For the Saker Blog by Saker Staff
This is a short sitrep just to bring the latest information together. First, Brian Berletic does a fine job of describing the battlefield for us, without drowning it in detail. He makes a lot of sense and touches on those 'wonderful M777 howitzers', which, if we believe the Wurlitzer Media, are making a decisive difference. Well, they are not.
A summary of Berletic's update for Russian military operations in Ukraine for May 21, 2022:
- Ukrainian militants in the Azovstal steel works have unconditionally surrendered numbering between hundreds (current Red Cross count) to thousands according to Russian sources;
- Mariupol has been secured by Russia since mid to late-April - Ukraine finally admits however that its "combat operations" have fully ended;
- Russia continues to make progress in the Donbas region - Ukrainian forces are being encircled in Severodonestsk and Lysychansk - the salient around Papasnya is expanding both west and north as part of this major encirclement;
- Pentagon admits Russia still poses the majority of its combat power - possess a "numerical advantage" over Ukraine - and is making "slow, uneven" progress, but progress nonetheless;
- Kharkov "offensive" has either stalled or is in the process of being rolled back;
- US M777 howitzers have been found, tracked, targeted, and destroyed by Russian forces;
- Additional attempts to send heavy weapons will face similar technical, tactical, strategic, and manpower challenges;
While 'The Grind' continues, take a look at Brian's update in order to fully understand the shape of the battlefield according to Readovka's short machine translated report:
Kharkiv Front. Medium-intensity fights. The collision occurs in the area of the village of Liptsy and Rubezhnoye.
The Izyum front. One of the most stressful areas. Serious battles are taking place near Kurulka, Velikaya Kamyshevakha, and Dolgenky. The military is heading for the encirclement of the Krasnolimansk group. The front is leaning towards Slavyansk.
Luhansk front. The offensive of groups of fighters continues in several directions from Popasna, the main one of which is now Severodonetsk. Thanks to the destruction of the automobile bridge between Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, the situation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the latter is becoming increasingly difficult. Fighters go to Vozdvizhenka, threatening to cut the route "Artemovsk-Svetlodarsk", fight in Pilipchatino, directly on the way to Artemovsk. An active clash near the Soledar-Lisichansk highway, a cauldron is being erected for the Gorsky and Zolotoye grouping, battles in Viktorovka, Kamyshevakha, on the approaches to Vrubovka, Toshkovka.
Donetsk front. Heavy fighting continues at Novobakhmutovka and Novoselovka-Vtoroi, as well as near New York. In the area of Marinka and Ugledar, there are no changes yet.
In Russia. They were applied on the villages of the Kursk border area-Tetkino and Popovo-Lezhachi, as reported by the governor of Starovoit. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also shelled Gorlovka, hitting the surrounding villages of Panteleimonovka and Aksenovka. Over Ilovaisk, where a large train with humanitarian aid arrived, was shot down of "Tochka-U", two women were injured.
- What is heartwarming is Graham Philips with a short video essay of Mariupol coming back to life. However, the area was extensively mined, and currently de-mining is underway by the DNR / Russia side, before any journalistic access is permitted.
The size of the Russian Aid to liberated areas is massive. The Donbass Aid Train arrived in Ilovaisk. It was formed on the initiative of the All-Russian People's Front and Russian Railways. It departed from Moscow, consisted of 68 wagons, of which 27 were intended for the LPR, and 41 for the liberated territories of the DPR. This is more than 2,400 tons of humanitarian cargo: food, personal hygiene products, medicines, flour, stationery, building materials and equipment, generators.
Zelensky babbled on about 'diplomatic solutions' but he changes daily, as Lavrov says, depending on what he had to drink or what he smoked.
Remember the Russian Pain Dial? We're seeing it being notched up slowly. Russia bans 963 Americans. Is this tit for tat? Not really: it is anything you can do we can triple up on! The political and diplomatic landscape is heating up and in this next week we will see some of that being reported on. Major new reveals came in this past week on the biolabs issue. Pepe Escobar weighs in via his Telegram channel. t.me
The big news is more tests of Sarmat. 🔎 "today, they say that air defense does not exist for the Sarmat missile system, and it probably will not exist in the coming decades," Commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, Col. Gen. Sergei Karakaev, says.
That is it for today. Enjoy your discussion and be careful with the Ukie propaganda. It is everywhere.