On Saturday Ukraine and NATO suffered a devastating blow when Russian forces captured Bakhmut.
Ukrainian leaders said it was pivotal that Ukraine keep control of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
It was lost over the weekend.
On Sunday Ukrainian forces responded with an attack inside Russia.
After the defeat in Artemovsk (Bakhmut), where they are believed to have lost between 30k-60k troops, the Ukrainians staged this Sunday (May 22) an incursion into the Belgorod Oblast, pre-war Russian territory, in what can best be described as a publicity stunt or a ‘psy-op’.
While the Discord Leaks have revealed that Zelensky has plans to take and hold Russian border towns to gain some leverage in future peace talks, that was not it.
The incursion consisted of a DRG (Diversion and Reconnaissance Group) with 2 tanks, an infantry support vehicle and about 9 troop-carrying cars, with a number of troops that have initially been estimated not to have surpassed one battalion.
Belgorod has been known to be a weak spot and a soft-target for long. Governor Gladkov has been begging people to evacuate border settlements since September 2022…
…A legal regime of a counter-terrorist operation was introduced in the Belgorod Oblast (region), and the ‘Special Military Operation’ has been Extended into the area to ‘Liquidate Terrorist Elements that have entered the Region from Ukraine’.
The DRG penetrated the Russian territory by attacking the Graivoron border checkpoint. Russian border guards withdrew to fortified line and took up the fight.
The Ukrainians divided their troops, and proceeded to the shelling of settlements in the area.
On the wall of the building in the Grayvoron checkpoint they left the inscription “Greetings from Bakhmut”, highlighting the propaganda nature of the attack, designed to shift the focus from the loss of Artemovsk.
The American ‘sponsors’ of Kiev were quick to respond. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller explained how the US does not encourage attacks on Russian territory, but immediately proceeded to justify it: “We’ve made it very clear to Ukrainians that we don’t allow or encourage attacks outside Ukraine’s borders. But I really think it’s important to take a step back and remind everyone and remind the world that Russia started this war.”
With the arrival of the Rapid Response Forces from the Russian Military, the main Ukrainian forces and equipment are said to have fled the settlement.
read the rest here.
Later on Monday images were published online of two US Humvees destroyed in the attack on Russia.
The US Military is distancing itself from the attack.
The Pentagon said it did not approve any transfers of equipment to paramilitary organizations outside the Ukrainian military. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Defense Department spokesman, said in a briefing that the Pentagon had not received any requests for such a transfer from the Ukrainian government.
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