RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Medvedev sees option of Russia destroying Western communications cables on Atlantic seabed
Given the West’s involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Russia should have a free hand to destroy Western seabed communications cables, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev warned on Wednesday.
"Now that the Western countries’ complicity in the sabotage of the Nord Streams has been proven, there should be no constraints, even moral ones, on us to prevent us from destroying our enemies’ seabed communications cables," the senior politician wrote on his Telegram channel.
Nord Stream sabotage
On September 27, 2022, Nord Stream AG reported unprecedented damage that occurred the day before on three strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipelines. On September 26, 2022, Swedish seismologists registered two explosions on the pipeline routes. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office launched a criminal case in connection with the incident based on charges of international terrorism.
On February 8, US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published an article claiming, citing anonymous sources, that US Navy divers had planted explosive devices under the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines under the cover of the BALTOPS naval exercise in June 2022, and that the Norwegians then activated the bombs three months later. According to the journalist, the decision to conduct the operation was made by US President Joe Biden personally, following nine months of discussions with White House national security advisers.
The White House has categorically denied the claims. The New York Times reported earlier, citing American officials, that a certain "pro-Ukrainian group" had the intention of blowing up the gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
Nord Stream probe
Russia has repeatedly complained that no probe into the incident is actually taking place, with Moscow being kept away from any investigation.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier demanded "a transparent and urgent international probe," which he said was not currently happening. He insisted that no doubt remained that the sabotage was deliberate.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said the United States has been staying mum on the Nord Streams because Washington itself is involved in extremist and criminal activities and that every word could be used against it.
** Kiev loses about 7,500 troops in attack in three directions — Russian top brass
The Ukrainian military has lost about 7,500 troops killed and wounded since June 4 in its attempts to attack in the south Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Donetsk areas, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday.
During the last 24-hour period, Ukrainian troops made unsuccessful attempts to attack in the south Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Donetsk directions and continued sustaining heavy losses among personnel and military equipment, the general told a briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine.
"In all, Ukrainian troops have lost about 7,500 personnel killed and wounded at the frontline alone since June 4, without counting soldiers destroyed in strikes by Russia’s long-range precision weapons and aircraft deep into Ukrainian territory," Konashenkov said.
Russian forces hit Ukrainian army reserves, mercenaries’ sites by precision weapons
Russian forces delivered precision strikes by seaborne and airborne weapons targeting Ukrainian army reserves, mercenaries’ deployment sites, foreign arms and equipment depots in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"At night, Russian forces delivered multiple strikes by seaborne and airborne long-range precision weapons against the amassment areas of the Ukrainian army’s reserves and foreign mercenaries, and also foreign-made ammunition, armament and military equipment depots. All the designated targets were destroyed. The goal of the strikes was achieved," the spokesman said.
Russian forces neutralize three Ukrainian subversive groups in Kupyansk area
Russian forces neutralized three Ukrainian subversive groups and destroyed roughly 30 enemy troops in the Kupyansk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kupyansk direction, the activity of three Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance groups was thwarted near the settlements of Sinkovka, Berestovoye and Artyomovka in the Kharkov Region by strikes of attack and army aircraft, artillery fire and active operations by units of the western battlegroup. As many as 30 Ukrainian troops, an armored combat vehicle, two motor vehicles, a US-manufactured M109 Paladin motorized artillery system and a Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery gun were destroyed in that direction in the past 24 hours," the spokesman said.
Russian forces eliminate Ukrainian saboteurs in Krasny Liman area
Russian forces eliminated a Ukrainian subversive group in the Donetsk People’s Republic in the Krasny Liman area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the area of the settlement of Grigorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance group was eliminated," the spokesman said.
Aircraft and artillery of Russia’s battlegroup Center inflicted damage on the enemy units near the settlements of Nevskoye and Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Terny and Torskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Serebryansky forestry, the general specified.
"As many as 60 Ukrainian personnel, an infantry fighting vehicle, two pickup trucks, a Gvozdika motorized artillery system, a D-20 howitzer and a Grad multiple rocket launcher were destroyed in that area in the past 24 hours," he said.
Russian forces destroy over 205 Ukrainian troops in Donetsk area
Russian forces destroyed over 205 Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"During the battles, the Ukrainian army’s losses amounted to over 205 personnel, two armored combat vehicles, seven motor vehicles, and two D-20 howitzers," the spokesman said.
