The Ukrainian armed forces launched an operation to liberate Russian-occupied territories. Deputy minister of defence of Ukraine, Hanna Maliar, said that one of the most dangerous points of the war, Bahmut, is being liberated. Since the beginning of the week, the defenders of Ukraine were able to liberate almost 3 km² of Bahmut. Recall that the battle for this city lasted for 9 months. ISW confirms the statements of Ukrainian officials. They believe that due to the first defeats, Russia may give up the battle for the encirclement of Bakhmut. At the same time, the Kremlin lost about 100.000 fighters in this direction. Total enemy casualties in the war on the 443 days of the war were:
- 197.670 — personnel;
- 3.745 — tanks;
- 7.295 — armoured personnel vehicle;
- 3068/559 — artillery systems/MRS;
- 312 — anti-aircraft warfare systems;
- 308/294 — aircraft/helicopters;
- 2.636 — UAV operational-tactical level;
- 970 — cruise missiles;
- 18 — warship/boats;
- 5.996 — vehicles, fuel tanks;
- 393 — special equipment.
The pun of the situation is that the Russian Federation is "built" around the legend of the invincibility of the army and greatness because of the victory in the WWII. On the same basis, the fighters in the direction of Bahmut were to capture the city before 9 May.
In addition, ISW experts report that the Ukrainian army conducted a counter-offensive in another hot spot in the Donetsk region. On May 9, Ukrainian armed forces broke through the defence of the Russian army and are now only 50 km from the captured regional centre of the Donetsk region and 7 km from Avdiivka.
Russia is also losing on the propaganda front. One of the reasons for the Russian war in Ukraine, the Kremlin called the rapprochement with NATO. But now, while the Kremlin is killing its soldiers in a foreign country, Japan has begun negotiations to open a NATO office on its territory. Japan and the Russian Federation are separated by sea. The Russian military city must be located just beyond the maritime obstacle between the 2 countries.
The response of the country-aggressor is standard. British defence minister Ben Wallace reported that Russian soldiers are firing phosphorus munitions at Ukraine.
