Counteroffensive: – Ukraine claims to have cleared the worst hurdle

“We passed the main roads where mining was taking place. We’re getting to the lines where we can advance. I’m sure we’ll go faster from here,” the Ukrainian commander, aka Kombat, who is fighting in the south, told Reuters.

As early as Wednesday, Ukrainian forces said they had raised the national flag in the Robotyne settlement in the southern Zaporizhia region, about ten kilometers south of the frontline city of Orikhiv. The next destination is the port city of Berdyansk. Robotyne is located about 100 kilometers from Berdyansk and 85 kilometers from the strategically important city of Melitopol. Both are controlled by Russian troops.

London: Russia could step up attacks on Kupyansk and Lyman
According to British military experts, Russia could step up its attacks in the area east of the cities of Kupjansk and Lyman in northeastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian counter-offensive has put pressure on Russian forces in eastern Bakhmut and southern Ukraine, the Defense Ministry wrote in London on Saturday. However, Russia continued small attacks to the northeast in the Kupyansk-Lyman sector and made limited local progress there.

While Ukraine continues to gradually gain ground in the south, Britain says Russia could try to regain the initiative by returning to an “operations-level offensive.” Ukraine liberated the Russian-occupied city of Kupjansk in the Kharkov region last year. The city and its surroundings were subsequently repeatedly targeted by Russian shelling.

Russian border village under fire
Belgorod Oblast authorities have announced that Ukrainian troops have attacked the Russian border village of Urazovo with cluster munitions. Six people were injured. According to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, citizens’ homes, facilities and cars were hit. The Belgorod region and other border regions have come under regular fire since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.

Concrete over the Wagner cemetery
Meanwhile, a video of a destroyed Wagner cemetery in Russia’s Samara region is causing a stir. You see a man in a Wagner T-shirt walking around the cemetery and points to an area covered in rubble. It is said that there used to be more than 280 crosses that adorned the graves of the fallen Wagner mercenaries. “It’s a serious desecration,” he laments.

Cemetery workers reportedly told the BBC that the cemetery is being renovated. Instead of the crosses there should be black pyramids with the names of the dead. The deaths of dozens of people only became known through the shared recordings – because, as it turned out, the next of kin had not been informed.

Prigozhin Jet: Difficult exploration
The circumstances leading to the plane crash and subsequent death of the Russian mercenary leader and later Putin’s intimate enemy, Yevgeny Prigozhin, are still unclear. According to Western secret services, it was initially assumed that a missile had been fired, but there are now increasing indications of an explosion on board. The Kremlin, of course, denies any involvement. The “Krone” asked the expert. Emanuel Dolezal investigates plane crashes for the Austrian Security Research Council. Since there was a fire, obtaining evidence will be relatively difficult.

“In principle, different research techniques are used, which then result in an overview,” says Dolezal. “This includes evaluation of aircraft recording equipment, engines, evaluation of flight paths, as well as primary and secondary radar and examination of the wreckage.” No distinction is made as to whether it is a bomb. on board or a missile strike is always clearly possible.

“Structural damage to aircraft can be caused by mechanical impacts, such as after a hard landing, or by explosives in the aircraft, but also by external missiles. However, these causes are not always clearly distinguishable.” During the evaluation, as a rule, no distinction is made whether it is an accident or a suspected attack. The expert also does not want to commit to the alleged crash videos. “No statement can be made about this.” All these difficulties in finding the cause will not particularly bother the Kremlin.