[New Tang Dynasty, Beijing time, January 05, 2023]Over the weekend, a Russian temporary military base near Makeyevka in the Donetsk region was hit by a Ukrainian air strike, killing a large number of Russian soldiers. White House National Security Council spokesman Kirby said Ukrainian-Russian fighting in the disputed Donbass region had been “particularly intense over the past few weeks,” a situation he warned would continue.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday (January 4) that 89 soldiers had been killed in airstrikes over the weekend, up from 63 the previous day. Ukraine’s armed forces said at least 400 Russian soldiers were killed and 300 others were wounded.
Kirby (John Kirby) declined to disclose the US assessment of Russian casualties. He pointed out that in recent weeks, fighting in the Donbas region has been quite intense, and Russia continues to import manpower in an attempt to change the balance there, especially in the Donetsk region.
“It’s war, it’s bloody, it’s brutal, it’s been like this for the last few weeks… winter has come. The fighting hasn’t stopped,” Kirby said. “The last few weeks have been especially intense in the East . I think we need to expect that this fight will go on for quite some time.”
Russian military leaders have said the Ukrainians used the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Rocket Artillery System (HIMARS) in the latest attack.
Kirby said the U.S. could provide Ukraine with additional HIMARS in a future aid package, which has proven effective. He praised HIMARS for significantly improving the long-range firepower of the Ukrainian army.
The Russian foreign ministry has claimed that the recent heavy casualties were caused by soldiers using personal cellphones in violation of regulations, which exposed their locations. Semyon Pegov, a war correspondent who was decorated by Putin, said the reasons given by the Kremlin were “not very convincing”.
“I rarely say this — but in this case it might be better to keep silent, at least until the investigation is over,” Pegov said on Telegram. “It looks like a total attempt to pass the buck.”
Pegov was awarded the Order of Courage by Putin after he was wounded by an anti-personnel landmine in Ukraine, NBC News reported. The death toll in Makivka could be far higher than the 89 officially recognized by Russia now, he said.
Pegoff questioned how the Department of Defense could be “so sure” that the location of soldiers housing in school buildings wasn’t leaked through drone surveillance or local informants.
Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s chief military intelligence officer, said in an interview with the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on the 4th that the attack on Russian territory will be “deeper and deeper.” Putin should brace for more attacks at home in the new year.
Ukraine, which is trying to boost its ability to take on Russia in the new year, has launched a military psychological training program to train troops to better deal with the stresses of combat. In an interview with The Daily Beast, the military psychologist in charge of the project expressed the hope that the program will increase the resilience of the Ukrainian military to win more victories against Russia.
Jay Truesdale, chief executive of business risk consultancy Veracity Worldwide, said Russia’s military posture had deteriorated so much during the Ukraine war that its ability to respond with force was diminishing.
“If Ukraine conducts (and admits to launching) more attacks on Russian soil, it could signal a new chapter in the war,” Trusdale said.
(Comprehensive report by reporter Li Zhaoxi/Editor in charge: Lin Qing)
URL of this article: https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/01/05/a103617571.html