re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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Food and trash were strewn everywhere. The mess had attracted mice. Adding to the unsanitary conditions, feces and soiled toilet paper littered the periphery of the position. Nobody wanted to die while burying his shite.

After machine-gun bullets buzzed the trees and we again crammed into the dugout, Syava complained, “It smells like dirty socks in here.”

“Whose socks are those?” another soldier demanded.

“It must be Lyova,” Syava said.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He has smelly feet.”

Not long after, Lyova was hospitalized with tuberculosis. It is unclear when and where he first fell ill, but in such unhygienic quarters, viruses were rampant. When a sergeant overheard a draftee telling me that he was sick, the sergeant interjected, “Everybody is sick.”

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The RVC and the Legion of Freedom of Russia continue to control the territory of Bilgorod region. At the moment, a map of the territory of Russia that is not under the control of the Putin’s regime looks like this, according to DeepState

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The Legion and the RDK continue to liberate the Belgorod region!

The army of the Russian Federation could not oppose anything to a group of patriotic volunteers who took up arms and were not afraid to openly go against the Moscow regime for the free future of Russia. Once again, the myth that the citizens of the Russian Federation are safe and the Russian Federation is strong has been destroyed, in fact, for years the authorities simply plundered the budget and lied that everything was fine.

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Today at a press conference, Peskov was asked why the 10 Billion ruble defense line in Belgorod failed to stop the incursion (I didn’t make that number up)

“The presidential administration can not assess the characteristics of protective structures.”

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Cadet seemed to be so completely a child of the war that he’d never developed an instinct for self-preservation. He had grown up on a subsistence farm where his family raised pigs and chickens. In the Army, because of his age, he had first been assigned to a company of reserve soldiers who replaced casualties in other units; among the twenty-eight men in his platoon, he knew of only two who were still alive. He claimed to have fired the S.P.G.-9 more than a thousand times, and to have made “not one but many” confirmed kills with it. He smoked between two and three packs of cigarettes a day. Cadet did not use the trench to move between the dugout and the parapet; he scampered nimbly through the black woods, hopping over berms and foxholes, unencumbered by helmet or body armor. During one firing mission, a little after 2 a.m., he turned on a flashlight instead of his red headlamp. Back at the dugout, Kaban kicked him and demanded, “What the frick is wrong with you?”

“I forgot it,” Cadet muttered sullenly, like a grade-school student without his homework.

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The State #Duma adopted a law on the seizure of passports at the border

#FSB border control officers will be able to confiscate passports from #Russians who are not allowed to travel abroad.

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A Marine Corps will be created in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced.

"The state will do everything for the development of an important, strong type of troops. To equip our infantry with modern weapons and equipment and to create new Ukrainian marine brigades," the president said

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How the Great Belgorod Raid started vs. how it went

A little post-facto analysis below:

This morning the Ukrainian military (under the fig leaf of being a pro-Ukrainian Russian separatist group) attacked a Russian border checkpoint and a couple of border villages, penetrating about three kilometers into Russia proper before being driven back with losses.

Russian aircraft quickly arrived on station, at which point the Ukrainian vehicle crews seem to have retreated back into Ukraine and abandoned the infantry to their fate.

Shown: a two-ship of Su-25s delivering airstrikes

Attack helicopters also joined the fray.

Elements of at least two and possibly three Russian battalions in the area also piled on, showing at least one triangle-Z tactical marking I've never seen in the wild.

(there's another video out there with a BMP-3, presumably a different unit)

Most fighting was over in about six hours. The Russians claim they killed at least 40 attackers, which is hardly implausible given the raid's lack of support and the prompt and overwhelming Russian response.

Last I heard they were still sweeping the area.

So - an objectively stupid border raid designed to grab the headlines back after Bakhmut fell last weekend?

I don't think so. I think this little operation had larger ambitions - namely, to seize Russian territory for leverage.

The area chosen was a particularly vulnerable part of Belgorod Oblast, surrounded by water obstacles and Ukrainian territory. The kind of thing that could be taken in a coup de main.