In addition, Russian forces destroyed ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army’s 45th artillery and 57th motorized infantry brigades near Seversk Maliy and Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the general reported.
Russian forces repulse Ukrainian attacks near Vremevka in DPR
Russian forces repulsed attacks by two Ukrainian motorized infantry companies at the Vremevka salient in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"At the Vremevka salient near the settlement of Makarovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the attacks by two Ukrainian motorized infantry companies supported by four tanks and 11 armored combat vehicles were repelled by self-sacrificing and professional actions of defending units from the battlegroup East, air strikes and artillery fire. Four enemy tanks and seven armored combat vehicles were destroyed in the battles," the spokesman said.
Near the settlement of Prechistovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian forces successfully repelled attacks by two Ukrainian company tactical groups. The enemy’s losses amounted to five tanks and five armored combat vehicles, the general reported.
"In areas near the settlements of Rovnopol in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Levadnoye in the Zaporozhye Region and the Oktyabr state farm, Russian forces destroyed five enemy tanks," he said.
Kiev loses over 800 troops in Zaporozhye, south Donetsk areas in past day
The Ukrainian military lost over 800 troops, 20 tanks and two US-made howitzers in the south Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas over the past day, Konashenkov said.
"In all, the enemy’s losses in the south Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions in the past 24 hours amounted to over 800 Ukrainian personnel, 20 tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles, 15 armored combat vehicles, two US-made M777 artillery systems, a Msta-B howitzer, a D-30 howitzer and a Grad multiple rocket launcher," the spokesman said.
Russian forces thwart Ukrainian army attack in Zaporozhye area
Russian forces thwarted a Ukrainian attack in the Zaporozhye area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Zaporozhye direction, strikes by assault aircraft foiled an attack by units of the Ukrainian army’s 128th mountain assault brigade near the settlement of Zherebyanki in the Zaporozhye Region," the spokesman said.
Near the settlement of Novoandreyevka in the Zaporozhye Region, an artillery ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 65th mechanized brigade was obliterated, the general reported.
Russian forces destroy Ukrainian air defense radar in Zaporozhye area
Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian air defense radar in the Zaporozhye area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"Near the city of Zaporozhye, a P-18 aerial target detection and tracking radar was destroyed," the spokesman said.
Russian forces destroy 50 Ukrainian troops, artillery gun in Kherson area
Russian forces destroyed roughly 50 Ukrainian troops and a motorized artillery system in the Kherson area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kherson direction, as many as 50 Ukrainian personnel, nine motor vehicles and an Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system were destroyed in the past 24 hours as a result of damage inflicted by firepower," the spokesman said.
In the past 24 hours, operational/tactical and army aircraft, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groupings of forces struck 107 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions, manpower and military equipment in 137 areas, the general said.
Russian air defenses intercept two Storm Shadow cruise missiles in Ukraine operation
Russian air defense forces intercepted two Storm Shadow cruise missiles, four rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and shot down 20 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"During the last 24-hour period, air defense capabilities of the Russian Aerospace Forces intercepted two Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles and four rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system," the spokesman said.
In addition, Russian air defense systems destroyed 20 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Sladkaya Balka in the Zaporozhye Region, Zhovtnevoye in the Kharkov Region and Valeryanovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the general reported.
Russian forces cripple over 5,100 field artillery guns in Ukraine operation
Russian forces have destroyed over 5,100 Ukrainian field artillery guns and mortars since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the general said.
"In all, the following targets have been destroyed since the start of the special military operation: 442 aircraft, 238 helicopters, 4,605 unmanned aerial vehicles, 426 surface-to-air missile systems, 9,982 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,124 multiple rocket launchers, 5,111 field artillery guns and mortars and 10,947 special military motor vehicles," Konashenkov reported.
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Russia steps up aerial strikes on Ukraine, killing at least 6 amid Kyiv counteroffensive
Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa and shelled the eastern Donetsk region early Wednesday, killing at least six people and damaging dozens of homes, regional Ukrainian officials said.
Russian forces have recently stepped up aerial strikes in their nearly 16-month war, a Ukrainian military spokesman said. The country’s armed forces, meanwhile, have reported limited gains in the early stages of a counteroffensive to take back the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory that is under Russian control.
