authorities recently reported. Estimates of the scope of Russia’s losses in the river incident suggest three dozen vehicles were destroyed nearly at once. Forbes identified the hit as destroying “at least seven T-72 and T-80 tanks, 17 BMPs, seven MT-LB armored tractors, five other vehicles and much of the bridging unit itself, including a tugboat and the pontoon span.”
⚡️Ukrainian forces strike Russian military positions in south over 100 times on May 12.
As a result of the strikes, 57 Russian soldiers were killed and 60 units of equipment destroyed, according to Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 13, 2022
As previously reported here, for Russia to have lost that many vehicles in one confrontation with Ukrainian forces appears to indicate that the entire battalion was apparently left out-of-service, since whatever was left seemed below the level required for operations — although there are obviously opportunities for Russia to reorganize and seek to replenish their forces. The Russian regime, as led by Putin, continues to stand by the violence inflicted in Ukraine, which has led to responses from around the world in the form of assistance for Ukraine and economic measures targeting Russia. In a recent statement, leaders in the G7 said they “commit to phase out our dependency on Russian energy, including by phasing out or banning the import of Russian oil,” “will continue to take action against Russian banks connected to the global economy and systemically critical to the Russian financial system,” and more. The officials also re-stated their commitment to going after wealthy Russians connected to Putin’s circles. Some such individuals have seen certain high-dollar assets seized by governing officials across the globe.
⚡️Defense minister: War enters new protracted phase.
Oleksii Reznikov said on May 13 that nobody can predict when a breakthrough in favor of Ukraine will happen, but it will take time for the heavy foreign weapons supplied to Ukraine to balance out the Russian forces.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 13, 2022
The U.S., a member of the G7 group of nations, already rolled out a ban on Russian energy imports, and U.S. officials have also targeted hundreds upon hundreds of interests inside Russia with sanctions. Senate leaders are also preparing to pass $40 billion worth of new assistance for Ukraine, although Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) recently delayed the approval of that assistance, demanding a change to the underlying bill text that would create an inspector general position overseeing the aid. Senate leaders had originally hoped to pass the assistance via unanimous consent, which Paul’s objection stopped. Now, it’ll be days before the aid passes — there’s no apparent indication the Senate will actually agree to Paul’s demands, meaning it’s literally just a stunt.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 13 May 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/7SVSQChAFe
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/vqt5MS4LR5
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 13, 2022
