Russia has actually begun a fresh offensive on Sumy and Kharkiv regions, Ukraine’s top commander, General Syrskyi says. A Chinese national captured fighting in Ukraine lays out his reasons for joining the Russian military. Ukraine unveils a new drone to intercept Russia’s Shaheds.
Russia actually begins offensive on Sumy, Kharkiv regions, Syrskyi says
Russia has actually started a fresh offensive on the regions of Sumy and Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview with Ukrainian news site Livyi Bereh published Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told France’s Le Figaro newspaper late last month that Russia is preparing a fresh offensive on Sumy and Kharkiv regions. When asked to comment on what Zelenskyi said, Syrskyi stated: “The president is absolutely right and this offensive has actually already begun.”
“For several days, almost a week, we have been observing an almost doubling of the number of enemy offensive actions in all main directions,” Syrskyi said.
At a meeting of European leaders in Paris in late March, Zelenskyi said, citing intelligence reports that Russia was getting ready for new offensives on the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. “They’re dragging out the talks and trying to get the U.S. stuck in endless and pointless discussions about fake ‘conditions’ just to buy time and then try to grab more land,” he continued.
Russia has increased the size of its grouping fighting in Ukraine five times since February 2022 when it began a full-scale invasion of the country, Syrskyi said. Russia is scaling up the size of the army by 8,000-9,000 troops every month, making up 120,000-130,000 additional troops a year.
Russia increased the number of combat troops in Ukraine from 603,000 as of January, 1 to 623,000 in early April, he added.
“Imagine, they are paid USD 20,000-40,000 for just signing a contract, and I am not listing all other financial benefits. Their soldier’s [monthly] pay starts from USD 2,500. They are showering people with money, and that is their main incentive. We cannot afford it,” Syrskyi said.
Russia’s trained mobilization potential is around five million people that have either served in the army or have been trained. Russia’s overall mobilization resource is 20 million people.
Chinese national captured fighting in Ukraine lays out reasons for joining Russian military
One of the Chinese nationals captured fighting in eastern Ukraine had paid RUB 300,000 (USD 3,500) to join the Russian military through an intermediary in China, with the goal of becoming a Russian citizen, according to the communications department of the Luhansk Operational Tactical Group cited by Ukrainian news site Ukrainska Pravda.
“He reported that he had received training in the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk region as part of a group of Chinese nationals. The training covered basic military skills and was conducted without an interpreter, relying on gestures and a mobile translator for communication,” the military’s statement to Ukrainska Pravda said.
The Luhansk Operational Tactical Group said the man was taken prisoner by Ukraine’s 81st Separate Mechanized Brigade along with two Russian soldiers when an enemy assault group chose to surrender under fire from Ukrainian troops near Bilohorivka, in Luhansk region.
“He stated that his primary motivation was the desire to become a serviceman and obtain Russian citizenship. He also mentioned that some group members had legal issues in China,” the military’s statement said.
Because of a language barrier he did not fully understand the situation during an assault operation. The group he was part of took losses and decided to surrender, it added.
“The individual is currently cooperating with Ukrainian investigative agencies, and his identity and citizenship have been confirmed. He noted that his family was aware of his intentions to go to Russia, although he officially travelled as a tourist,” the statement continued.
The Luhansk Operational Tactical Group emphasized that Ukraine strictly adheres to the Geneva Conventions relative to the treatment of prisoners of war. All due investigative and procedural actions related to the Chinese war prisoner were underway, it added.
China said Wednesday it is working with the Ukrainian side to verify reports that two Chinese nationals were captured fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
“It is important to emphasize that the Chinese government has always instructed its citizens to stay away from areas of armed conflict and avoid getting involved in the conflict in any form, especially avoiding participation in any party’s military operations,” China’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Lin Jian said in a press conference.
He added that Kyiv’s accusation that more Chinese citizens were involved in the fighting was “groundless”.
He also urged Ukraine to “view correctly China’s effort and constructive role for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis”.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces have captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting for the Russian army in eastern Ukraine. Zelenskyi said he had instructed the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to immediately contact Beijing and find out “how China is going to react to this”.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andriy Sybiha, said he had summoned China’s chargé d’affaires in Kyiv to “demand an explanation”.
“It’s disturbing with the Chinese soldiers having been captured,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a briefing Tuesday.
Ukraine unveils new drone to intercept Russia’s Shaheds
Ukraine has unveiled a new drone designed to intercept Russia’s Shaheds, Ukrainian news site Militarnyi said, referring to a video clip released by President Zelenskyi on Tuesday.
The drone was put on show alongside Ukraine’s other home-made weapons for the Belgian delegation led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever that visited Kyiv on Tuesday.
The drone has destroyed more than 20 Shaheds in the past two months and is actively used against that type of drones.
It can be also used to counter smaller targets, including reconnaissance drones that Russia sends to surveil Ukraine’s territory.
While the detailed characteristics of the drone were not disclosed, the manufacturer said it has a maximum speed of 200 kilometers per hour and flies at a maximum altitude of five kilometers.
The drone is the most successful Shahed interceptor that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have in service, it added.
Ukraine is working to develop cheap and effective drones that would substitute expensive air defense missiles used to intercept low-velocity and small-size targets, Militarnyi said.