Summary of Russian’s perspective of the “Special Operation” in Ukraine so far
[ the article is MS Edge translated and is copied as-is in full from the original article’s translation ]
Steps of victory: a summary of the special operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the demilitarization of Ukraine
Published: 03 march 2022 20:58
By Vasily Vasikov
Riafan.ru
Exactly a week ago, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a special operation to establish peace in Ukraine. Over the past week, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as units of the People’s Militia of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, managed to achieve a significant advance through the territory of Ukraine, liberate several large settlements, block the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Nazi formations around the main centers and localize the threat of a breakthrough of the Ukrainian military.
About what results the Russian army managed to achieve during the anti-fascist operation in Ukraine, read in our material.
Liberation of the DPR
Prior to the start of the operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic (within the recognized borders) was largely occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and militants of neo-Nazi formations. During the active phase of the armed conflict in the Donbass, the Ukrainian military seized more than half of the region by means of a “creeping offensive”, and the actually controlled territory of the DPR was only 32% of the entire former Donetsk region of Ukraine.
At the moment, the fulfillment of the goal of liberating the territory of the DPR within the recognized administrative boundaries is 53%. Since the main forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were located opposite the Donetsk-Gorlovka agglomeration, the DPR army is forced to move gradually, covering a wide front from north to south. At the same time, the forces of the DPR army managed to break through the echeloned defense of the enemy in the Volnovakha area and reach the recognized borders of the republic.
The main events at the front in the DPR are now unfolding in Mariupol, which is occupied by the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the neo-Nazi regiment “Azov” and foreign mercenaries. DPR forces have now surrounded the city from the east, while the main Russian forces have blocked the exit of Ukrainian formations from the west and north.
Liberation of the LPR
Active actions to liberate the territories continue in the Lugansk People’s Republic. Before the start of the operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, the LPR forces controlled 41% of the territory of the former Luhansk region of Ukraine. Thanks to the support of Russian aviation, the LPR army managed to make a massive breakthrough of the defense lines of Ukrainian formations and conduct an offensive operation deep into the front.
The result of the actions of the army of the LPR and the Russian allies was the collapse of the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this sector of the front. Having advanced more than 50 kilometers, the army of the republic liberated the settlements of Svatovo and Starobilsk, blocking Ukrainian units in Lysychansk and Severodonetsk. As a result, by March 3, the LPR forces control up to 90% of the republic’s territory and are preparing to reach the administrative borders in the north, joining the army of the Russian Armed Forces near Kupyansk.
Demilitarization of Ukraine
The beginning of the operation of the armed forces of the Russian Federation took the Ukrainian army by surprise, as a result of which the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to suffer huge irreparable losses. But most importantly, the main grouping of troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and nationalist battalions of the National Guard of Ukraine, which the Kiev authorities were preparing for the forceful seizure of the donbass republics, was under the threat of complete encirclement. Shackled by battles with the forces of the DPR and LPR, as well as near Kharkov, Ukrainian troops were unable to resist the Russian army, which began its advance from five key directions.
Having occupied Melitopol, liberated the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and reached the city of Zaporozhye, the Russian army formed the conditions for the creation of a “cauldron”, in which the group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with a total number of up to 60 thousand servicemen and militants of the National Guard should be located. Given the rapid pace of the advance of Russian troops, we should expect in the foreseeable future a complete operational encirclement of Ukrainian troops on the right bank of the Dnieper. Thus, the fulfillment of the goal of demilitarization of Ukraine and the restoration of peace in the Donbass is estimated at the moment at 50%.“
Denazification of Ukraine
The primary goal of russian troops on the territory of Ukraine has been and remains the denazification of the country – the complete eradication of any neo-Nazi and misanthropic ideology. At the moment, the Russian army has managed to accomplish an intermediate task – to localize the main units of Ukrainian neo-Nazis around large urban agglomerations, both in the immediate vicinity of the front line (such as Kharkiv and Mariupol), and in the Ukrainian rear (strikes on military facilities in Kiev and other cities).
In these agglomerations, Russia continues the gradual destruction of the headquarters and points of permanent deployment of nationalist formations. Strikes on concentrations of nationalists are carried out with the help of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as with the use of high-precision weapons to prevent casualties among civilians. Thus, the fulfillment of the task of denazification of Ukraine is estimated at 60% – the complete eradication of the militants is still far away, but the Russian army, thanks to carefully carried out work, managed to significantly reduce the personnel of the national battalions and identify the main places of their deployment.
Threat Localization
In the first days of the special operation of the Russian Armed Forces, the greatest threat to our country was posed by military equipment, aviation and the fleet of Ukraine, which could theoretically inflict painful blows on Russian territory. The Russian Armed Forces managed to deprive Ukrainian criminals of the opportunity to deliver a missile and bomb strike on Voronezh, Rostov or Sevastopol, and in the first hours of the operation.
On February 24, after the announcement of the start of the operation in Ukraine, Russia inflicted a powerful missile and air strike on military facilities (air defense, military bases, warehouses and control points) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result, almost all of the enemy’s stationary air defenses, large weapons depots and command posts were destroyed. At the same time, the Black Sea Fleet attacked the naval base in Ochakov, destroying the Ukrainian Navy. By March 3, Russia’s Air Force had completely taken control of the skies over Ukraine, and Russian air defenses were successfully repelling sluggish attempts by Ukrainian rocket scientists to strike across the state border.
The task is 100% complete.
Destruction of military infrastructure
At the same time, within the framework of a separate task to destroy the military infrastructure and headquarters of the Ukrainian military, Russia continues its methodical work now. As stated on March 3, the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Igor Konashenkov, during the operation in Ukraine, 1612 objects of the Ukrainian military infrastructure were hit, among them – 62 control points and communication centers, 39 air defense anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as 52 radar stations; in addition, 13 aircraft were destroyed in the air and another 49 on the ground. A significant part of the Ukrainian artillery, up to 500 armored cars and up to 200 tanks, was put out of action. Thus, the strikes of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation disabled a significant striking power of the Kiev regime – more than 70% of the entire military-strategic component.
Separately, we will touch upon the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the objective control of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Ukrainian security forces lost up to 2870 killed and 3700 wounded – these are verified losses, that is, those that were recorded and confirmed. At the same time, the number of unconfirmed losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and national battalions is also growing: according to independent estimates, more than 8,000 Ukrainian militants were killed and went missing during a week of clashes and during missile and bomb strikes on headquarters and points of permanent deployment.