KIEV LEAVES NO HOPE TO ATTACK RUSSIAN FLANKS

Attempts by the Ukrainian military to move the fighting to the territory of Russia have failed. After their attack in the Belgorod region, the Ukrainian military gained headlines in the media, but suffered heavy losses on the battlefield. Broken Ukrainian equipment, including many American armored vehicles, and the bodies of dozens of Ukrainian fighters remained on Russian territory. As a result of the attack, no military objectives were achieved, but civilians suffered. At least one man was killed by the saboteurs in the village of Kozinka. A total of 13 civilians were wounded. Artillery shelling of border settlements continued, and at night, Ukrainian drones targeted civilian facilities with explosive devices. Most of them were intercepted, but at least one reached the city of Belgorod and dropped explosives on the road, blowing up a civilian car. In addition, other attempts by the Ukrainian military to break across the Russian border in the Gorky, Tsapovka and Shchetinovka areas in the Belgorod region were recorded. Russian border guards repelled the attacks and hit the retreating Ukrainian units with artillery fire. The Ukrainian military is moving reinforcements to the state border with Russia. Attempts to attack Russian territories will likely continue, mainly with the aim of diverting attention from the main direction of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Donbass. In response, Russian forces continue strikes on military targets in Ukraine. Last night, explosions thundered in Kherson, Nikopol, Konstantinovka. Russian UAVs were spotted in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions. Meanwhile, the front lines in Donbass are inflamed by heavy battles. In the area of Artyomovsk, the former Bakhmut, the Ukrainian military is pulling additional forces to Chasov Yar, preparing to attack Russian flanks. In their turn, Russian forces are storming Ukrainian positions near Krasnoe and Grigorovka, but so far without success. The head of the Wagner PMC revealed new details of the battle for Bakhmut. At the beginning of the assault, there were 35 thousand PMCs in Wagner’s ranks. Also, 50 thousand prisoners were recruited. About 10 thousand of them died in battle. Another 10 thousand PMCs were also killed. In its turn, the Ukrainian military lost about 50 thousand servicemen killed and up to 70 thousand wounded. Despite the fact that Ukrainian forces had a significant superiority in manpower. The goal of the battles in Bakhmut was not to capture the city, but to create the “Bakhmut meat grinder”. The Wagner fighters coped with the task and destroyed everyone they were supposed to destroy.