The Ukrainian army withdrew from the city of Severodonetsk, the most important city of the Donbass region, which indicates that Russia achieved a major victory in the Battle of Lugansk and Donetsk with the fall of the three main bridges in the city, as Russia seeks to wrest full control of the Donbass River to create a land bridge linking mainland Russia to the peninsula Crimea.
And on Sunday, Ukraine announced that one person was killed and 4 wounded as a result of the Russian bombing of Kyiv, while the Russian Defense Ministry revealed the bombing of a missile factory in the Ukrainian capital.
With the beginning of the military operation on February 24, Russia attacked Ukraine from 3 sides, in the Crimea in the south, on the Russian side of the two countries’ borders (east), and in Belarus from the north, before announcing on March 25 the withdrawal from the north after huge losses. And focus on the east.
According to the Russian “Medusa” website, the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin has a “minimum goal” and “maximum goal” regarding the success and completion of the “special military operation”, pointing out that the minimum goal required to declare victory is the complete capture of Donbass, which is almost Russian forces have to achieve it, and the Kremlin’s ultimate goal remains the capture of Kyiv.
The war continues
Commenting on this, an analyst specializing in security and strategic affairs, Leon Radziusini, said, “Russia will not be satisfied with the east and will return to the capital, Kyiv, whenever the opportunity arises. Putin will not forget the defeats he received in the north, and the repeated bombing of Kiev to terrorize the population who helped the Ukrainian army at the beginning of the operation military”.
Radziusini added, to “Sky News Arabia”, that “the West also does not want to end the battle in an attempt to drain Russia’s capabilities and weaken it economically and militarily, pointing out that Belarus will be the launching pad for missiles towards Kyiv.”
He pointed out that “Russia will not repeat its mistakes in Kyiv through any air landing or land battle, Moscow has changed its tactics and has seen that bombing and leveling cities on the ground brings positive results, so the situation is likely to escalate in the whole of Ukraine.”
He explained that with the wide Western support for Kiev with heavy weapons, it will be difficult for Russia to seize it easily, which may push towards negotiations on the east in exchange for stopping targeting the capital, which the Ukrainian authorities reject, amid a scene that is becoming increasingly complex day after day.
Enormous capabilities of “Iskander-M”
During his meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in St. Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that his country intends to supply Belarus with nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile systems in the coming months, while his forces consolidate their gains in the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Putin said that “Iskander systems can accommodate both ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, both conventional and nuclear,” according to Russian media, with a range of up to 500 kilometers, and a missile’s speed of 230-260 meters per second, and its combat payload equal to 500 kilograms, while The crew of the system includes 3 people.
Russia had developed the “Iskander-M” systems in the nineties of the last century, and began equipping the Russian army with them in 2006, and the ballistic missiles fired by the system can be controlled throughout their flight, and this is what makes their interception by means of air defense very difficult, and this system can also be used To launch high-precision winged R-500 missiles.
The Russian president also indicated that Russia will help Belarus modernize its fleet of Su-25 fighter jets.
Zelensky’s pledges
In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a video speech, reiterated his determination to restore all Ukrainian cities captured by Russia, referring to Severodonetsk by name, along with Donetsk, Lugansk, Melitopol and Mariupol.
Zelensky pledged that “all other Ukrainian cities that are temporarily under Russia’s control will return to Ukraine again,” although he also acknowledged that Ukraine had been targeted by about 45 Russian missiles over the course of the day, and stressed that his country needed more military aid.
The Ukrainian president said that Ukraine was going through a difficult phase of the war, morally and emotionally. “We know that we can still protect the country,” he added.
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