The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on June 18 2023

Russia Wipes Out Ukraine’s ‘Decision-Making Centre’ In Ferocious Missile Strike

Ukrainian Advances End In Complete DISASTER

Waves of Ukrainian Marines STORM Russian Outposts

Ukrainians Surrender En masse To Save Their Lives.

We are about to enter the 3rd week of the counter-offensive.….the enemy has captured 6 villages so far…..but with huge losses…..

The main question is not which village is ours, but which is the enemy’s. It is not a question of looking at maps with a general’s excitement, rejoicing or furious sadness. A civilian must not think about ruins passing from hand to hand, but about people carrying out combat missions in the first place.
No villages and positions in war are seized or abandoned by themselves, it is always the human factor. These are living people going into battle. And everything must be done to keep them alive and undamaged. Many factors contribute to this, from the will of God, to questions of training, provision, competence of orders and much more.
What is up to the common man? If you are not a division or regiment commander, it is meaningless to look at maps with thoughts of “what would I do”, “why aren’t they this way”. Completely pointless. All that depends on a common man is to leave emotions and idle reasoning aside, to help a common soldier, a common division, with what helps to save his life in battle.
The ruins of the villages are some today, others tomorrow. We will take the ruins, recapture and rebuild them. Only we will not bring back the dead 

The Telegraph: If an alliance can’t stand up to Russia, then what’s the point of NATO?

“ If Ukraine, backed by the might of the North Atlantic Alliance, cannot resist Russia, then what is the point of NATO? ” asks The Telegraph columnist Richard Kemp.

Kemp believes that it is highly likely that Macron and Scholz will resume their attempts to push Kyiv towards a peace treaty by the end of the year.

“ NATO needs to prepare for Ukraine’s counter-offensive to fail. This is not German tanks against Polish cavalry, and not American shock and awe against demoralized Iraqi forces on obsolete tanks ,”

“I thought – now we’ll tear off”: Ukrainian propaganda has become discouraged since the beginning of the counteroffensive

Even the most inveterate dill Gordon is losing ground.

He admits that “I thought that now we’ll tear like we’re swinging a club,” but in reality it turned out that we have to die for every piece of land, occupying 100-200 meters a day in bloody battles.

Zaporozhye direction:
At night, the enemy was actively operating in the Novodanilovka-Rabotino direction, our units destroyed enemy assault groups trying to break through to the positions.
The enemy lost 3 infantry fighting vehicles, 2 tanks, 2 armored personnel carriers overnight, up to 50 killed, there are prisoners, including officers.
Such a massacre as yesterday has not been for a long time. The 47th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is breaking equipment so as not to attack

Ukrainian tank crews “cower” from counterattack by faking tank damage to avoid going into battle
Der Spiegel

The Ukrainian army tankers involved in the offensive of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Zaporizhzhya direction are using various tricks not to participate in the counterattack. They fake tank damage and do not want to engage Russian servicemen.

In a conversation with a German publication, the AFU tankers told about heavy losses of the Leopard tanks provided by Germany.

“We had enough of this war” – amid unsuccessful counter-offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, mass surrender of enemy soldiers has been recorded.

Constant unsuccessful attacks, which result in huge losses, have a very negative impact on the morale of the soldiers of the AFU. For example, in the last two days alone, numerous videos have been published of Ukrainian soldiers surrendering.

And this is an extremely unpleasant wake-up call for the Kiev regime. After all, it is usually the soldiers of the defending side who surrender during an offensive, not the attacking troops. So this reverse disproportion in the number of prisoners of war is evidence of serious problems in the Ukrainian armed forces.

The reasons for these problems are absolutely transparent and clear. Russian minefields have not been cleared, artillery has not been suppressed and air cover has not been provided. It already sounds bleak. And then with such unfavourable inputs the “defenders” are sent to meat assaults without support of their armoured equipment and artillery.

