Over the last few days, Russia did not make any confirmed advances and Ukrainian forces only took 1.25 square miles in the Bakhmut area (Ukraine 1) and 7.5 square miles in Southern Ukraine (Ukraine 2&3).
Ukraine launched a drone attack on Moscow on Sunday, but all three drones were shot down. But the debris of two of them smashed into the Moscow International Business Center causing extensive damage from the resulting fire. No one was injured in the attack. Ukraine also launched a drone which hit the police station in Bryansk. No one was injured in that attack either. But Ukraine is bringing the war to Russia.
Russia also launched a missile attack destroying a school in Sumy on Sunday night. Two people were killed and twenty injured. Russia also struck residential buildings in Kharkiv and Zaporizhia with at least two killed.
And on Monday in retaliation for the Ukrainian drone attacks in Russia, Russia launched two missiles against a high-rise apartment complex in Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih killing six people and injuring another 75.
Ukraine launched three sea drones against Russian patrol ships in the Black Sea. The patrol ships detected and destroyed the drones before they attacked. Ukraine also initiated another drone attack on Moscow. At least one drone hit its target as Russian media showed the IQ-Kvartal Tower on fire on the 21st floor where the offices of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development are located. Another drone was seen flying over the Odinstovo suburb of Moscow but not confirmed whether it hit its target or not.
Russian milbloggers are still eerily quiet on Ukraine’s missile attack against the Chonhar Bridge over the weekend cutting off the main supply route between Crimea and Southern Ukraine. With the Russian arrest of Igor Girkin, the other milbloggers are obviously self-censoring themselves out of fear they could be arrested as well.
The Wagner Group has changed their mission to assisting Belarus in training their forces, allowing Russian forces who had been training before to join in the war against Ukraine. Belarus announced that they would be forming a professional army. No former Soviet State has a professional army still relying on drafting conscripts. Russia has tried twice since the fall of the Soviet Union to switch to a professional army but has been successful. Ukraine also has a conscript army.
Two Belarusian helicopters violated the air space of Poland on Tuesday. Poland increased its troop presence on the Belarusian border in response.
Iceland became the first country to shut down its embassy in Russia, but not in protest of the attack on Ukraine, but because of the sanctions, there is no financial reason to maintain an embassy.
Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, who has a warrant out for her arrest by the International Criminal Court, admitted that Russia has deported 4.8 million Ukrainians to Russia, including 700,000 children. Most of the children were deported without their parents. She claimed that the deportations were for humanitarian reasons, but that is still a crime under international law.
Ukraine has begun to remove the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol from the capital’s Motherland Statue which had been erected in 1981 to commemorate the Soviet victory in World War II. The statue was meant to compete against the Statue of Liberty in New York. The Motherland Statue is taller, but if the pedestals are counted, the Statue of Liberty comes out the winner.
