{"id":245673,"date":"2023-05-13T00:24:45","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T21:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/443"},"modified":"2023-05-13T10:49:04","modified_gmt":"2023-05-13T07:49:04","slug":"443","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/443","title":{"rendered":"Day 443: what\u2019s happening in Bakhmut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What\u2019s happening in Bakhmut. China begins a diplomatic game. Russian attack helicopter crashes over occupied Crimea, the pilots were killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s happening in Bakhmut<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, May 11, a wave of reports about Ukrainian troops gains in Donetsk region surfaced on Russian pro-war social media sites. The reports also said that Ukrainian forces were conducting irregular activity and preparing to advance on the other parts of the front. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin said that in Bakhmut, \u201cthe situation is developing according to the worst of the predicted scenarios.\u201d He continued to blame Russian regular troops for abandoning their positions without any fight, further complicating the situation for Wagner fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday evening, Russian military bloggers almost simultaneously posted updates, showing something close to panic. This was both true of marginal pro-war social media sites and most popular milbloggers. The Russian Defense Ministry refuted the reports, saying in a late-night comment that statements \u201ccirculated by individual Telegram channels about \u2018defense breakthroughs\u2019 that took place in various parts of the front line do not correspond to reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on the situation in Bakhmut over the past week, Ukraine\u2019s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on May 12 that \u201cthe enemy failed to materialize their plans. The enemy suffered great losses of manpower, and our defenders advanced two kilometers in the direction of Bakhmut. We did not lose a single position in Bakhmut this week,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the meeting with President Zelenskyi on Friday, chief military commanders said that Ukrainian troops had stopped the advance of Russian forces and pushed them back in some areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 24th<\/sup> separate assault battalion Aidar in cooperation with other units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces recaptured from the Russians some territory south of Ivanivske village near Bakhmut. Russia\u2019s 4th<\/sup> separate motor rifle brigade and 374th<\/sup> separate rifle battalion took heavy losses in the battles on May 11. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past day around Bakhmut, there were 40 combat engagements. Almost 200 Russian troops were killed, 244 more injured, and 15 others taken captive, spokesperson for the Eastern Military Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Colonel Serhiy Cherevatyi said. Ukrainian troops destroyed three Russian tanks, an infantry fighting vehicle, three Msta-B howitzers, and five field ammunition storage sites, he added. \u201cOur defensive operation [around Bakhmut] continues to be successful and achieves one of the main goals \u2014 to wear down the enemy\u2019s combat capabilities and exsanguinate them,\u201d Cherevatyi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China begins diplomatic game<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

China is sending its special envoy to Ukraine and Russia starting next week in an effort to help reach a political settlement of Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, its Foreign Ministry said Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li Hui, China\u2019s special representative for Eurasian affairs and a former ambassador to Moscow, will also visit Poland, France and Germany, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe visit of the Chinese representative to relevant countries expresses China\u2019s commitment to promoting talks for peace. It fully shows that China stands firmly on the side of peace,\u201d Wang said at a daily briefing Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian attack helicopter crashes over occupied Crimea, two pilots dead<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Two Russian pilots were killed on Friday when a Russian Mi-28 military helicopter crashed in occupied Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The crash occurred during a training flight in Dzhankoy district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defense Ministry said it believed the preliminary reason for the crash was equipment failure. The helicopter was flying without weapons, and it caused no damage on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Mi-28N \u2018Night Hunter\u2019 is an attack helicopter designed to strike armored and non-armored vehicles, low-altitude and low-speed aerial targets, and the troops on the battlefield,\u201d the Russian Defense Ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why ban on Moscow Patriarchate is a question of national security? Ukraine in Flames #428<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Ukrainian Church has long played a unifying and state-building role. However, russia intervened here as well. The Moscow Metropolitanate, which would not have arisen without the Kyiv one, has been mythologizing the history of its formation and “special mission” for centuries. Years of national liberation struggle, repressions, hidden oppression, and now a full-scale war have shown that the russian federation uses the church and religion as a very important tool of political influence. Watch Ukraine in flames #428 to find out about undercover russian spies and saboteurs under the guise of priests and why the ban on Moscow Patriarchate is not a question of religious freedom, but an issue of national security and defense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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