Like the American Military think tank “ISW” reported with reference to British intelligence information, Russia is increasingly deploying Russian airborne troops (VDV) on the contested front sections in Bakhmut.
This is mainly due to the fact that the commander of the troops, Mikhail Teplinsky, is again taking on an “important” but unspecified role in Ukraine. Teplinsky was recalled by the Russian military leadership in January.
Teplinsky’s return to Ukraine indicates that the Russian Defense Ministry, despite apparent quarrels with mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, is seeking closer cooperation with the Wagner group to complete the months-long capture of Bakhmut, the ISW analyzes.
Because: Prigozhin apparently confirmed Teplinsky’s Wagner affiliation in a public statement of support after he was fired in January due to disagreements with the chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
The Russian Ministry of Defense and Prigozhin had already indicated on April 11 that “VDV elements” would be deployed in the Bakhmut area and secured the flanks north and south of Bakhmut.
The Russian airborne troops were considered elite units at the beginning of the war, but have suffered immense losses in recent months. A well-known Russian military observer estimated it at 40 to 50 percent, according to “ISW” at the end of January.
Ukraine hints at own losses
The Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has given an indication of the approximate amount of own losses since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. “I can’t give you an exact figure, but I can assure you that it’s lower than the death toll from the earthquake in Turkey,” Reznikov said in an interview with Spanish newspaper La Razón published on Sunday.
According to Turkish information, more than 50,000 people died in the February 6 earthquake in the south-east of the country.
So far, the Ukrainian leadership has not given any official information on the number of wounded and killed in its own armed forces. Only estimates exist for the total number of Ukrainian victims. Kyiv treats the numbers as a state secret. Moscow also does not provide any information on its own losses. The Ukrainian side gives an estimate of 182,000 Russian soldiers killed.
Kiev: Dozens of Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine
According to the General Staff in Kiev, Russian troops carried out dozens of attacks against positions of Ukrainian defenders in the east of the country over the weekend. The attackers suffered heavy losses, the Ukrainian army command said in its daily situation report on Sunday. A total of 45 Russian attacks were repelled around Bakhmut and Marjinka. Despite the large number of Russian attacks, the front line remained unchanged. The information could not be independently verified.
Death toll after rocket hit in Sloviansk
After a Russian missile hit a residential area in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, the death toll has risen to 15. This was announced by the military administration on Telegram on Sunday. In addition, 24 people were injured in the attack.
According to Ukrainian sources, the rocket hit the city in the heavily contested Donetsk region on Friday afternoon. Regardless of the many civilian casualties, the Russian side has maintained that it has only attacked military targets since the war began more than a year ago.
Russia and China emphasize military cooperation
During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu highlighted the “very strong ties” between the two countries. “They are better than the military and political alliances of the Cold War era,” Li said in the Kremlin on Sunday. In addition, Russian-Chinese relations are “very stable”.
“Recently, cooperation between Russia and China in the military and technical sphere has developed very well. It is a contribution to global and regional security,” Li was quoted as saying by the Russian state agency Tass. Putin assessed the military cooperation between China and Russia as a strengthening of “strategic and trusting relations”.
Due to the invasion of neighboring Ukraine and the resulting break with the West, Putin is trying to win over China as a strong partner. China presents itself as neutral in the war. However, Western countries accuse the government in Beijing of tacitly supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
US Secretary Yellen: Russia must pay for damage in Ukraine
According to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Russia should take financial responsibility for the destruction in Ukraine. “I think Russia should pay for the damage it has done to Ukraine,” Yellen said on US television on Sunday. However, she reacted reluctantly to Ukraine’s demand for the confiscation of Russian assets. “It’s something we’re discussing with our partners. But you know there are legal restrictions on what we can do with frozen Russian assets.”
During the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the assets of the Russian central bank to be confiscated on Wednesday. “Russia must feel the full price for its aggression,” he said via video.
What does the day bring?
The G7 foreign ministers continued their talks in Japan on Monday with deliberations on China’s increasingly aggressive drive for power in the Indo-Pacific, the Russian war in Ukraine and the status of the nuclear negotiations with Iran. (dpa/Tsp)
