In the west of Lysychansk three floating bridges have been built over a river, said the spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Olexander Motusyanyk, on Monday in Kyiv. Artillery was used intensively there and bombarded from the air. Meanwhile, there were renewed attacks on the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.
According to the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajday, there is a risk that a road link between Lysychansk and Bakhmut will be cut by the Russians. At the same time, there was heavy fighting on Russian advances south of Izyum in the direction of Sloviansk and at Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. On the other hand, north of the eastern Ukrainian metropolis of Kharkiv, Ukrainian troops tried to advance towards the Russian border. The Ukrainians were recently able to liberate several towns there.
Attacks on Azovstal Plant
In Mariupol, Russian troops continue to attack the Azovstal plant. In addition, the attackers are said to have tried to destroy the evacuation bridge. This was posted by the mayor’s adviser, Petro Andryushchenko, according to the Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform on Telegram. The official also released video of explosions at the steel mill site. Pro-Russian separatists celebrated in the port city to mark the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. According to the Kremlin party United Russia, a huge ribbon of Saint George was unrolled in the city center, as reported by the state news agency TASS.
No evidence of major attack in Odessa
According to the US Department of Defense, Russian airstrikes on Odessa are not an indication of an impending major attack on the Black Sea city. The Russian military is currently not in a position to attack there from the ground or sea, according to a senior Pentagon official. One assumption is that the rocket attacks are a diversionary maneuver. If the Ukrainian military is concentrating on defending Odessa in response to the attacks, support is lacking elsewhere. “That’s a guess. We don’t know for sure.”
According to their own statements, the Russian military prevented a major landing by Ukrainian troops on the strategically important Snake Island in the Black Sea. Ukrainian troops dropped airborne units and marines on the island over the weekend, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in Moscow on Monday. “The Ukrainian provocation was thwarted by the skilful actions of the Russian units on the island,” he added.
Four fighter jets shot down
Accordingly, the Russian troops shot down four Ukrainian fighter jets – three of them Su-24 and one Su-27 – three Mi-8 combat helicopters with paratroopers on board and a Mi-24 helicopter. In addition, they took down 30 Ukrainian drones. Three armored landing craft of the type Kentaur were sunk at sea. Konashenkov estimated Ukrainian losses at more than 50 soldiers. There was no independent confirmation for the time being.
Reports from both sides had suggested heavy fighting around the strategically important island, which is 35 kilometers off the coast just off the Danube Delta in the Odessa region. The Russian forces had captured the Ukrainian base there at the very beginning of the war. The flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the armored cruiser “Moskva”, is said to have sunk in the area after Ukrainian fire.
Source: Nachrichten