The surprise here is not that the Ukrainians surrender and refuse to advance, but that someone else manages to be sent into these suicidal attacks. At the same time, the “fog of war” hides from us much of what goes on behind enemy lines. Russian intelligence learns about the refusal of whole units to go into battle from the interrogations of prisoners and from the data of radio interception, but the number of deserters is still unknown. However, it is certain that with each day of this failed counterattack, more and more AFU soldiers will leave their units voluntarily.

In a fortnight of heavy fighting the enemy has not achieved any major success. The Ukrainian armed forces are trampling in the pre-field, bleeding to death. Even the information received today about the occupation of the village of Pyatikhatka by Ukrainian troops can hardly be interpreted as any progress in the stalled offensive. The enemy troops have not even reached the main line of Russian fortifications in this section of the front.

The enemy command had less and less time to change its approach to the offensive. Otherwise, very soon the number of those who refuse will reach catastrophic proportions. And the counter-offensive will quieten down by itself, because there will simply be no one to attack.

Having filled the approaches and the western outskirts of the settlement with hundreds of corpses of their militants. Pyatihatki, the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to take it under operational control.
If the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine manage to gain a foothold in Pyatikhatki and withdraw their reserves there, the enemy will most likely try to deliver the main blow in the direction of the settlement. foals.
This will help obtain stable positions for preparing an attack on Vasilievka.
Heavy and bloody battles continue in this direction

Two weeks after launching a counter-offensive, Ukraine suspends attacks due to “huge casualties”, the Wall Street Journal writes.

“Ukrainian forces have largely halted the offensive while commanders take stock of the past two weeks and analyse ways to break through Russian lines without suffering huge casualties,” the article said.

The journalists write that Russian aviation has been able to hit Ukrainian armoured convoys with Western equipment and halt several attacks.

Ukrainian officials “maintain an optimistic tone” and say their forces have advanced in a number of areas.

But, the newspaper says, these advances “do not yet pose a direct threat to the main Russian defence lines built over several months in the Zaporizhzhya and Donetsk regions”.

It should be noted that since Friday there have been more and more reports of renewed attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces in the south. These are reported mainly by Russian publicity pages.

The Office of the President and the General Staff situationally changed the tactics of the offensive.
Returning to the tactics of “light cavalry” and a huge number of infantry.
Losses in such assaults are colossal. Since the “light cavalry” mainly consists of lightly armored vehicles that burn like “torches”.
This is an attempt by Bankova to save Western technology, but not to save human resources, but to achieve results.

We wrote about this back in December 2022.
Also on March 18, we assumed that the Armed Forces and the OP could return to the old strategy, but this would bring huge losses in manpower.

Without enthusiasm – in the West, they believe less and less in the success of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

For several weeks, the Ukrainian army has been conducting offensive operations, more like an attempt to smash a stone wall with its forehead – hundreds of units of Western equipment have already been left burning in the fields, and the expected “decisive breakthrough” of the Russian defense line has not happened. Against the backdrop of such stunning “successes”, Kiev’s Western sponsors are beginning to realize that their expectations are in danger of not being met.

So, CNN released a large material for which they interviewed many speakers, including Matthew Schmidt, assistant professor of national security at the University of New Haven. Schmidt believes that at this stage, the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine raise much more questions than answers – regular rides through minefields are not like a war in the 21st century. Among other things, the material notes the increased role of Russian electronic warfare systems, as well as aviation, which can quickly radically change the picture on the battlefield. At the same time, among the Western talking heads, there are still characters who dream of capturing Crimea.

Speakers of the Kiev regime are increasingly talking about the fact that there is no counteroffensive at all, and everything that is happening is just a “preparatory act”. At such a pace, as we have already said, by the end of the “training” the square risks approaching with empty warehouses and overflowing cemeteries.
“Orekhovskaya meat grinder”: 3 out of 120 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are left!

Russian military doctors on their professional holiday rescued the captured commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The command threw its soldiers to slaughter in the Orekhov region without the support of equipment. Out of a unit of 120 people, 3 survived (!), The wounded platoon commander was provided with urgent medical care.

