MOSCOW FIGHTS ENEMIES AT FRONT AND IN REAR

The Russian army is successfully fighting enemies both on the frontlines and in its rear. In the Zaporozhie region, the bloody battle for the ruins of Rabotino, the main gain of Kiev’s counteroffensive last year, finally ended. Russian forces continuing to expand Russian victory and expanding the zone of their control. In the South Donetsk direction, after their victory in Novomikhailovka, Russian troops launched assault on Paraskovievka and advance on a wide front in the fields approaching the strategically important road to Ugledar. At the same time, heavy battles continue in a heavily fortified town of Krasnogorovka, where the Russian army already took control of an important stronghold, the local refractory plant and the Ukrainian units are holding defense in the multistory buildings in the north. West of Donetsk, the Russian army is advancing in different directions around Avdeevka. Reports from the front confirm Russian control of Netailovo. On the northern flank, Russian forces are expanding the zone of their control around Ocheretino, advancing to the north, west and south. On May 23, the Russian Defense Ministry officially confirmed control of Klescheevka, one of the Ukrainian strongholds south of Bakhmut. Moreover, Russian forces finally captured both dominant heights west of the village. The Ukrainian military was forced to retreat several kilometers beyond the Seversky Donets Canal. At the same time, assault on the city of Chasov Yar is ongoing from several directions. In the eastern Kanal district Russian servicemen are slowly breaking through, fighting for every high-rise building; while they already launch attacks on Ukrainian positions in the southeastern Novy district. On the northern frontlines the Ukrainian military is suffering heavy losses trying to stop Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region. The Ukrainian command is forced to take units from other directions, in particular the 36th separate brigade was redeployed from the Kherson region, more forces were taken from the Kupyansk front. In their turn, Russian forces secured their positions in the recently captured areas and deployed heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers with thermobaric warheads to grind Ukrainian defense both in Volchansk and Liptsy. Meanwhile a series of detainments of high-ranked officers took place in the Russian Defense Ministry. Since late April, the Deputy Minister of Defense, the head of the Personnel Department, the Head of the Main Communications Department as well as the former commander of the 58th army were detained and accused of fraud and bribes on a particularly large scale. Amid the ongoing detentions of corrupt officers, the newly appointed Minister of Defense Belousov, who has a large experience in economic management, is supposed to bring order to the Russian military and maximize the efficiency of the military-industrial complex, which is a clear sign that Moscow is preparing for a prolonged war.