The grinding Ukrainian advance is pressing slowly ahead, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Wednesday. Western analysts and military officials say the effort to dislodge entrenched, powerfully armed and large numbers of Russian troops could take years.
Ukrainian troops have advanced 200-500 meters (650-1,600 feet) at various sections of the front line around the Donetsk city of Bakhmut and 300-350 meters (980-1,150 feet) in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, Maliar claimed. Ukrainian forces have managed to make gains despite the Russian edge in artillery and air power and large number of landmines left behind by Russian troops, she said. Maliar noted that, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s losses on the battlefield had been “incomparably smaller” than those of Russian troops.
It wasn’t possible to verify the battlefield claims.
Ukrainian forces can expect to make slow progress in what will be a “hugely difficult” fight as the counteroffensive gains traction, a Western official said on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.
“Intense fighting is now ongoing in nearly all sectors of the front,” the official said. “This is much more than probing. These are full-scale movements of armor and heavy equipment into the Russian security zone.”
The official described the Ukrainian attacks as methodical and said that, broadly speaking, “Russian forces have put up a good defense.”
In Odesa, three food warehouse employees were killed in a strike that also damaged homes, shops and cafes in the city’s downtown, the regional administration said on Facebook. An additional 13 people were wounded.
Search teams were looking for possible survivors under the rubble of the warehouse, it said.
The attack on the port city, launched from the Black Sea, was the second in a week and involved four Kalibr cruise missiles, three of which were intercepted by air defenses, the administration said.
In eastern Ukraine, Donetsk province Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram that at least three people died after shelling destroyed seven homes and damaged dozens of others in the cities of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka.
Ten towns and villages along the front line in Donetsk were struck as Kyiv’s troops slowly advance, according to Ukraine’s presidential office.
A missile hit the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kramatorsk, where Kyiv’s forces are headquartered, killing two civilians and wounding two others while damaging 29 homes, the presidential office said. Russian shelling of Kostiantynivka killed one civilian, with 57 houses damaged, it added.
Andriy Kovalov, a spokesperson for the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, said the Russian military increased missile and aerial strikes as Kyiv’s forces intensify attacks along the war’s 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line and claim some modest gains at the beginning of their counteroffensive.
In a briefing, he said strikes on the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kirovohrad regions, in addition to the Odesa region, involved Kh-22 cruise missiles, sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles, and Iranian-made Shahed drones. Nine were intercepted.
Kovalov said Ukrainian forces had made advances in several sections and fighting was continuing in or near at least two Donetsk province communities.
The U.K. Defense MInistry, which has regularly issued updates on the conflict, wrote on Twitter that southern Ukraine “has often been more permissible for Russian air operations” compared with other parts of the front.
Separately, the mayor of the central city of Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, said the death toll from a Russian strike that hit an apartment building a day earlier had risen to 12.
Ukrainian authorities continued to rescue people from the flooded areas of southern Ukraine’s partially Russian-occupied Kherson region following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam last week.
A total of 28 settlements on the Ukrainian-held western bank of the Dnieper River remain under water, and nearly 2,800 people have been taken to safety so far, the presidential office said, adding that the rescue effort was taking place under relentless Russian shelling. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General said that two volunteers were wounded Wednesday in Russian shelling of the regional capital, also called Kherson, while attempting to evacuate people.
A visit by Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on Wednesday was postponed for security reasons.
He met with Zelenskyy on Tuesday to discuss the perils facing the nuclear plant, which grew more serious after the Kakhovka Dam burst last week.
The plant has been in the crossfire repeatedly since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022 and seized the facility shortly after.
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe faces “a relatively dangerous situation,” the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog told journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian-controlled areas of the Kherson region came under artillery fire 57 times over the past 24 hours, the presidential office said.
Rumors swirled Wednesday about a relative and close associate of the Kremlin-backed, strongman leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. The reports said that lawmaker Adam Delimkhanov had been wounded — or even killed — in Ukraine.
After Russian state television reported that the lawmaker had been wounded and Ukrainian Telegram channels suggested that he had been killed, Kadyrov published a photo showing Delimkhanov.
In a photo caption, Kadyrov said that Delimkhanov was “alive and well” — adding that he knew this “from the very beginning,” despite earlier requesting Ukrainian intelligence to provide information on what positions were hit so that he could locate his “dear brother.”
Tass/AP