Russia's indiscriminate artillery bombardment, Mariupol Steel Plant was destroyed, the ground was completely controlled by Russia, and hundreds of members of the Ukrainian Azombie Regiment were transferred to underground fortifications.
Underground is a nuclear strike defense fortification built by the former Soviet Union. The bunker is located hundreds of meters deep underground, covering an area of about 5km×2km. It is said that the reinforced concrete retaining wall is 4 meters thick, and the supplies stored in the bunker can accommodate 5,000 people for 7 years.
If there is shield machine and enough materials and oil in the bunker, then can the Azov group dig a tunnel from the underground to the west and escape from the day of birth?
Mariupol is lost, and hundreds of people who fight stubbornly in the underground fortifications have no impact on the war situation in Russia and Ukraine. The next decisive battle between Russia and Ukraine in the Donbas region is 300,000 (some say 500,000), and we will wait and see.
original title
comments: Why "The Battle of Donbas" will be a critical moment in the outcome of the war
Daniel L. Davis's comments
Update time: Greenwich Standard Time April 17, 2022 Sunday 08:35:44
English source: CNN
Editor's note: Daniel L. Davis is a senior researcher and military expert at Defense Priorities. He was a US Army lieutenant colonel. He participated in the largest tank battle in Desert Storm , namely the Battle of 73 Easting. He is the author of "The Eleventh Hour of America 2020". The views expressed in this comment are his own. See more comments on CNN.
Ukraine defeated Russian President Vladimir Putin (Vladimir Putin) in a slight attempt to seize the capital Kiev . Now, Russia is preparing to launch the second phase of the revised east, which will become the largest tank battle in Europe since World War II : Battle of Donbass .
After fierce resistance and severe casualties in the northern and western Kiev, Russia's tank heavy forces abandoned their hopes of occupying the city and began withdrawing at the end of March.
However, the main goal of Putin does not appear to be not to occupy the geographical territory of Donbas , but to destroy the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) defending the east. Military, this seems easier to achieve than Kiev’s original goal. Outside the city’s capital, Ukrainian defenders will have no buildings to protect them from Russian observations, and Putin’s troops will be able to use their mobility to play to their advantage.
Before the outbreak of the war on February 24, Ukraine had deployed most of its troops in the eastern Donbass region—focusing on the line of contact between the Kiev army and Russian-backed separatists defending the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
Report estimated that as many as 40,000 Ukrainian troops fought on the Donbas front when the war broke out. There have been fierce fighting there over the past six weeks. But now it seems that Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky are aware of the importance of winning the "Battle of Donbas" in a larger trajectory of war.
If Zelensky can hold the front in Donbas, it is almost impossible for Putin to continue the war and will buy time for Ukraine to build an offensive force to drive Russia out of the country in the future. If Putin's army succeeds, they will capture or destroy a large portion of all the trained Ukrainian troops - and there is little to stop Russian armored forces from capturing Kharkov , Odessa or even returning to Kiev.
Russia has left extensive evidence of war crimes after withdrawing troops from Kiev, and Russia's repositioning in the east indicates that Ukrainian troops may face greater danger. Russia occupied the city of Mariupol using a similar method. First, they surrounded the defenders to cut off any ability of Kiev to obtain food, fuel or ammunition for its troops.The Russians then fired a large number of heavy artillery into parts of the city where the Ukrainian army stood. Finally, the Russians slowly closed the circle, captive or killed the defenders. Ukraine only gave up fighting when water and ammunition were used up.
Putin will try a similar strategy in Donbass. If Russia could encircle the Ukrainian army in Donbas and cut off their supplies, it could squeeze the circle over time. Eventually, in the absence of fuel, ammunition, food and water, defenders like Mariupol will fall.
So far, the Russian and separatist armies have made gradual progress in fighting the Ukrainian army defending Donbas. This balance now faces the risk of a decisive tilt towards Russia.
About 70,000 Russian armored forces are moving towards a position, allowing them to launch an attack on the north shoulder of the Donbas defensive position opposite Ukraine. Russia also reportedly mobilized more than 60,000 recruits and reserve personnel to inject new forces into the battle.
Putin also introduced the notorious new Russian battlefield commander General Alexander Dvolnikov, who led Putin's army in Syria , known as the "Syrian Butcher".
To protect its flanks, Russia has launched violent shelling of Ukrainian positions defending in the southwestern part of Kharkov and Khlsong . The two operations aim to secure Ukrainian troops in place and prevent them from moving to strengthen Ukrainian defenses on the Donbas front. However, Ukraine has difficulty strengthening and replenishing the Kedenan Bass forces, which exposed the serious weaknesses of Zelensky's forces.
One thing I learned during my time as the second in command of the Armored Cavalry Squadron of the German 1st Armored Division in the mid-2000s was that the biggest key to the outcome of the battle was often much less – more attractive than rockets, missiles, and main battle tanks. It's logistics. Russia’s inability to provide itself with adequate supplies was a major failure of its ill-fated offensive in Kiev in February, and it is becoming a major factor in the looming battle of Donbas.
In preparation for the opening of the main attack forces north and south of Donbass pocket, Russia has been ruthlessly attacking Ukraine's logistics lines from western Ukraine and the capital.
Russian fighter and bomber , attack helicopter , precision guided missile , hunter drone and long-range artillery have been causing serious damage to Kiev's supply lines, preventing or delaying the three most critical needs of the defense forces: food, fuel and ammunition.
Especially without fuel, the Ukrainian army will not be able to launch a mobile counterattack, which is crucial to the defensive power in armored warfare. They must be able to cut off the infiltration of the enemy. However, without sufficient fuel, the ability of Ukrainians to cut off and fight off Russian attacks would be severely limited.
Ukraine’s best course of action is to continue to improve its existing defensive positions, store as much food, fuel and ammunition as possible before the battle begins, and to do everything it can to prevent any major breakthroughs in its northern or southern shoulders.
If Ukraine can reserve sufficient supplies for its mobile tactical reserves and maintain the ability to reverse any infiltration of Russia, it will give it a chance to weaken Russia's advance and prevent it from being surrounded. This will also buy time for Ukrainian leaders and allow them to negotiate with Putin as Moscow is on the rise.
However, if the Russian armored forces succeed in breaking through either shoulder, they might be able to surround the Ukrainian combat forces in Donbas and methodically leave them with a lack of key resources. In this case, the Ukrainian army will slowly lose the ability to continue to resist as they will run out of ammunition, food and fuel.
In this imminent battle, the bets on both sides could not be higher.
The mayor of Kiev warned residents who fled the city not to return for the time being
On Saturday, April 16, 2022, firefighters worked hard to put out multiple fires after Russia launched an attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
As Ukrainian troops continue to regain areas previously occupied by Russian troops, more than 900 civilians were found dead in cities around Kiev.
On Saturday, after Russia's latest missile volley, thick smoke was shrouded in Kiev, killing one person and injuring many.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned residents who fled the city not to return in these new attacks.
"We do not rule out further strikes to the capital," Klitschko said. "If you have the chance to stay in a safer city for a while, then do it."
