Vladimir Putin’s navy has been “largely neutralized” by Ukraine’s coast guard in its ability to control part of the Black Sea, Britain’s defense chiefs said on Tuesday. They highlighted the alleged “first successful use of Harpoon anti-ship missiles donated by the West” to sink a Russian tug. The attack had hampered Russian efforts to replenish its forces on Snake Island, which was fought hard, they added. In its latest update, the Ministry of Defense in London said: “On June 17, 2022, Ukrainian forces claimed the first successful use of Harpoon anti-ship missiles donated by the West to engage Russian naval forces. “The target of the attack was almost certainly the Russian naval tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh, which was delivering weapons and personnel to Snake Island in the northwestern Black Sea.
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“The destruction of the Russian ship on a supply mission demonstrates the difficulty Russia faces in trying to support its forces occupying Snake Island.” The military intelligence source added: “This is the latest in a series of Russian ships, including the Moskva cruiser, that were damaged or destroyed by Ukraine during the conflict. “Ukraine’s coastal defense capability has largely neutralized Russia’s ability to deploy naval control and to deploy naval power in the northwestern Black Sea. “This has undermined the viability of Russia’s original operational plan for the invasion, which included keeping the Odessa region at risk from the sea.” Defense leaders in Britain and other Western countries are embroiled in an information war against Russia as part of the conflict in Ukraine, so their allegations must be seen in that context. However, the Kremlin’s allegations need to be taken even more seriously, as it does not even acknowledge that Putin has launched a war in Ukraine and that his denials of war crimes and the killing of thousands of civilians run counter to widespread reports. from the conflict. zone. Russia, meanwhile, has warned NATO member Lithuania that if it does not quickly lift a new ban on transit of goods to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea, then Moscow will take unknown measures to defend its national interests. . Ukraine on Tuesday acknowledged difficulties in fighting in the east as Russian forces regrouped to launch a new offensive in the town of Sheverodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast, Donbass region. Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk, said Russian forces had gained some ground on Monday, although it was relatively quiet at night. “It is a calm before the storm,” he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has predicted that the Kremlin will intensify attacks ahead of the EU summit on Thursday and Friday. He was provocative in a speech to the nation late Monday, and also referred to the “difficult” battles in Luhansk over Sheverodonetsk and its sister city, Lysyhansk. “We are defending Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, this whole area, the most difficult. “We have the most difficult matches there,” he said. “But we have our strong boys and girls there.” Mr Gaidai said Russian forces had taken control of most of Severodonetsk, except for the Azot chemical plant, where more than 500 civilians, including 38 children, have been sheltered for weeks. The road connecting Sivierodonetsk and Lusichansk with the city of Bakhmut was under constant fire, he said. Rodion Mirosnik, the ambassador of the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Luhansk to Russia, said its forces were “moving south from Lyskhansk” with gunfire erupting in several cities. “The coming hours will have to bring significant changes to the balance of power in the region,” he told the Telegram. Putin sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine on February 24 in a “special operation” that Moscow described as a “special operation” to downgrade its military capabilities and uproot what it calls dangerous nationalists. He has introduced a law that makes it a crime to spread “knowingly false” information or reports that could discredit the Russian military. Dmitry Muratov, co-winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize and publisher of an independent Russian newspaper, auctioned his Nobel medal for a record $ 103.5 million (84 84 million) to help children displaced by the war. His letter, which was highly critical of Mr Putin, suspended operations in Russia in March following warnings of cover-up. The war has entered a brutal phase of decay in recent weeks, with Russian forces focusing on Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donbas that Russia is claiming on behalf of the separatists. Ukrainian officials reported three civilian deaths in Russian bombings in the Donetsk region on Monday and three more in bombings in the Kharkiv region. In Odessa, Ukraine’s largest Black Sea port, which has been blocked by the Russian Navy, a Russian missile destroyed a food depot on Monday, the Ukrainian military said. The United States and its European allies have provided arms and financial assistance to Ukraine, but have avoided direct involvement in the conflict. Some citizens from Britain, the United States and other nations, however, have volunteered to fight for Ukraine. On Monday, the Kremlin said two Americans detained in Ukraine were mercenaries not covered by the Geneva Conventions and should be held accountable for their actions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov’s comments were the first official admission that the two, identified in US reports as Andy Hein, 27, and Alexander Drouke, 39, were being held. A State Department spokesman said they had contacted Russian authorities about any U.S. citizens who may have been arrested. “We call on the Russian government – as well as its representatives – to live up to their international obligations to treat any person, including those held hostage in the war in Ukraine,” he said. This month, a separatist court in Donbass sentenced Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saaudun to death after they were arrested for fighting in Ukraine.
