RUssians Change Priority of Capturing Bakhmut to Prepare for Counteroffensive; UKRaine Uses US Patriot Defense Systems to Shoot Down RU Hypersonic Missile; Video: RU Attacks Bakhmut With Phosphorous Munitions; A Soldier’s View of the Battlefields and Trenches of Bakhmut, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

By admin On May 9, 2023

Russians change priority of capturing Bakhmut to prepare for counteroffensive:

Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have pointed to a shift in the priorities of the Russian Ministry of Defence. The Russians are changing the offensive on Bakhmut to prepare for an expected counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Defence Forces.

Source: ISW

Details: Experts have said that the Russian Ministry of Defence appears to have shifted the priority of capturing Bakhmut in favour of preparing for defence against an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, putting the Wagner Group and its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in a potentially difficult position.

Prigozhin released a series of videos on 4 and 5 May, announcing that Wagnerites would leave Bakhmut on 10 May if they did not receive the necessary supplies, and launched particularly harsh and emotional attacks against Army General Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the Russian General Staff, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, and the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defence in general.

The report points out that despite the shift in priorities of the Russian Armed Forces leadership, the Wagner Group has not stopped trying to completely capture Bakhmut.

Analysts believe that the Wagner Group’s continued hold on Bakhmut is inconsistent with the overall slowdown in Russian offensive operations in other parts of Ukraine, as regular Russian troops appear to be shifting their focus to preparing for the long-awaited counteroffensive by Ukraine.

With the exception of very limited and localised attacks near Kreminna and Donetsk, Russian forces have largely ceased offensive operations across the entire battlefield, which likely means a shift to defence. —>READ MORE HERE

Ukraine uses US Patriot defense systems to shoot down Russian hypersonic missile:

Ukraine used newly acquired American Patriot defense systems to shoot down a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv this week, its Air Force said Saturday.

It marked the first known time that Ukraine has been able to intercept one of Moscow’s most modern missiles — and the first time Ukraine is known to have used the Patriot defense systems.

Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that the Kinzhal-type ballistic missile was intercepted Thursday during an overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital.

“Yes, we shot down the ‘unique’ Kinzhal,” Oleshchuk wrote. “It happened during the nighttime attack on May 4 in the skies of the Kyiv region.”

He added the Kh-47 missile was launched by a MiG-31K aircraft from Russian territory and was shot down with a Patriot missile.

The Kinzhal is one of the latest and most advanced Russian weapons. The Russian military has said the air-launched ballistic missile has a range of up to 1,250 miles and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept. —>READ MORE HERE

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