THE BATTLE OF DONBASS REACHED ITS HIGH POINT BUT IT IS STILL FAR FROM THE END

A strike with Russian Kalibr cruise missiles destroyed a command center belonging to Kiev forces, killing over 50 Ukrainian officers, generals and members of the high command, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on June 19. The pinpoint strike took place near the village of Shirokaya Dacha in the region ofDnepropetrovsk. Russia said that the missiles hit the command center where commanders of several units of Kiev’s forces had gathered for a meeting. The Russian military added that Kalibr cruise missiles were also used to destroy ten M777 howitzers and at least 20 armored vehicles, which were delivered recently from the West. The heavy weapons were stored inside a factory building in a transformer plant in Mykolaiv city. The Russian campaign of missile strikes remains focused on military infrastructure targets belonging to Ukraine. In its own turn, Kyiv’s forces, in the best traditions of democracy, responded by increasing the shelling of residential areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and villages in the Russian border regions like Bryansk. The only option to put an end to these terrorist actions is the full elimination of military capabilities of Kyiv’s units deployed in these sectors as well as the elimination of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in their modern terrorist group-like format. However, the slowing down of the Russian advance in the region of Donbass in recent weeks indicates that the achievement of this goal is not likely in the near future. As of June 20, Russian forces have been finishing the elimination of Kyiv’s garrison in the industrial zone of Severodonetsk and the liberation of Zolotoe. The grouping of Kyiv’s troops that remain in the Azot plant in Severodonetsk is de-facto cut off from its allied forces and is balancing on the verge of collapse. The situation for them became even worse with the liberation of Metelkino by the Russians. Around Zolotoe, the Russian formations are now clashing with pro-Kyiv units in Kamishevaha. In a separate development, Russian forces have been working to expand their foothold north of Slavyansk. The Russian military has not been able to fully encircle and neutralize the grouping of Kyiv’s forces in the Donbass so far. At the same time, the Russians managed to liberate a number of important territories and towns as well as deliver a powerful blow to the most capable and well-armed military formations belonging to Kyiv. At the same time, Kyiv and its NATO backers managed to keep positions in the areas of Donetsk and Gorlovka and slow down the defeat of the main forces of its Donetsk group. Thus, they gained additional time to mobilize more cannon fodder that will be thrown to the east to stop the Russian military machine.