Similarly there was a heavy info-war campaign earlier pushing the "Bilhorod People's Republic," presumably some kind of Ukrainian-backed cutout on Russian territory in an ironic echo of the Lugansk and Donetsk Peoples' Republics.

(do they speak Ukrainian in "Bilhorod?")

The obvious question is why on Earth they'd think they could successfully conquer and hold part of Russia with one motorized company.

Well, UK MinDef Ben Wallace told us the answer earlier. NATO thinks the vast majority of the Russian Army is in Ukraine

This would presumably leave the Russian border regions extremely vulnerable to attack and seizure even by small forces.

As we found out today, that's absolutely not the case. They're crawling with troops. A third and critical data point for analysis later.

As a sort of mythbusting addendum, no, the Ukrainians didn't launch this raid to capture a Russian electronic warfare system.

The rumor mill was going faster than a Kinzhal this morning. Be wary of misinformation!

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SitRep - 22/05/23 - Bilhorod People's Republic

An overview of the daily events in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Today the Belgorod region (now called BPR) was attacked by Russian anti-government units of the Russian Volunteer Corps and Freedom Legion of Russia.

As usual we start with Russian losses per 22/05/23 reported by the Ukrainian general staff. We include footage of destroyed, damaged or captured Russian equipment or personnel.

+720 men
+2 tanks
+9 APCs
+20 artillery pieces
+1 MLRS
+1 aircraft (Su-35)

All Shahed-drones and 4 cruise missiles were shot down overnight, but unfortunately there were also hits registered in the Dnipropetrovsk region

A BTR-82A captured, more on the event on how this happened later in this thread.

A warehouse in Voronezh went up in flames

In Belgorod city center, reportedly drones attacked an FSB office.

Lets continue with the general events. F-16 fighter jet training has already started.

The US once again confirms it sees Crimea as Ukrainian.

CV90's are on their way to Ukraine!

And then, a look back at what today was all about. The Ukrainian-affiliated Russian Volunteer Corps and Freedom Legion of Russia invaded the Belgorod region of Russia, engaged in fighting with Russian troops and took over at least a number of villages and captured heavy equipment

It started with an appeal on their official Telegram-channel to residents of border villages to stay inside.

Soon after, the first reports came in of heavy explosions and massive shelling of villages on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine near Kozinka.

After a while it became clear there was actually an attack on Russian soil, performed by anti-Russian government forces that want to get rid of Putin.

Russian Volunteer Corps and Freedom of Russia Legion fighters started to appear on the streets, taking over Kozinka, Glotovo, Grayvoron and reportedly also parts of Zamost'e.

Even helicopters started appearing near the area where fighting emerged. There are unconfirmed reports that a helicopter from the Russian Federation forces crashed in the area although we haven't seen proof yet

A comment from the Ukrainian leadership about the ongoing attacks during the day. They denied Ukraine's involvement in the attacks.

Fight is still ongoing and Russia has still not regained full control, while even pulling up aviation to the area.

To the front. As for the discussion whether or not Ukraine is present in Bakhmut, I can be brief. basically all troops have left Bakhmut, a 'covered retreat' is being conducted in the black dotted area to allow remaining troops to leave Bakhmut unharmed. Khromove area unchanged.

South of Bakhmut, based on my latest info, progress is made west (black square) of Klishchiivka. The exact depth of this advance is not yet clear and will become clear in the coming days. It is clear that after losing strategic positions, Russia has difficulty with its defense.

Furthermore, things seem to be happening north of Soledar in the area around Sakko I Vantsetti-Vasyukivka, but there is no information available or no visual confirmation of footage to adjust the map. We'll keep an eye on this.

That's all for today. Tomorrow a new SitRep as you are used to from me.

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+1 aircraft (Su-35)

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Just like the Su-35 yesterday...this didn't happen.

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A Marine Corps will be created in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced.

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I just got off the phone with the operation's leader, who was in a pretty good mood. Didn't sound at all like 70 of his fighters had been eliminated. In fact, he said the operation wasn't over.

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