{"id":234909,"date":"2023-02-16T11:36:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T09:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=234909"},"modified":"2023-02-16T11:36:45","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T09:36:45","slug":"day-357","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/day-357","title":{"rendered":"Day 357: Russian casualty rate at highest since invasion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Frontline reports<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bakhmut remains the hottest spot on Ukraine\u2019s defense line. Fierce fighting rages outside the city, spokesperson for the Eastern Military Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Serhiy Cherevatyi said. Russia\u2019s occupying forces are losing a lot of soldiers every day on the axis, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian forces conduct an assault on Bakhmut and Vuhledar in Donetsk region to slow down a coming Ukrainian counteroffensive, Andriy Yusov, representative of the Main Intelligence Department in Ukraine\u2019s Ministry of Defense said. The Russians understand that Ukraine\u2019s counteroffensive is imminent and that Ukraine will conduct operations to retake its territory, Yusov said. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are preparing for an offensive, and will implement the plan, he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut has degraded significant Russian forces and will likely set favorable conditions for a future Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Institute for the Study of War said in a report on February 14. The claim runs counter to what some western military planners say, emphasizing that Ukraine\u2019s resolve to defend the city is inexpedient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ninety-seven per cent of the entire Russian army is in Ukraine, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said. Russia has not been able to amass a single force \u201cto punch through\u201d Ukraine’s defenses, he said. Rather, \u201cwe’ve just seen an effort to advance,\u201d he added. \u201cThat has come at a huge cost to the Russian army,\u201d Wallace said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian soldier death rate highest since invasion, Ukraine\u2019s intelligence says<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Russian soldier death rate is now the highest it\u2019s been since the invasion. Russia continues to prioritize capturing all of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, representative of the Main Intelligence Department in Ukraine\u2019s Ministry of Defense Andriy Yusov said on television.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the frontline, we now see extreme escalation and serious developments in the east, around Bakhmut, and on other axes, including Vuhledar. Nothing\u2019s changed. [Russia continues] desperate attempts to occupy Ukrainian Donbas by the end of March. That\u2019s an order Putin gave to Gerasimov. But those dates mean nothing, and they will fail. Ukrainian Donbas holds out, and Bakhmut holds out,\u201d Yusov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not the second most powerful military in the world anymore, but the enemy still has a large mobilization reserve. [The draftees] are often ill-equipped and ill-trained, but there are many of them. That does not stop the Ukrainian defense forces. They have plans and [are ready to] respond to challenges,\u201d representative of Ukraine\u2019s intelligence said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe enemy\u2019s losses are now the highest they\u2019ve been since the beginning of this shameful war, that\u2019s easy to spot,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia sends spy balloons over Ukraine<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, Ukraine\u2019s air defenses spotted at least six hostile balloons in the sky over Kyiv and shot down most of them, the Kyiv city military administration said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur preliminary reports say that about six enemy targets were detected in Kyiv\u2019s airspace. Those were balloons that are moving with the wind. All objects were targeted by air defenses. Most of the spy balloons were intercepted,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The balloons may have been carrying corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment, the Kyiv city military administration added. The goal of the balloon launch was to detect and exhaust Ukraine\u2019s air defenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ukrainian military will examine the wreckage of the downed objects to identify their type and characteristics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian photography and depiction of personal tragedies. Ukraine in Flames #342 <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n\t
\n\t
<\/div><\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Independent, distinctive, multifaceted, and at the same time sensitive, painful and affecting \u2013 this is what modern Ukrainian photography has become. Ukrainian photographers didn\u2019t stop during the war, but completely changed their vectors and profiles. Watch Ukraine in flames #342 to find out about new projects of Ukrainian photographers that depict various aspects of war and personal tragedies of Ukrainians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guests:<\/p>\n\n\n\n