UPDATES: War In Ukraine (Day 23)
Overnight bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities continued with Russian aircraft launching cruise missile strikes on key targets. The market in Kharkiv caught fire following shelling of the city and at least 6 cruise missiles struck Lviv. Lviv city mayor Andriy Sadoviy reported that several missiles hit the aircraft repair plant destroying buildings and halting work.
President Putin’s demands have been outlined following a call with President Erdoğan. Putin demands that Ukraine remain neutral and not apply to join NATO. The BBC reports that Russia wants to ‘disarm’ Ukraine so it is not an offensive threat to Russia. Russia also demands that the Russian language in Ukraine is protected. The more difficult points of negotiation are Putin’s demand that Ukraine officially cede Crimea and the Separatist regions in Donbas.
It is estimated by the senior sources at the Pentagon that more than 1,000 missiles have been fired at Ukraine. The source stated that Russia has made no progress in the past week or so but warned “I don’t want to convey… that this is some sort of static environment. There’s a lot of fighting going on. The Ukrainians are – they are the reason why they [Russia] haven’t been able to move forward”
Yesterday it was announced as part of NATO’s surge on its eastern flank that the UK would deploy its bank new Sky Sabre air defense system to Poland and Germany’s Bundeswehr would deploy a Patriot battery to Slovakia.
If you missed our coverage of the ongoing conflict yesterday, you can find it here.
This feed timestamps using local Eastern European Time (EET).
Updates
12:50AM (EET) – The Institute for the Study of War has shared their latest report on the situation on the ground. Most interestingly it highlights a “major successful counterattack around Mykolayiv in the past several days”. The report suggests that Russian forces moving to encircle Mykolaiv and strike towards Odessa are overstretched and lack the capability to make a major offensive in the near term. However, an attack on Severodonetsk is believed likely while the Russian forces besieging Mariupol are making slow but determined gains.
11:42PM (EET) – War_Mapper has shared the latest version of their open source intelligence based map of the situation on the ground.
10:06PM (EET) – OSINT analysts Oryx have updated their verified list of Russian losses including helicopters, Air defense systems, self-propelled guns and armored fighting vehicles.
6:20PM (EET) – The UK Ministry of Defence shared a video examining the damage done by unguided bombs dropped by Russian aircraft.
3:42PM (EET) – In an unconventional move the Russian Ministry of Defense has shared a video of what appears to be a Ka-52 carrying out a ‘tactical land g operation’ (something Ka-52s don’t typically do as they only have a two man crew. In reality the footage is edited from a video which emerged earlier today showing the helicopter taking ground fire and being forced to land.
3:20PM (EET) – The UK Ministry of Defence has released an updated version of thier situation map for Ukraine. It notes several more aerial attacks and missile strikes.
9:36AM (EET) – The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has shared a video update on claimed Russian loses it suggests Russia have suffered 14,200 casualties, lost 450 tanks, nearly 1,500 armored fighting vehicles and 93 aircraft. These claims have not been independently verified.
9:20AM (EET) – NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu shared an infographic showing NATO’s eastern flank surge. It shows manpower, air defense and air power assets deployed.
9:10AM (EET) – Ukraine are maintaining pressure on Nestle (and other companies) to cease operating in Russia with an adept social media campaign which demonstrates their sophisticated public relations operation.
8:42AM (EET) – Ukraine’s Air Command – West reports at least 6 air-launched AS-15 missiles were fired at Lviv:
“Russian missiles hit the area near Lviv airport. According to preliminary data, 6 cruise missiles were launched, probably X-555, from the Black Sea. Two missiles were destroyed by anti-aircraft missiles.”
7:58AM (EET) – The UN has confirmed that 3.1 million people have now fled Ukraine.
7:10AM (EET) – The Institute for the Study of War has shared their daily report as well as several maps including a map showing the Mariupol pocket. While the siege of Mariupol is tightening it Ukraine is believed to be counter-attacking.