Ukraine war: Russia expects victory by autumn – "In the end we will crush them"
Created: 05/29/2022, 05:00
By: Tobias Utz, Lucas Maier, Andreas Apetz
The military situation in the Ukraine war seems to be developing in Russia's favour: the news ticker.
Is Moscow running out of armed forces?
:
Russia adopts new law.
Russia announces control of Lyman:
Ukrainian president speaks of genocide.
Deaths in Kiev
:
Klitschko announces figures on deaths from the capital Kiev.
This news ticker on the Ukraine war is continuously updated by our editors
+++ 19.20 p.m .:
Russia wants to have won the Ukraine war by autumn.
This is reported by the independent Russian news agency Meduza, citing Kremlin circles.
According to the report, Moscow's ultimate goal is to capture Kyiv.
But even with the complete conquest of the Donbass, a victory could already be announced, it is said.
Even if the first push on Kyiv failed, Russia is not yet giving up the war's top priority, according to a Kremlin source.
“In the end we will crush them (the Ukrainians).
The whole thing will probably be over by the fall,” Meduza quotes this source as saying.
In Moscow, it is also expected that support from the West will end at some point.
"Sooner or later, Europe will tire of helping," said a Kremlin official.
Russia is hoping for victory in the fall: the Kremlin expects the aid from Europe to end.
(Archive image) © dpa
Ukraine War: Is Moscow Running Out of Armed Forces?
+++ 3.30 p.m .:
Russia is probably running out of soldiers.
In an urgent procedure, the Duma has now passed an amendment to the law that abolishes the age limit for contract soldiers in Russia, as pravda.ua reports.
After the change in the law, anyone of working age can now join the army.
The age limit is now 65 for men and 60 for women.
Before the Duma's decision on Wednesday (May 25), the upper limit for Russian citizens was 40 and for foreign citizens 30 years.
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+++ 3.10 p.m .:
A person was killed in a rocket attack in Chernobaivka, near the airport in Cherson.
Six other people were injured in the attack.
This was announced by the prosecutor's office of the Kherson region.
According to the attack, which occurred on Friday (May 27), a 33-year-old man died under the rubble of his home.
The six other civilians were injured to varying degrees, according to the public prosecutor.
According to the public prosecutor, the extent of the damage after the attack is still being collected.
An independent review has not been possible to date.
Ukraine War: Moscow reports capture of Lyman
+++ 11.45 a.m .:
According to their own statements, the Russian military has gained complete control over the strategically important small town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region.
"Due to the joint action of units of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Russian armed forces, the city of Krasny Liman was completely liberated from Ukrainian nationalists," said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
Krasny Liman is the name for Lyman that dates back to Soviet times.
The separatists allied with Moscow had already announced the conquest on Friday.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj then spoke of “genocide” in eastern Ukraine (see update from Friday, 9:20 p.m.).
Konashenkov also reported heavy air and missile attacks against the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar in the Donetsk region.
Among other things, command posts and ammunition depots were hit.
The Russian army spokesman put the Ukrainian losses at 260 soldiers alone through the air force.
Ukraine war: dead in Donbass
Update from Saturday, May 28, 6:35 a.m .:
The situation in Ukraine in the east of the country is difficult.
Nevertheless, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy encouraged the military in a video speech: "Donbass will be Ukrainian."
Ukraine, meanwhile, has blamed Russia for the deaths of civilians in the government-held part of the Donetsk region in the east of the country.
“Today Russians killed five citizens of Donbass and wounded four others,” oblast governor Pavlo Kirilenko wrote on Telegram.
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Ukraine war: Selenskyj speaks of a "genocide"
+++ 9:20 p.m .:
After Russia announced its control of the city of Lyman, Volodymyir Selenskyj speaks of a “genocide” in eastern Ukraine.
Control of Lyman would give Russia easier access to the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
So far, the information has not been independently confirmed.
In a televised address on Friday night (May 27), the Ukrainian President said Russia was pursuing “an obvious policy of genocide” in the Donbass.
Meanwhile, in the besieged city of Severodonetsk, a situation similar to that in the port city of Mariupol is looming, as the afp news agency reports.
In doing so, she relies on statements by the head of the civil and military administration of Severodonetsk, Alexander Striuk.
According to Striuk, there are currently between 12,000 and 13,000 people in the city.
