Sputnik
Russian forces freeing Maryinka adds significantly to their drive to push on, Scott Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, told Sputnik.
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the Russian Armed Forces had liberated the town of Maryinka on Monday. Maryinka is a heavily fortified settlement situated on the outskirts of the city of Donetsk.
"In the course of offensive operations, assault detachments from the Southern Group of Forces completely liberated Maryinka southwest of Donetsk," Shoigu told Russian President Vladimir Putin during Monday’s briefing.
Speaking to Sputnik, Scott Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector recalled that from Maryinka, a town of around 9,000 people, Ukrainian forces carried out "merciless shelling of the civilian population of Donetsk and the surrounding area."
"Capturing Maryinka and eliminating the source of this artillery and mortar fire represents a major moral victory for the Russian forces," Ritter pointed out.
He dubbed Maryinka’s liberation "part of the concerted effort being undertaken by the Russian military to create a situation for the civilians of Donetsk, where they can live in peace without the fear of daily bombardment that has killed so many innocent civilians, including children."
According to Ritter, Maryinka is just "one of the battles for the Russian forces" who are pushing the Ukrainians out of previously heavily defended cities, towns, and villages, which he said means that strategic initiative is in Russia’s hands.
He recounted that the Russian defense industry "is in full gear" producing new military equipment in significant quantities for the Russian forces that are deployed in the Donbass and the new Russian territories of Kherson and Zaporozhye. "Right now, it looks like Russia will sustain and maintain the strategic advantage," per Ritter.
“Morally, it stops the source of the daily shelling of the innocent civilians of Donetsk. And two, it represents yet another victory of the Russian Armed Forces over not just the forces of Ukraine, but the collective West and NATO,” Ritter concluded.
Russia has become significantly stronger over the past year, with the people opposing the West in the hybrid war it has unleashed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik and the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
"As a result of this hybrid war of the entire collective West against Russia, which was unleashed by the hands, bodies and all other components of Ukrainian society against us ... Russia has become significantly stronger this year, and the unity of our people has increased significantly," Lavrov said.
The top diplomat added that the West's plan to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia had failed miserably.
"The West is indeed changing its tactics, probably even thinking about restructuring its strategy. Even if we claim that the 'strategic defeat of Russia' was the strategy, forgive me for repeating, then the strategy has failed miserably," Lavrov stated.
He stressed that since US has labelled Russia as its "enemy", Moscow is ready for any course of events.
"The movement towards a fairer world order, economic world order, is, of course, unstoppable".
He recalled that developing countries and BRICS members have been demanding IMF and World Bank quotas that would reflect their real economic standing, but the West has been reluctant. Russia's top diplomat stressed that this case is yet another example of how the US violates the principles of honest free market competition.
No comments:
Post a Comment