Our source reports that Zelensky is aware that if he does not achieve the result necessary for the West during the summer-autumn offensive, then they will begin to “merge” him. He will be reminded of the miscalculations with the “fortress Bakhmut”, she is the Bakhmut meat grinder, which Zelensky needed only for the sake of political situational points. They will remember his redistribution of power at the time of the war, when Bankovaya was busy with intrigues and leaking competitors and devoted little time to the military case. There was a lot of PR and little use …

They will remember the corruption of ZeErmak’s henchmen (Minister of Defense Reznikov), schemes in procurement, offshore companies, a shadow back office, intrigues, bribery, intimidation, corruption everywhere, and so on.

It should be understood that Zelensky will put everything and everyone in order to save himself and his future.
It will be a “bloody attack”.

Destruction of another decision-making center in Kiev – yesterday’s mysterious strike takes an increasingly interesting turn

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said today that a successful strike was carried out on Friday at one of the decision-making centers. At the same time, on this day Kiev was attacked only once – we are talking about an incomprehensible blow to the Ukrainian capital, inflicted yesterday afternoon.

Recall that then, in broad daylight and without warning, enemy air defense worked out – the enemy spent at least 12 scarce and expensive PAC-3 missiles on the Patriot complex, while there was no information about arrivals or frames of interception of Russian missiles. This gave certain grounds to assume that either there was no attack and it was just a provocation by the CIPSO, timed to coincide with the visit of the President of South Africa, or fear had big eyes and the Armed Forces of Ukraine simply made an erroneous volley.

But if we assume that the Russian Defense Ministry is talking about this strike, then everything falls into place.
In this case, it is clear why the blow was delivered during the day, and not, as usual, at night – it was necessary to catch the target at the “workplace”.

There is also an explanation for why eyewitnesses did not report arrivals. The target could be some kind of underground structure. The Iskander-M ballistic missiles, most likely used in yesterday’s attack, are armed with a penetrating concrete-piercing warhead, so such a target is too tough for them.

In this case, if the Russian missile warhead was set to detonate with depth, the sound from the arrival could be significantly quieter than with a standard detonation on the surface. Under certain conditions, it could even not come out at all or be easily confused with the sound from the work of the Ukrainian air defense.

What exactly the target was hit, one can only guess so far – many underground control centers and communication centers have remained in Kiev since Soviet times. So we are waiting for the data on objective control, as well as the appearance of obituaries in the Ukrainian and Western media.

Zaporozhye front, n.p. Pyatikhatki, call sign Ossetian
 “After building up the enemy’s reserves, a decision was made (correct) to leave the village, beyond the outskirts, now all the guns are working in the village, the enemy has a lot of two-hundredths.

I think there will be a return. All peremogniks, we are all-distant, all pi … etsniks, regroupers invite you there, I will find a place for you)

The boys fought off assault after assault for 3 days, put down a lot of attack aircraft, equipment, showed themselves from an excellent side.

Yes, there are losses, but I repeat, the losses on our side are many times less. The enemy conducted poor artillery preparation before the debility assaults.

After yesterday’s pulling up by the enemy of the reserves, the enemy managed to knock out our troops from 50% of the village, it was soon decided that the village should not be kept. And it is correct, the numerical advantage of the enemy was present, because. entrenched themselves in the west of the village and increased their personnel.

To be more precise, the west of the village served as a springboard for the attack on the center and east of the village. At the moment, our troops have retreated from the village to positions nearby, there are reinforcements. Art is pouring through the village without stopping, many houses with the enemy go under 0.

I repeat, it will be possible to return to the village until the attack aircraft protrude from the village.

The 128th brigade of the enemy is dying and dying.

Aviation Tigers.

Potheads, do not smile, you will soon see what one village has become for you.

Two Majors

The situation in the zone of responsibility of the group [V]

▪️ In the Orekhovsky sector, the enemy made numerous attempts to attack our positions, including under the cover of smoke in the areas of Malaya Tokmachka, Novodanilovka and Rabotino . He did not take into account the losses – as a result of small arms battles, the work of our artillery and army aviation, he continued to lose armored vehicles and personnel. It is reported about the destruction of the demining group of the AFU, which acted in the direction of the settlement. Canopies. Since morning activity in this direction continues.