+++ 6.45 p.m .:
The United Nations announced on Friday (May 27) the number of civilian casualties in the Ukraine war.
The victims were counted here since the beginning of the attack by Russia on Ukraine.
The time has been set by the UN for Thursday (February 24) at 4 a.m.
The survey covers the period up to midnight on Thursday (26 May).
The decisive factor here is the local time in Ukraine.
In total, the UN counted 8,766 civilian casualties during this period.
A precise breakdown:
Civilian casualty figures (as of May 27)
Dead:
A total of 4,031 civilians have died in the Ukraine war so far.
Including 1,529 men, 995 women, 100 boys, 92 girls.
The sex of 69 children and 1,246 adults is still unknown.
Injured:
A total of 4,735 people have been injured so far.
Including 957 men, 629 women, 132 boys, 110 girls.
The gender of 164 children and 2,743 adults is still unknown.
(Source: ohchr.org)
In its publication, the UN points out that the number of unreported civilian casualties is probably significantly higher.
According to the information, most of the recorded civilian casualties were caused by the use of long-range explosive weapons.
Rocket and air attacks are also included here, as well as attacks with artillery and multiple rocket systems.
Ukraine-News: Russia attacks Ukrainian military base
+++ 2.30 p.m .:
“Around ten people” were killed in a Russian rocket attack on a Ukrainian military base in Dnipro.
This was reported by the regional head of the National Guard Gennady Korban, the television channel Dnipro TV.
There are also many injured: Korban spoke of 30 to 35 people.
The information cannot be independently verified.
The Kremlin had previously boasted about launching "Iskander" rockets.
+++ 12.30 p.m .:
According to the Governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the city of Lyman is under Russian control.
According to Kyrylenko, the Ukrainian army has retreated to a defensive line around Lyman.
The information cannot be independently verified.
However, there have been increasing reports in recent days that the Russian military is probably controlling Lyman.
Ukraine News: Russia has probably lost almost 30,000 soldiers
+++ 11.30 a.m .:
Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov has warned the West of new arms deliveries to Ukraine.
This may be a new “step towards escalation”.
Ukraine News: Heavy fighting around the ghost town of Sievjerodonetsk
+++ 9.30 a.m .:
According to the latest assessment by the British Ministry of Defense, the Russian army is apparently using 50-year-old tanks in the Ukraine war.
This primarily affects the troops in southern Ukraine, for example around Mariupol.
The obsolete tanks are said to be "T62" models in particular, the ministry reports, citing British intelligence information.
The use of the 50-year-old tanks shows "Russia's lack of modern and combat-ready equipment".
The information cannot be independently verified.
+++ 8.30 a.m .:
An “anti-Putin summit” is apparently planned in Lithuania on Friday.
An anonymous source gives the first details.
Ukraine war: Donbass could become "uninhabitable" - request for more long-range weapons
+++ Update from Friday, May 27, 2022, 6.45 a.m .:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has accused Moscow of “genocide” in eastern Ukraine, while the Russian army intensified its attacks around the city of Severodonetsk.
In the Donbass, Russia is pursuing "an obvious policy of genocide," Zelensky said in his daily television address on Friday night (May 27).
The city of Kharkiv in northern Ukraine was again the target of attacks on Thursday, nine people died.
The Russian offensive could make the Donbass region "uninhabitable," Zelenskyy said.
He accused Moscow of wanting to reduce Ukrainian cities to rubble.
"All of this, including the kidnapping of our people and the mass killing of civilians, is a blatant genocidal policy being pursued by Russia."
Ukraine News: Vitali Klitschko reports 120 deaths in Kyiv
+++ 2.15 p.m .:
According to Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of the Ukrainian capital, 120 citizens of Kiev have been killed since the Russian invasion began at the end of February.
Klitschko said more than 300 people were injured.
The mayor said this on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Ukraine-News: Russian soldier complains about poor preparation
+++ 1.30 p.m.:
A Russian soldier spoke to the Guardian about the Russian army's poor preparation.
The 21-year-old was initially stationed in Crimea before his unit was sent to war.
"They only told us about it at the very last moment, the night before the invasion," reports the young Russian soldier.
It is said that he was sent to the Ukraine war “completely unprepared”.
When his unit got into a firefight with the Ukrainian troops, surrender was the only option: “It was our first confrontation with the enemy;
we hadn't even fired a shot.
They ambushed us and we couldn't fight back.
