Belarus deploys military unit with Russia ‘in stages’ as an “appropriate response” to NATO’s activities in the region and “a demonstration of our determination to defend our land, the united state,” said Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin.
RUSSIAN STRATEGY – After the recent massive attacks, the Russian forces have taken over a “missile pause” to prepare for future attacks. This was stated by Vadim Skibizki of the Ukrainian military intelligence services, according to whom Moscow is evaluating the next targets to hit and the effects of previous attacks. Furthermore, explains Skibizki, the Russians are preparing new missiles to be deployed and for this “it takes time”. Moscow has already used up much of its stock of combat-ready missiles and now has to pull out of storage and refurbish Soviet-era missiles. Many of these old weapons, he argues, either fail to hit their target or risk exploding beforehand.
At the same time, Russia also uses newly built missiles. “We can see from the remains that there are missiles built this year, which means they come straight from the production line to the battlefield,” Skibizki notes. Even though the number of missiles produced is significantly less than the pre-war period, Russia still continues to produce enough weapons and cruise missiles to be used against Ukraine, fooling Western sanctions.
THE VILLAGE OF BAKHMUT – The Russian Defense Ministry has announced that it has captured the village of Andriivka, nine kilometers south of Bakhmut, the city in Donbass that Moscow’s forces have been trying to capture for months. Moscow also claims the success of an attack on Vodyane, a village on the front line located between Andriivka and Donetsk. However Russian military bloggers say Ukrainian troops continue to target Andriivka. There is currently no independent confirmation of the Russian claims.
After the successes of Kiev’s forces in southern Ukraine, where Kherson was liberated, Russia has concentrated many troops in the Bakhmut area, where intense fighting was already underway, in the hope of a success that will boost the morale of the soldiers.
