Russia appears to be recording significant losses in Ukraine

Kyiv According to British reports, the war in Ukraine is causing increasing losses on the Russian side. As the British Ministry of Defense announced, it is likely that a quarter of the deployed 120 battalions are now disabled.

Some of Russia’s elite units, such as airborne troops, also suffered significant losses, the ministry said on Twitter on Monday. “It will probably be years before Russia can raise these troops again.”

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described it as one of the tasks of western support for Ukraine and the sanctions that Russia should not be able to wage another war of aggression for years to come. This primarily affects the weakening of the Russian economy through sanctions. According to Ukrainian sources, Russia continued its attacks in the east.

There are also increasing reports of attacks or shelling on Russian territory. Two explosions occurred in the early hours of the morning in the southern Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, the region’s governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on social media. There were no injuries or damage.

The Ukrainian government has not yet claimed responsibility for attacks on Russian territory. Both sides speak of very high losses for the other side. While Ukrainian authorities speak of 23,000 Russian soldiers killed, the Russian government says the number of dead on the Ukrainian side is similar. Reuters could not verify the information.

Rescue operation in Mariupol is progressing

The rescue of civilians from the hard-fought Azovstal plant in the eastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol is progressing: 126 people have been brought to safety since the weekend, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Monday. The military guarantees the security of the humanitarian corridor. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hopes that the action in the destroyed city will continue.

The Ukrainian National Guard said there were still 200 civilians in the steelworks, including 20 children. In addition, there were around 500 injured Ukrainian defenders of the destroyed Mariupol, who urgently needed medical help. Russian President Vladimir Putin had promised them treatment if they laid down their arms and surrendered.

A bus convoy brought around 100 civilians from the Azovstal steelworks, which was besieged by Russian soldiers, over the weekend. The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were also involved. According to Ukrainian sources, around 1,000 civilians are said to be trapped in the bunkers of the steelworks alone. Russia speaks of about 2,500 people, including military and foreign mercenaries.

Lavrov: “Will not make actions dependent on a specific date”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov contradicted speculation that the Russian leadership wanted to be able to demonstrate successes in its invasion of Ukraine on May 9th.

The forthcoming anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II will not affect military operations in Ukraine, Lavrov said in response to a question on Italian television. “Our soldiers will not make their actions dependent on a specific date.” Russia also wants to prevent a nuclear war. Western media would misrepresent the warnings of nuclear war.

Lavrov also stressed that Russia’s goal was not to bring about “regime change”, i.e. the overthrow of Ukrainian President Selsensky, in Kyiv. A regime change is not a condition for peace. Previously, the Secretary of State distributed against the United States. He once again identified the USA as the cause of all evil.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, NATO and the EU have apparently come to terms with the fact that the United States has the say on the international stage. Lavrov said so on Sunday evening in an interview with the Italian TV company Mediaset, which was also distributed by Tass.

He was convinced that all countries were of the opinion that one should only listen to the USA. “And both NATO and the European Union have come to terms with the fact that their ‘landlord’ is based in Washington,” Lavrov said. “And in Washington they decided that the world has to be monopolar now, they talk about that all the time.”

In the interview, Lavrov accused both the US and Canada of being responsible for training “neo-Nazi detachments” that found their way into the ranks of the Ukrainian army. By this Lavrov meant primarily the “Azov” regiment, whose remaining fighters were entrenched in the Azovstal plant in the port city of Mariupol.

Reports: Russian attacks towards Zaporizhia repelled

According to their own statements, Ukrainian armed forces have repelled a number of Russian attacks in the direction of the large city of Zaporizhia in the south of the country and have stabilized the fronts south-east of the city.

The Unian agency reported on Sunday evening, citing the regional civil and military administration, that the pause in fighting that has meanwhile occurred is being used to consolidate the defensive positions. Russian units had repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to encircle Ukrainian troops east of Zaporizhia.

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According to their own account, the Ukrainian security authorities also raised a ring of Russian agents. One of the spies even worked in the Ukrainian general staff, said Selensky’s adviser Oleksiy Arestovych on Monday night, according to the Ukrinform agency. He did not provide any information about the exact number of members of the spy ring.

However, Arestovych named one of their alleged goals. “These comrades should shoot down a passenger plane over Russia or Belarus and then blame Ukraine,” he said. Anti-aircraft missiles from Ukrainian stocks should therefore be used for this action.

The southern Russian city of Belgorod, not far from the border with Ukraine, was shaken by two heavy explosions on Monday night. So far there have been no reports of damage or casualties, said Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, according to the Russian state agency TASS.

However, there are reports on social media of lightning in the sky. Video footage and reports of alleged Ukrainian drones over Belgorod and the deployment of regional anti-aircraft defenses were circulated on Twitter, the authenticity of which could not initially be independently confirmed. Reports of alleged attacks by the Ukrainian military on targets in Russia have been mounting for days.

More: You can follow the latest developments in our news blog