17:52
Putin: “Depleted uranium in Kiev? We too could use it as an answer”
Russia also has depleted uranium shells, and reserves the right to use them in Ukraine if they are used by Kiev forces. This was stated by President Vladimir Putin commenting on the news of the supplies of these munitions to Ukraine by Great Britain and the USA. This was reported by the Ria Novosti agency.
17:52
Wsj: “The US could send depleted uranium weapons to Kiev”
The Biden administration could supply Ukraine with depleted uranium shells to equip the Abrams tanks that the United States is about to send to Kiev. This was revealed by US officials quoted anonymously by the Wall Street Journal. The United States, the New York Times announced quoting some Pentagon sources, are preparing to announce a new 325 million dollar aid package for Ukraine that could be announced today. The M1 Abrams tank is one of the most powerful land-based weapons in the US arsenal.
17:49
Putin: “We could use depleted uranium as an answer”
Russia also has depleted uranium shells, and reserves the right to use them in Ukraine if they are used by Kiev forces. This was stated by President Vladimir Putin commenting on the news of the supplies of these munitions to Ukraine by Great Britain and the USA. This was reported by the Ria Novosti agency.
17:49
Putin: “Drones and precision weapons are in short supply”
The conflict in Ukraine has shown that Russia lacks various types of weaponry, especially “high-precision munitions, drones and so on”. This was stated by President Vladimir Putin. “We have them, but not enough,” Putin specified, quoted by the Interfax agency, during a meeting with war correspondents. However, the president added that in the last year Moscow has increased the production of the main weapons by 2.7 times and those most in demand by ten times.
17:48
Audio Prigozhin: “Russian defense tried to destroy Wagner”
In a recording posted on his Telegram channel, quoted by Meduza, Yevgeny Prigozhin said the Russian Defense Ministry had twice tried to “destroy” the Wagner Group. According to the militia fundraiser, “we are not talking just about some interference, but about a physical and intentional destruction. Both then and now.” The most recent attempt allegedly occurred during the battle for control of Bakhmut, when Moscow allegedly “tried to lock Wagner fighters in the city without weapons”. The first attempt by the Russian Defense Ministry to eliminate the Wagner Group dates back to February 8, 2018, according to Yevgney Prigozhin. On that occasion, the private militia was attacking ISIS positions in Syria, suffering heavy losses at the hands of the US air force. Prigozhin says the United States had repeatedly warned Russian military commanders that it was preparing an airstrike in the area so they could remove their units from the impact zone. According to the founder of the Wagner Group, however, no one warned them. In the audio broadcast on his Telegram channel and quoted by Meduza, Prigozhin also says he believes the ministry’s attempts to “destroy” the Wagner Group were motivated by envy and that the personality of Russian Defense Minister Serghei Shoigu played a role important given that he is “a person who can’t bear that someone does something better than him” and for this reason “he wants everyone to kiss his feet, but the Wagner Group has never done that”.
17:47
Putin: “The conflict has shown that there were generals in Russia who were not fit for war”
The conflict in Ukraine showed that in the Russian Armed Forces there were “parquet generals”, that is, reception generals, but not fit for war. This was stated by President Vladimir Putin, adding that other more efficient officers have begun to “emerge from the shadows and need to be promoted”. This was reported by the Ria Novosti agency.
17:47
Heavy explosions in Russian-occupied Luhansk
Heavy explosions were reported in Lugansk, currently under the control of the Russian armed forces. Both the Ukrainian media, such as the Kyiv Post, and the Russian ones report it. According to TASS on Telegram, several explosions took place in Lugansk, with clouds of smoke rising over the city. The responsibility, again according to the Russian media, lies with the Ukrainian armed forces who provisionally fired two Storm Shadow missiles at the south-western part of the capital of the pro-Russian separatist republic of the same name in the Ukrainian Donbass. At the moment there is no official information on what happened but according to the well-known dissident Ukrainian blogger Anatoly Sharii, the Kiev forces would have hit an asphalt production plant with at least two Storm Shadow missiles supplied by Great Britain.
17:00
Putin: “A safety zone in Ukraine could be needed”
If attacks on Russian territory from Ukraine continue, Moscow will have to consider creating a “sanitary zone”, i.e. a safety zone in Ukraine, “so that they cannot reach us”. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin quoted by the RIA Novosti agency. Putin added that he does not see the need to introduce martial law in the country at the moment. The president also said that “Polish mercenaries” are taking part in attacks on Russian regions but are suffering “heavy losses”.
16:59
Putin: “Losses of Ukrainian forces catastrophic”
Vladimir Putin claims that the losses of Ukrainian forces in the counter-offensive “are approaching catastrophic”: Tass reports. According to the Russian president, Ukrainian troops have lost over 160 tanks and those of the Kremlin 54. Putin claims that the losses among the Russian military are ten times less than among the Ukrainian ones.
16:58
Strong explosion in the Crimea
More explosions in Russian-occupied Crimea. According to reports from Rbc Ukraine, a loud roar was heard today by the inhabitants of the Kirovsky district. According to the Ukrainian media, the direction was approximately towards the city of Stary Krym.