Russia claims it will allow foreign ships to leave Ukraine ports; intense assault in the Donbas continues

The Russian Airborne Forces (the VDV) have been heavily involved in several notable tactical failures since the start of Russia’s invasion, according to the latest military intelligence from the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence.

Giving three examples of such failures, the ministry said these included:

• The attempted advance on Kyiv via Hostomel Airfield in March.
• The stalled progress on the Izium axis since April.
• And the recent failed and costly crossings of the Siverskyi Donets River.

The VDV is assigned to some of the most demanding operations, the ministry said, with the 45,000-strong unit comprised mostly of professional contract soldiers. Its members enjoy elite status and get additional pay.

However, the U.K. said the VDV “has been employed on missions better suited to heavier armoured infantry and has sustained heavy casualties during the campaign,” adding that its mixed performance likely reflects a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia’s failure to secure air superiority.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian forces have fired on 41 settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, the country’s Joint Forces Task Group has said in its latest military update.

As a result of Russian shelling, 6 people were killed and 12 were injured, the task group said in the update on Facebook Thursday morning.

Russia “destroyed and damaged 52 high-rise and private residential buildings” and other civilian facilities including a secondary school, health center, recreation center building, railway line and a Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) building, as well as farm buildings, garages and cars.

Ukraine said its rescuers had evacuated about 760 people from combat areas.

Russia has been accused of employing “scorched-earth” tactics in the Donbas and has concentrated its manpower, and firepower, on the region in a bid to seize it entirely. It’s believed that Russian troops are trying to encircle Ukrainian forces in Luhansk, with fighting focused around the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia’s defense ministry said it would open a safe corridor to let foreign ships leave Black Sea ports, Russian state news agency Interfax reported Wednesday.

The Russian defense ministry has reportedly announced that it is opening two safety corridors for the exit of foreign ships from ports on the Black and Azov Seas between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Moscow time.

The head of the National Defense Control Center Mikhail Mizintsev said at a briefing that these lanes would provide for the safe movement of ships from ports including Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhny on the Black Sea, as well as Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov.

“In six ports – Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhny, 70 foreign ships from 16 states remain blocked,” Mizintsev said. He claimed that Ukraine posed a threat in terms of shelling, and that mines had not allowed “ships to go to the open sea without hindrance.”

Russian forces have for weeks blocked Ukrainian ports, contributing to a global food security crisis. Ukraine is a leading global producer of both wheat and sunflower seeds, which are used for oil.

Russia has said the ports and the water area near them are mined and merchant ships could be vulnerable.

— Holly Ellyatt and Chelsea Ong

President Vladimir Putin issued an order to fast track Russian citizenship for residents in parts of southern Ukraine largely held by his forces, while lawmakers in Moscow passed a bill to strengthen the stretched Russian army.

Putin’s decree applying to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions could allow Russia to strengthen its hold on territory that lies between eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists occupy some areas, and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.

The Russian army is engaged in an intense battle for Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, known as the Donbas. In a sign that the Kremlin is trying to bolster its stretched military machine, Russian lawmakers agreed to scrap the age limit of 40 for individuals signing their first voluntary military contracts.

A description of the bill on the parliament website indicated older recruits would be allowed to operate precision weapons or serve in engineering or medical roles. The chair of the Russian parliament’s defense committee, Andrei Kartapolov, said the measure would make it easier to hire people with “in-demand” skills.

— Associated Press

A senior Turkish official has insisted after talks with Swedish and Finnish officials that Turkey will not agree to the two Nordic countries joining NATO unless specific steps are taken to address Ankara’s objections.

“We have made it very clear that if Turkey’s security concerns are not met with concrete steps in a certain timeframe the process will not progress,” Ibrahim Kalin said after talks in Ankara that lasted about five hours.

Kalin is the spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and a senior presidential aide.

Turkey has said it opposes the countries’ membership of NATO, citing grievances with their perceived support of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and other entities that Turkey views as security threats.

Kalin said Turkey’s proposal for the two countries to lift arms export limits was met with a “positive attitude” by the Swedish and Finnish delegations.

— Associated Press