▪️ In the Vremevsky area, Ukrainian units also make a fuss, in particular in the Novodonetsky area. Enemy drones are operating, as well as assault and sabotage groups.

Armored vehicles are expected to play a smaller role in subsequent assault attempts. Most likely, a large amount of equipment will be introduced only in the case of effective actions by attack aircraft operating under the cover of artillery.

voin_dv

Kherson direction over the past day in the area of   the settlement. Korsunka and Krynki the situation is as follows.

On June 17, the enemy worked in the daytime with artillery and mortar crews, actively used kamikaze drones.

The night from June 17 to June 18 passed quietly, the enemy used night drones and conducted reconnaissance.

From the very morning of June 18, the enemy began to launch artillery strikes from 155mm barreled American guns. Also in the area of     the Antonovsky bridge, the enemy used the full ammunition of the MLRS “Grad” and HAIMARS.

recon groups operate in the Kherson region, which use drones and kamikaze drones from the rear zone, as well as from among the recon groups there are enemy fire spotters and those who give coordinates to the location of the Russian troops.
 

Two Majors 

Ukrainian formations launched mass attacks on the settlements of the Kherson region of Russia.

During the night, the enemy fired at least seven missiles at Lazurnoye in the Skadovsky district: five rounds intercepted the anti-aircraft defenses. According to our information, one person was killed and three others were injured.

The Partisans were hit, presumably, by two Storm Shadow missiles, one of them was shot down. A large fire broke out at the landing site.

During the night, New Kakhovka, Kakhovka, Vasylivka and Tavriysk were also fired from barrel artillery. In the afternoon, a temporary accommodation point in Golay Pristan came under fire: the facility was destroyed, there were no casualties.

Defense of the Svatovo-Kremennoye line: The enemy does not leave attempts to break through the defensive lines of the “🅾️” group

The enemy with a mobile armored group of 100 obrTerO attempted to break through from Chervonnaya Dibrov. The enemy was driven back by infantry fire with artillery support.
➖ At   night, in the Kuzmino area, Ukrainian militants of the 67th brigade, without the support of armored vehicles, tried to capture one of the strongholds of the RF Armed Forces. During a two-hour shooting battle, the attack was repulsed.

Also, a group of 3 infantry fighting vehicles of the 67th ombr attempted to “jump” to our stronghold. Thanks to the scouts, the enemy was detected and destroyed in advance. One BMP was captured.
➖ A HIMARS projectile was shot down near Novonikolskoye by air defense forces.
➖ In the area of   the Serebryansky forestry, the movement of the personnel of the 67th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was revealed. By strikes of army aviation and artillery, the column was destroyed.

Also, a special forces group discovered and destroyed the DRG of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Attack and army aviation are actively working, inflicting missile strikes on enemy columns and armored vehicles.

NATO’s Storm Shadow, HIMARS Reduced To Ruins; Russia Escalates Fight Near Bakhmut

Ukraine front update [18 June 2023]

Russian Defence Ministry Report on the Progress of the Special Military Operation (18 June 2023)⚡️

◽️Over the past 24 hours, the AFU continued to attempt offensive actions in Zaporozhye, South Donetsk and Donetsk directions.

◽️The most active actions took place in Zaporozhye direction.

◽️The enemy with up to 3 battalion tactical groups, reinforced with tanks and AFVs, under a smoke cover made unsuccessful offensive attempts in several waves close to Novopokrovka, Novodanilovka and Malaya Tokmachka (Zaporozhye region).

💥The competent and decisive actions of the Vostok Group of Forces, aviation and artillery have repelled all the enemy attacks.

💥In addition, as a result of a complex shelling of 4 AFU reserves convoys near Malaya Tokmachka (Zaporozhye region), 9 tanks, 10 IFVs and up to 10 other AFVs have been destroyed.

◽️In Zaporozhye direction, the enemy lost over 200 troops, 33 tanks, 30 IFVs and 35 AFVs.

