Russian war against Ukraine – current assessment
13.05.2022
Russia continues its armed aggression against Ukraine with the latter’s eastern parts currently being the main theatre of war. As indicated by the latest intelligence reports, Ukraine manages to put up a fierce resistance in many hotspots and is even able to counter-attack.
On Thursday, May 12, 2022, the Russian troops crossed the Donets, a large meandering river that constitutes an important line of defense for the Ukrainian forces. At the same time, the Russians have been carrying out an offensive in the directions of Severdonetsk, Popasna, Avdiivka and Marinka. All these efforts by the Russian invaders are aimed to destroy the Ukrainian defenders and capture the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in their entire administrative borders. Another priority goal of the Russian army is to gain full control of Mariupol where the Azovstal steel plant remains Ukraine’s last stronghold in the ravaged city.
In retaliation for the military successes of the Ukrainian soldiers, namely the strikes targeting the Russian forces on the Snake Island that left the Russian air defense systems and transport units destroyed, the invaders have hit the Ukrainian port city of Odessa and the surrounding area with air strikes. Given the strategic importance of the island, the Russians continue their attempts to keep it under control as well as to restore and reinforce their military presence there despite the heavy losses sustained from the Ukrainian attacks.
The Ukrainian forces put up a successful resistance by launching a counter-offensive on the outskirts of Kharkiv. At present, the priority goal of the Ukrainians is to force the Russians behind a perimeter where the city is out of reach of the Russian artillery. The counter-attack is also designed to engage the invaders in a battle so as to slow down their advance in the Donbas. The Ukrainians keep control of the locations of strategic importance, which enables them to successfully destabilize the actions of the Russian troops and neutralize their attacks.
Due to a strong resistance from Ukrainians in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson, the attackers have been forced to drop their initial plan to run “a referendum” on the future of the whole oblast. Instead, the collaborationist authorities installed by Russia have applied to their puppet masters with a motion to incorporate the region to Russia. As a region neighboring the Russian-occupied Crimea, Kherson is strategically important.
According to the latest reports, in the Zaporizhia region the Russian troops plunder the houses of the local citizens. As an excuse, the Russians cite the necessity to “fight the Ukrainian saboteurs, partisans and subversive groups.” At the same time, the invaders keep records of the real estate abandoned by Ukrainians that could be readily handed over to Russian servicemen and officers of the Russian services. Similar settlement actions were carried out by Russia in Crimea.
The Russian armed assault against Ukraine continues. However, the war is not going according to the plan of the Kremlin. The Ukrainians maintain capabilities to defend their country or even to launch counter-attacks whose goal is to smoke the invaders out of the areas of Ukraine they have captured.
Spokesman for Poland’s Minister-Special Services Coordinator