Fighting until noon on May 13: two battlefields are revealed in Ukraine

The part of the river is fighting between forces of the two sides BlackSky

Fighting along the strategic river

CNN reported that Ukrainian forces continued to repel the Russian advance along the Siverskyi Donets river near Bilohorivka, according to satellite images taken by BlackSky. The fighting took place along the stretch of the river where the Russian side installed two pontoon bridges before being blown up by Ukrainian forces.

Serhiy Hayday, the head of the Luhansk region, said that Russian troops continued to try to build more bridges across the Siverskyi Donets river after several times the bridge was blown up.

Many other satellite images released by Western companies show the situation in some areas where the fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russian forces is taking place.

New images from Maxar Technology show a missile attack near Snake Island in southern Ukraine. Two plumes of smoke can be clearly seen near a Russian Serna-class landing craft in the Black Sea.

It appeared that the ship was making an abrupt turn at the time the rocket hit the water.

Satellite image showing a shipwreck near the shores of Snake Island Maxar Technology

Nearby, a wreck, believed to be a Serna-class amphibious assault ship, lay close to the shore. It is not clear why the ship sank, but Serhiy Bratchuk, a representative of the Odessa government, said that the Ukrainian military launched a missile to destroy the ship and a Russian helicopter on the island.

Currently, the Russian military continues to use the Ukrainian airbase on the outskirts of Melitopol, a city controlled by Russia, according to BlackSky. At least 7 helicopters were recorded at the base based on satellite images taken on the afternoon of May 12 (local time).

CNN quoted analysts as saying that Russia’s use of the base is important, because of its strategic location between the Russian-controlled cities of Kherson, Mariupol and pro-Russian areas in Donbass region.

There are newspapers The Guardian According to analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (based in Washington DC, USA) Russian forces are likely to have control of the entire city of Rubizhne in Luhansk and possibly the town of Voevodivka, north of Severodonetsk.

“The Russian side is likely to launch a ground attack in or around Severodonetsk in the coming days,” according to the American Institute.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on all of the above information and analysis.

Finland and Sweden will be “in the sights”

The accession of Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the deployment of units military of the alliance on the territory will make these two countries a potential target of Russia.

That was the warning of Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky to the United Nations during an interview with the online magazine UnHerd (UK).

According to Polyansky, Moscow now considers Ukraine’s application to join the EU as similar to its attempt to become a NATO member, different from its previous position.

Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky to the United Nations afp

Mr. Polyanskiy explained that the catalyst that led to Moscow’s change of stance has been Brussels’ behavior since Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine at the end of February. Moscow feels the EU has fully sided with NATO. .

He pointed to a recent statement by the EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell in which the top diplomat of the union openly expressed his consideration of a military solution to the current conflict.

According to the Russian diplomat, the causes were the lack of constructive dialogue, Kyiv’s inability to keep his promises and the West’s efforts to prolong the confrontation.

Ukraine and the EU have not yet commented. However, Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of obstructing a diplomatic solution.

see more: Russia changed its stance on Ukraine’s application to join the EU

In addition, Russia may cut off gas supplies to Finland starting from May 13, according to reports Iltalehti cited multiple well-informed sources.

Britain buys Soviet and Russian weapons

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace recently revealed that British foreign and defense officials are actively looking to buy Soviet and Russian-made weapons globally to supply Ukraine.

Wallace explained that Soviet-made weapons are the best option for Ukraine in the fight against Russian forces because Ukrainian forces are used to such weapons.

see more: Britain seeks to buy Soviet-made and Russian-made weapons to supply Ukraine