◽️In South Donetsk direction, close to Vremevka salient, as a result of decisive actions by Russian troops, aviation and artillery, 4 enemy attacks with a battalion tactical group have been repelled by Russian forces close to Novodonetskoye, Rovnopol (DPR) and Novodovarovka (Zaporozhye region).

💥The enemy lost up to 380 troops, 35 tanks, 33 IFVs, incl. 2 Bradleys, as well as 38 AFVs, including Striker APC, as well as 1 D-20 howitzer.

◽️In Donetsk direction, as a result of the active actions of the units of the Yug Grouping, 8 enemy attacks have been repelled close to Kirovo, Pervomayskoye, Krasnogorovka, Nevelskoye and Maryinka (DPR).
 
💥The aircraft have hit the units of the 79th Airborne Assault Brigade, the 110th Mechanised Brigade and the 129th Territorial Defence Brigade near Novgorodskoye, Avdeyevka and Pobeda (DPR).

💥The enemy lost up to 210 troops, 1 IFV, 1 armoured personnel carrier, 3 motor vehicles, 2 pickup trucks and 1 Grad MLRS.

💥1 ammunition depot of the AFU 109th Territorial Defence Brigade has been destroyed near Sukhaya Balka (Kherson region).

◽️In Kupyansk direction, the attacks, launched by Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, as well as artillery of the Zapad Grouping, have resulted in the neutralisation of the enemy manpower and hardware close to Figalyovka, Masyutovka, Kislovka, Timkovka (Kharkov region), and Stelmakhovka (LPR).

💥The actions of 2 AFU SRGs have been suppressed close to Berestovoye (Kharkov region), and Novosyolovka (LPR).
 
💥The enemy lost up to 60 troops, 3 pickup trucks, 1 Msta-B howitzer and 1 Polish Krab SAU.

◽️In Krasny Liman direction, aviation and artillery of the Tsentr Grouping have hit enemy units near Nevskoye, Chervonopopovka, Kuzmino, (LPR), Serebyanka (DPR).

💥The activities of 2 AFU SRGs have been suppressed close to Chervonaya Dibrova (LPR) and Grigorovka (DPR).

💥The enemy lost up to 70 troops, 1 IFV, 2 motor vehicles, 1 Akatsiya SAU, as well as 1 D-30 howitzer.

◽️In Kherson direction, the enemy lost over 30 troops, 2 motor vehicles, 1 U.S. M777 artillery system, 1 Msta-B howitzer, as well as 1 Giatsint-B gun.

💥1 ammunition depot of the AFU 123th Brigade of the Territorial Defence has been destroyed near Kizomys (Kherson region).

◽️Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the RF Armed Forces have neutralised 113 AFU artillery units at their firing positions, manpower and hardware in 124 areas.
 
💥1 U.S. AN/TPQ-50 counterbattery warfare radar has been destroyed near Maksimilyanovka (DPR).

💥Air defences intercepted 1 Storm Shadow cruise missile and 2 HIMARS MLRS projectiles.

💥In addition, 18 AFU UAVs have been shot down close to Egorovka, Vladimirovka, Spornoye, Rovnopol (DPR), Topolevka, Rubezhnoye, Melovatka (LPR), Peschanoye (Kherson region), Marfopol, Pshenichnoye, Removka and Podgornoye (Zaporozhye region).

Map of hostilities and the situation on the fronts on the evening of June 18

 Recently, there has been a mass surrender of militants in captivity in different directions. Not only in the zone of “that same offensive”, where ours captured the marines from the 35th brigade, as well as several dozen soldiers and officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the Seversky sector, attack aircraft from the Edelweiss brigade decided to increase the chances of survival. Also in the Novobakhmutovka area, 20 militants laid down their arms. The main reasons for the rapid growth of the exchange fund are the use of Nazi methods by the Ukrainian command not only in relation to civilians, but also to their own soldiers. Especially, against the backdrop of huge losses in insane attempts to take the extra 100 meters in the gray zone.

