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Ladimir Putin’s army has suffered “devastating losses” among its middle and lower-ranking officers in its war in Ukraine, British defense chiefs said on Monday.
They added that the scale of the death toll is likely to hurt the Russian army’s control and command over Putin’s invasion, which is now in its fourth month.
UK defense chiefs believe the lack of “experienced and credible squadron and company commanders” is likely to affect the morale and discipline of the Russian president’s forces.
Their battalion tactical groups are also likely to be less effective, they added, as they have been rebuilt from several units after previous defeats and may therefore lack leadership.
The United Kingdom and other Western nations are embroiled in a critical information war against Russia, and therefore highlight the weaknesses and failures of Putin’s military campaign in Ukraine, more often than not, but his successes. these have been limited given the large number of troops. and equipment it has deployed.
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In its latest intelligence briefing, the London Ministry of Defense said: “Russia has probably suffered devastating losses among its middle and lower-ranking officers in the conflict.” battalions are deployed forward in danger because they have an uncompromising level of responsibility for the performance of their units.
“Similarly, junior officers have had to lead lower-level tactical actions, as the military does not have the cadre of highly trained and empowered non-commissioned officers (NCOs) who play this role in Western forces.”
He added: “The loss of a large proportion of the younger generation of professional officers is likely to exacerbate their current problems in modernizing their command and control approach.
“More immediately, it is likely that the battalion tactical groups (BTG) that are being reconstituted in Ukraine from multi-unit survivors will be less effective due to the lack of minor leaders.
“With multiple credible reports of riots located between Russian forces in Ukraine, the lack of experienced and credible brigade and company commanders is likely to lead to a further decline in morale and continued poor discipline.”
The British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has said that more than 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine because a large number of troops have been sent to precarious advances.
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are also believed to have been killed, as well as tens of thousands of civilians, some killed in war crimes.
Putin’s forces were reportedly gaining ground in Luhansk province, in the eastern Donbass region, where he has reoriented his military campaign following the failure of his initial lightning invasion plan, which included the capture of Kyiv in a few years. days.
However, the latest 24-hour reports suggest that Ukrainian soldiers are holding the ground and pushing back Russian troops in at least one area around a key highway.
Russian and Ukrainian troops fought fierce battles Sunday in hand-to-hand combat in Luhansk province as Moscow’s soldiers, backed by heavy bombardment, tried to reach a strategic point to seize the region.
Putin’s forces are reportedly gaining ground as they seek to storm Severodonetsk after unsuccessfully trying to encircle the strategic city.
It has been reported that his attempt to seize a key road in the area, which if it did mean that he would be completely surrounded, was rejected by Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation in Severodonetsk as “indescribably difficult”, with relentless bombardment of Russian artillery destroying critical infrastructure and damaging 90% of buildings.
“The capture of Severodonetsk is a major task for the occupation force,” Zelensky said in a nightly speech, adding that the Russians are not worried about the victims, with reports of heavy losses.
The mayor of the city said the fighting had left it without electricity and mobile phone service and forced the closure of a humanitarian aid center due to the dangers.
Deteriorating conditions led to fears that Severodonetsk could become the nearby Mariupol, a city on the Sea of Azov that spent nearly three months under Russian siege before the last Ukrainian fighters surrendered.
The Ukrainian leader also paid a rare front-line visit to Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city, to assess the strength of national defense.
Severodonetsk, 89 miles south of the Russian border, has in recent days become the epicenter of Moscow’s search to capture the entire eastern industrial region of Ukraine’s Donbass. Russia also intensified its efforts to capture the nearby city of Lysychansk, where civilians rushed to escape the persistent bombing.
The two eastern cities are home to the strategically important Siverskiy Donetsk River. They are the last large areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk Oblast, which forms the Donbas along with the adjacent Donetsk region.
Meanwhile, Zelensky visited soldiers in Kharkiv, where Ukrainian fighters pushed back Russian forces from nearby positions several weeks ago, but it has since been reported that this advance has stalled.
“I am just proud of our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for the freedom of Ukraine, “Zelensky wrote in the Telegram messaging application after the visit.
Russia has maintained its bombing of the northeastern city from afar, and the blasts could be heard shortly after the president’s visit.
Bombings and airstrikes have destroyed more than 2,000 apartment buildings in the city since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told French television TF1 on Sunday that “Moscow’s unconditional priority is the liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” and added that Russia considers them “independent states.” .
He also suggested that other regions of Ukraine should be able to establish close ties with Russia.
In Luhansk, constant Russian bombing has created what provincial governor Serhiy Haidai called a “serious situation.”
“There are fatalities and injuries,” he wrote in Telegram. On Saturday, he said, one civilian was killed and four were injured after a Russian howitzer struck a high-rise apartment building.
But some supply and evacuation routes from Luhansk worked Sunday, he said. He claimed that the Russians had retreated “at a loss” around a village near Sievierodonetsk, but carried out airstrikes on another nearby river village.
Civilians arriving in the eastern city of Pokrovsk, 80 miles south of Lysychansk, said they held out as long as they could before fleeing the Russian advance.
Yana Skakova stifled tears when she described leaving with her 18-month-old and 4-year-old children while her husband stayed to look after her home and her pets. The family was among the 18 people who lived in a basement for the past two and a half months until police told them Friday it was time to evacuate.
“None of us wanted to leave our hometown,” he said. “But for the sake of these little kids, we decided to leave.”
Oksana, 74, who was too scared to give her last name, was evacuated from Lysychansk by a team of foreign volunteers along with her 86-year-old husband.
“I’m going somewhere, not knowing where,” he cried. “I am just a happy beggar. Now I have to beg for charity. It would be better to kill me. “
Severodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there were fights at the city’s bus station on Saturday. Residents left in the city, which had a pre-war population of about 100,000, risked exposure to bombing just to get water from half a dozen wells, and there was no service. electricity or mobile phone. Striuk estimates that 1,500 civilians in the city have died since the war began, both from Russian attacks and from a lack of medicine or treatment.
The Institute for War Study, a Washington-based think tank, questioned the Kremlin’s strategy of putting together a major military effort to take Severodonetsk, saying it was costly for Russia and would bring few benefits. .
“When the battle of Severodonetsk is over, no matter which side the city is on, the Russian offensive at the operational and strategic level is likely to be over, giving Ukraine a chance to restart its counter-offensive at the operational level to push back Russian forces.” , said the institute. he said Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday in Mariupol, an aide to its Ukrainian mayor alleged that after Russian forces gained full control of the city, they piled the bodies of dead people inside a supermarket. Assistant Petro Andryushchenko posted a photo on Telegram’s messaging app of what he described as a “corpse dump” in the busy city. It showed bodies stacked next to closed supermarket counters.
“Here, the Russians carry the bodies of the dead, which were washed from their graves during attempts to restore the water supply and partially exhumed. They are simply thrown away as rubbish,” he wrote.
It was not possible to verify his claim immediately.
Regions of Ukraine were hit overnight by new Russian airstrikes. In the eastern Donetsk region, fighters fought back and forth for control of towns and cities.
The Ukrainian army reported heavy fighting around Donetsk, the provincial capital, as well as Lyman in the north, a small town that serves as a key railway hub in the Donetsk region. Moscow said on Saturday it had taken Lyman, but Ukrainian authorities said its fighters were still fighting in parts of the city.
“The enemy is strengthening its units,” said the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff. “He’s trying to get his foot in the door.”