As Ukraine Readies Counteroffensive, Russia Steps Up Campaign Against Partisans; Ukraine’s Defence Forces Repel Over 40 Russian Assaults; 15 Concentration Points of Russians Destroyed in Zaporizhzhia Oblast; UKR Air Force Post Video of NASAMS Anti-Aircraft Missile System for the 1ST Time, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

By admin On Apr 12, 2023

WSJ: As Ukraine Readies Counteroffensive, Russia Steps Up Campaign Against Partisans

Ukraine attacks Russian positions in occupied south

Russia is deepening a crackdown on dissent in occupied areas of Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said Sunday, as Kyiv’s forces launched fresh attacks aimed at weakening Moscow’s hold in the south.

In occupied parts of Ukraine’s Kherson region, Russian security forces were raiding homes and checking local residents’ phones for prohibited photos and videos, Ukraine’s general staff said in its daily briefing.

Ukraine has maintained an active network of informants and partisans in Russian-held areas, where people loyal to Kyiv send coordinates of Russia’s military bases and logistics hubs to handlers in the Ukrainian security services and military command, according to officials in Kyiv.

Russia has sought to root out these networks, but has had limited success, and targeted strikes—that Russia has blamed on partisans—have destroyed infrastructure that Russia relies on to ferry equipment and supplies.

The home raids reported by Kyiv come as Ukraine steps up attacks on Russian positions south of the city of Kherson, the regional capital it retook after weeks of fighting in November.

With Russian forces positioned across the Dnipro River from the city, Ukrainian special forces have conducted operations in contested marshy territory dotted with small islands to the west, and carried out targeted attacks across the water.

On Sunday, the Ukrainian military’s southern command said artillery units positioned around Kherson had destroyed a Russian logistics hub and observation post on the islands, killing 12 Russian service members stationed there. Russia didn’t immediately comment on the claim.

As part of its efforts to build support in occupied areas, Moscow has also launched television channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin propaganda and encouraging local residents to acquire Russian passports. The U.K.’s Defense Ministry said occupied parts of Ukraine remained unstable despite Russian efforts to portray itself as in control. —>READ MORE HERE

Ukraine’s defence forces repel over 40 Russian assaults, including 20 on Bakhmut front – General Staff report

Over the course of Sunday, 9 April, Ukraine’s defence forces repelled more than 40 Russian assaults, including 20 on the Bakhmut front.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 18:00 on 9 April

Details: Over the course of the day, Russian forces carried out 4 missile strikes and 23 airstrikes, and deployed multiple-launch rocket systems in further 10 attacks. Two Russian S-300 missiles hit civilian infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia, killing and injuring civilians and damaging and destroying residential buildings. Another two Russian S-300 missiles hit a civilian infrastructure facility in Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast.

Russia continues to focus its main efforts on conducting offensive operations on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka fronts. Over the course of today, Ukraine’s defence forces repelled over 40 Russian assaults.

There were no significant changes on the Volyn, Polissia, Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna fronts. There is no evidence that Russia is forming new offensive units in the area.

Over the course of the past day, Russian forces attacked Yasna Poliana (Chernihiv Oblast); Volfyne, Zapsillia and Popivka (Sumy Oblast); and Veterynarne, Kozacha Lopan, Mala Danylivka, Hatyshche, Ustynivka, Milove, Velykyi Burluk and Topoli (Kharkiv Oblast).