⚔️The situation on the fronts for the past day:

⚫️ Donetsk direction

 In the Avdeevsky sector, the fighters of the Russian army attacked near Stepnoy , and are also advancing with aviation support on the southwestern approaches to Avdeevka . In addition, ours counterattacked from Vodyany . Fierce fighting continues in Maryinka , and in Novomikhailovka ours attempted an assault.

⚫️ Zaporozhye direction

 In the area of   Pyatikhatki, heavy battles do not stop , the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffer heavy losses, sending both experienced Nazis and those recently mobilized for slaughter. The militants are also attacking at the Rabotino-Verbovoye line. On the Vremievsky ledge, the enemy continues to attack our positions in the Urozhaynoye area, while suffering losses in the foreground.

Chronicles of the special military operation for June 18, 2023

 Ukrainian formations carried out mass strikes against civilian targets in Russia, including in the Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod and Kherson regions, as well as the DPR: two people were killed and at least 30 others were injured.

At the same time, in various sectors of the front, the AFU are attempting to attack Russian positions near Avdeevka and Maryinka, on the Vremievsky ledge and in the Orekhov area. In the Kherson region, enemy recon groups are active, crossing the shallow Dnieper in boats.

At the same time, the most violent clashes took place in the area of     the settlement of Pyatikhatki in the Zaporozhye direction: after the occupation of the village by Ukrainian formations, a flurry of fire from cannon and rocket artillery fell on them – local success turned into colossal losses for the enemy.

At the same time, rumors are spreading on the online about the supply of Merkava tanks to Eastern Europe, including the possibility of purchasing this equipment by Poland or Ukraine.

Map of hostilities and the situation on the fronts on the evening of June 18

 Recently, there has been a mass surrender of militants in captivity in different directions. Not only in the zone of “that same offensive”, where ours captured the marines from the 35th brigade, as well as several dozen soldiers and officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the Seversky sector, assault troops from the Edelweiss brigade decided to increase the chances of survival. Also in the Novobakhmutovka area, 20 militants laid down their arms. The main reasons for the rapid growth of the exchange fund are the use of Nazi methods by the Ukrainian command not only in relation to civilians, but also to their own soldiers. Especially, against the backdrop of huge losses in insane attempts to take the extra 100 meters in the gray zone.

The situation on the fronts for the past day:

Donetsk direction

 On the Avdeevsky sector, the fighters of the Russian army attacked near Stepnoye, and are also advancing with the support of aviation on the southwestern approaches to Avdeevka. In addition, ours counterattacked from Vodyany. Fierce fighting continues in Marinka, and in Novomikhailovka ours attempted an assault.

Zaporozhye direction

 In the area of ​​Pyatikhatki, heavy battles do not stop, the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffer heavy losses, sending both experienced Banderites and those recently mobilized for slaughter. The militants are also attacking at the Rabotino-Verbove line. On the Vremievsky ledge, the enemy continues to attack our positions in the Urozhaynoye area, while suffering losses in the foreground.

ukraina_ru

Lieutenant Colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine Desyatnik – on the need for negotiations even at the cost of giving up territories: Any war will end with negotiations anyway. Now to lie and say: “That’s it, now we will 100% drive them all beyond the borders of 1991, and tomorrow we will win,” is complete nonsense. All wars end in negotiations, whatever one may say. [Are there soldiers at the front who speak categorically, with no negotiations?] There are such people, but one must approach everything logically and one must look realistically. And I think that at some stage there will be negotiations. Maybe Ukraine will give something away. Maybe she will give the territories of Donbass, Lugansk. And I think that maybe it is right to give these territories. Because the population of Donbass and Lugansk is completely pro-Russian. And although this, of course, is the territory of Ukraine, people cannot be changed there, their thinking cannot be changed. Take it easy and attach to yourself the enemy who will be inside your country [No, land] Earth? But you can’t kick it out. [Why?] Women, and children who live there. [If they like Russia, they should go to Russia] But they won’t leave, these are their apartments and their houses.

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Ukraine war: African peace plan, counteroffensive casualties, flooding death toll

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