The Russian military operation in Ukraine continues today, Tuesday, as the Russian army tries to take control of the new Ukrainian lands, while Kyiv forces continue to resist with military and logistical support from the West. Since the start of the operation, on February 24, 2022, Moscow has set itself the goal of protecting the population of Donbass, eliminating threats to Russia’s security, and forcing Ukraine into military neutrality.
In recent field events, the TASS news agency reported that Russian forces in Bakhmut have taken full control of the industrial zone, and the pro-Russian authorities in Donetsk have confirmed that Russian forces are advancing towards Avdiyevo.
For its part, the British Ministry of Defense said that Russia had lost many of its tanks while trying to besiege Avdiivka in Donetsk, noting that Russia had made little progress there.
At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its Navy launched hypersonic anti-ship missiles at an imaginary target in the Sea of Japan. It added that two Moskit cruise missiles successfully and directly hit the target, which is located at a distance of about 100 kilometers.
The B-270 Musket missile is a Soviet-made supersonic medium-range cruise missile capable of destroying a ship at a distance of up to 120 km. The missile launches came a week after two Russian strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear warheads flew over the Sea of Japan for more than seven hours on what Moscow said was a “scheduled” flight.
On the spot, a former commander of the Ukrainian Aidar Battalion, an extremist organization banned in Russia, said that Russian units had almost completely surrounded Bakhmut, Russian Sputnik news agency reported. According to him, the Russian army has made significant progress in the Avdiivka area.
And “Sputnik” reported that the fighters of the “Wagner” group completely took control of the Bakhmut metalworking plant “Azum”.
Bakhmut (Artemovsk), which is under fierce control, is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic, north of the city of Gorlovka, and is an important logistics center for the delivery of goods to the Ukrainian grouping of troops in the Donbass.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirmed that her country had received British Challenger tanks, without specifying the number. The spokeswoman told Agence France Presse that the tanks “are now in Ukraine,” but did not provide further details. These tanks are expected to take part in any Ukrainian counterattack in the spring.
And before that, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said that “British Challenger tanks, (armored) Strykers, American Cougar and German Marders” were added to the “Ukrainian units”. “A year ago, no one would have thought that the support of our partners would be so strong,” Reznikov wrote on Facebook, praising the Challenger tanks, which he called a work of “military art.”
Earlier in London, it was reported that the Ukrainian military, who are training to handle Challenger tanks, have completed their task and are ready to be sent to the front.
In this regard, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky told the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi that security at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant can only be guaranteed when Russian troops leave it.
Zelensky met with Grossi on Monday at the Dnieper hydroelectric power station, located northeast of the Zaporozhye station.
Russian forces took control of the Zaporozhye station in March 2022, just as the war was just beginning, and the Kremlin seemed reluctant to relinquish control of it. Russian officials say they want to connect the Zaporozhye plant to the Russian network.
Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of bombing the site and raising the risk of a major accident. Fighting in the area of the plant and fears of power outages in its cooling systems raised fears of a nuclear holocaust.
