The Russian armed forces can complete the operation in support of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics in five days. This opinion was expressed by experts interviewed by Izvestia.
“This is the baseline. So much time should take the main actions outside the major cities. Judging by what is happening now, East, Center, South can be liberated. Most likely, a corridor to Transnistria will also be made. There will be no connection, I think. Then negotiations may begin on the recognition of the republics, but this is unlikely, as well as on a new perimeter, that is, on changed borders. It will be important to make a decision on the preservation of economic activity. It’s too early to guess what it might be about, the situation is changing before our eyes, ”Dmitry Abzalov, president of the Center for Strategic Communications, told Izvestia.
Now we can say that there is a noticeable progress in the Donbass and in the Kharkiv region, Vasily Kashin, a military expert, director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia.
“A maneuver outside the Donbass is needed to encircle the forces that Ukraine has in the East and eliminate them. The most combat-ready Ukrainian forces operate in the Donbass, and they are well entrenched there and have created infrastructure. At the moment we do not have objective data to assess the scale of what is happening. It can be assumed that a rapid advance may be outside the Donbass, where the density and quality of troops are lower, as well as the saturation of the territory with fortifications, ”he explained.
According to the results of the first day of the special military operation, all the tasks assigned to the Russian groups were completed, the RF Ministry of Defense stated. Thanks to the fire support of the Russian Armed Forces, the troops of the republics of Donbass broke into the defenses, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine had been strengthening for many years. The counteroffensive continues.
“The joint use of raid detachments and airborne troops in the Crimean direction ensured the exit of Russian troops to the city of Kherson. This made it possible to unblock the North Crimean Canal and restore water supply to the Crimean peninsula, ”the Russian military department said.
The Ukrainian authorities blocked this channel in 2014, because of this, the peninsula experienced serious interruptions in water supply for a long time.
By the end of the first day of the operation, more than 80 military infrastructure facilities of Ukraine were put out of action. Two Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft, two Su-24s, one helicopter and four Bayraktar TB-2 strike drones were shot down, the Russian Defense Ministry said. 11 airfields of the Ukrainian Air Force, three command posts, a naval base, 18 radar stations of the Ukrainian S-300 and Buk-M1 air defense systems were put out of action.
Read more in the Izvestia article:
“Progressive operation: how was the first day of the defense of Donbass”
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.