We had to surrender.” After 45 days in Ukrainian captivity, the 21-year-old was exchanged.
Ukraine News: Scholz warns of “biggest famine in decades”
+++ 12.45 p.m .:
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke about the “brutal war” in Ukraine and expressed his personal concerns for the future.
The Chancellor warned of the food crisis resulting from the Ukraine conflict: "If we don't take quick and decisive countermeasures here, we are threatened with the world's worst famine in decades".
Ukraine is one of the world's largest grain exporters.
The country recently supplied 14 percent of the quantities of wheat, barley and corn traded on the world market.
Ukraine is also a supplier of rapeseed and sunflower oil.
Ukraine News: Scholz talks about Putin's goals
+++ 11.30 a.m .:
The Kremlin has released video footage of the launch of an “Iskander-K” rocket.
The ballistic missile was aimed at a "military target" in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
This is reported by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
Ukraine News: Bundeswehr warship on NATO's northern flank
+++ 10.30 a.m .:
The Bundeswehr frigate “Mecklenburg-West Pomerania” is intended to strengthen NATO’s northern flank in the future.
The warship will be integrated into the rapid reaction forces over the next few months, the naval command said on Thursday (May 26).
There are 22 soldiers on board, including crew members from Slovakia.
Ukraine News: "Putin needs the victory"
+++ 9.30 a.m .:
After Putin’s defeats in Kiev and Kharkiv, the “Battle for Sievjerodonetsk” is said to be decisive for the outcome of the Ukraine war.
According to Matthew Schmidt, associate professor of national security and politics at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, "Putin needs a win."
The pressure on the Russian President has grown extremely.
A new sense of achievement is now essential.
"They are throwing all the power they have into this battle," Schmidt told the Washington Post.
Whether it's enough for a win remains to be seen.
Due to the many setbacks and injuries, the Russian army is struggling with personnel problems.
In Sievjerodonetsk, Putin was forced to resort to thrown together "Frankenstein squads," according to Schmidt.
The makeshift regiments consisted of soldiers from different units and his not attuned to each other.
Ukraine-News: Kadyrov threatens Poland with military attack
+++ 7:00 a.m .:
Ramzan Kadyrov, ruler in Chechnya and Putin supporter, has threatened Poland with an attack.
The Nexta medium published a video on Wednesday (May 25) in which Kadyrov can be seen.
In it he says: “I am interested in Poland.
After Ukraine, if there is an order, we will show what we can do in six seconds.
Better take your weapons from the mercenaries,” Kadyrov said.
Chechen troops have been involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine since late February.
According to media reports, they are extremely brutal in doing so.
Ukraine-News: Apparently 40 cities attacked by Russia
+++ 6:00 a.m .:
The Ukrainian military reports a major attack by Russia on the Donbass.
"The occupiers shelled more than 40 towns in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, destroying or damaging 47 civilian facilities, including 38 houses and a school.
As a result of this shelling, five civilians died and 12 were wounded,” the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced on Facebook on Thursday morning.
The Ukrainian army repelled 10 enemy attacks, destroyed four tanks and four drones and killed 62 "enemy soldiers".
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian troops are "far outnumbered" in some parts of the Donbass.
Selenskyj had therefore called for new deliveries of weapons on Wednesday evening, among other things.
The information provided by the Ukrainian military cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine-News: Russia is probably preparing a rapid ground offensive
First report on Thursday, May 26, 5:00 a.m.:
Kiev/Moscow – The Russian army is apparently preparing for a battle for the city of Sievjerodonetsk, in the west of the Luhansk region.
The oblast is located in eastern Ukraine's Donbass, where Russia has been assembling troops for another offensive for days.
The US think tank "Institute for the Study of War" analyzed in the situation report on Thursday morning (May 26) that conspicuous troop movements around Sievjerodonetsk can currently be observed.
It is possible that Russia could attack the city before cutting off Ukrainian lines of communication on the ground - which appears to be standard military action.
This is reported by the Kyiv Independent news portal with reference to the institute.
The rapid attack on Sievjerodonetsk was therefore probably carried out in order to "maintain the pace after sending a significant part of its personnel, artillery, aircraft and logistics to the front," analyzes the ISW.
So far, Russia has had to accept heavy losses in the Ukraine war.
The Ukrainian general staff now assumes that almost 30,000 soldiers have died.
Logically, the Kremlin quotes significantly lower numbers.
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