Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov announced the downing of a Ukrainian military cargo plane in Odessa that was on its way to deliver weapons to Ukraine, after previous Russian warnings to the West against continuing to supply Kyiv with weapons, while Ukraine confirmed that the Russian army had incurred heavy losses, amid US warnings of Russia starting The next stage of the war soon.
Konashenkov said in a press statement that the losses of the Ukrainian army amounted to more than 23,000 people since the beginning of the war.
Since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine, Western countries have sought to provide Kyiv with weapons and military equipment to counter the advance of Russian forces into Ukrainian territory.
The first step is to fly these weapons to the nearest point to Ukraine in one of the nearby NATO points, especially via Poland.
Then comes the role of the Ukrainian forces, which bear the responsibility of bringing these weapons and equipment through truck convoys into the battlefields.
And because NATO had rejected Kiev’s proposal to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, these arms convoys may not reach their destination after Moscow warned Western countries of the consequences of supplying more weapons to Kyiv.
But this did not prevent Western countries from continuing to supply them with weapons and equipment from more than one border point spread across Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
continuous bombardment
On the ground, the eastern suburb of Kiev – specifically the Darnitsky district near Brovary – was subjected to a Russian missile attack, according to the city’s mayor, and the Russian Ministry of Defense spoke in parallel about its destruction of an armored factory in Kyiv using long-range missiles.
Moscow also announced the destruction of workshops for the maintenance of military equipment in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, and that it had made progress in the Donetsk region.
The Russian Defense Ministry also reported that its forces targeted 16 Ukrainian military sites in the Baltava, Odessa and Donbass regions with long-range missiles.
The Kyiv military administration urged residents of the capital to avoid returning to their homes for the time being after the latest Russian strikes, and not to ignore the sirens.
Moscow also confirmed its full control of the Mariupol residential area, and the TASS news agency quoted Russia as stipulating that combat forces in Mariupol place their weapons before three in the morning, UTC, to preserve the lives of its members.
Mariupol
On the other hand, Ukraine’s National Security Council denied Russia’s control of Mariupol.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the developments in Mariupol may end all peaceful solutions proposed to end the war.
Zelensky warned Russia against the liquidation of Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol, and said that their liquidation would end negotiations with Moscow, and might end all peaceful solutions proposed to end the war.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that Moscow had massed 22 tactical battalions towards Izyum in eastern Ukraine.
And 15 kilometers from Izyum, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 plane, while its forces advanced on axes towards Kharkiv.
The Russian Defense Ministry had broadcast pictures it said were of its forces advancing in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine. The pictures show the crossing of the Russian forces to the areas they control by what they call the Ukrainian nationalists in the province, as well as Russian helicopters covering the process of crossing the military convoys to the places they controlled.
The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office said that Russian missile strikes targeted two areas on the outskirts of the city, killing two people and wounding 18 others.
For its part, the Ukrainian Air Force announced the destruction of 4 Russian cruise missiles using anti-aircraft missiles, without specifying the location of the destruction.
Moscow cruiser
The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evminov, informed the crew of the cruiser “Moskva” – the naval vessel that sank two days ago – that the officers and sailors will continue to serve in the Russian Navy.
This came during a meeting between Evminov and the command of the Russian Black Sea Fleet with the combat crew of the cruiser “Moskva” in the city of Sevastopol.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the sinking of one of the most important and prominent ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the cruiser “Moskva”, due to severe damage after several explosions occurred on board.
While many experts rule out the impact of this loss on the military capabilities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, others talk about symbolic and moral losses that cast a shadow on the prestige of the Russian strategic fleet.
new stage
And the network “NBC” (NBC) quoted US military officials as expected that the next phase of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine will begin within the next few days.
Officials told the network that the Russian military may start moving some of its forces to Ukraine as soon as the end of this week or the beginning of next week.
For his part, a senior US military official stated that US officials believe that Russia may return its forces to Ukraine and begin the offensive before it is ready to fight again.
