Russia Advances Despite Heavy Losses - Putin's Invasion Continues

It was agreed that Belarus would block its part of the direction of the possible movement of criminals, and the Russian side - its own. They saw that. “So they turned around and headed to the section of the border between Ukraine and Russia.” This means that, at least according to Lukashenka, the terrorists headed towards the border with Belarus first. But this has not stopped Russian officials from blaming Ukraine and the West. Putin pointed out the terrorist movement towards Ukraine several times. One of the Kremlin's top figures, Nikolay Patrushev, responded to the question "ISIS or Ukraine?" by saying: "Of course, Ukraine." FSB chief Bortnikov claimed that the United States, Britain and Ukraine were behind the terrorist attack.

As of late March, Russian authorities had not shared any evidence to support these claims. But they are using this opportunity to foster a siege mentality in the Russian public and push the “Russia against the world” narrative. DIPLOMATIC DEVELOPMENTS The parties remain a long way from engaging in meaningful negotiations to reach a lasting solution, as there is a huge chasm between Ukraine's strategic objective of restoring its territorial integrity and Russia's objective of forcing Ukraine to accept the annexation of Crimea and four provinces. at least. Negotiations between the sides at the start of the war remain the closest they came to a real agreement.

The Wall Street Journal published the draft peace agreement, which included provisions on Ukraine's permanent neutrality, a ban on its membership in military blocs and the supply of foreign weapons. If Ukraine had accepted the existing agreement, its army would have been reduced to 85,000 soldiers, 342 tanks, 519 artillery systems and missiles with a maximum range of 40 km. The Russian language was to become an official language along with Ukrainian. Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France and possibly Belarus looked to the guarantors of this agreement to oversee its implementation. The fate of the Russian-occupied part of Donbas was to be left to subsequent negotiations between the leaders of the two countries.

Russian propaganda has been amplifying the narrative that Western countries prevented Ukraine from signing a peace agreement at the beginning of the war with Russia, intending to fight, as they like to call it, "to the last Ukrainian." However, Ukrainian officials have reiterated on several occasions that they had no intention of signing the agreement because it went against Ukraine's national interests. Some claim that this was the best deal Ukraine could hope to get from this war, while others argue that this deal would only temporarily stop the war, allow the Russians to regroup and rethink their offensive strategy against Ukraine after a disastrous start to the war. and then attack Ukraine, which was to have a smaller army and no foreign weapons, once again when the time was right.

The supposed agreement did not stipulate any provisions that would have prevented Russia from invading Ukraine once again. And it's not like Putin is known for respecting the treaties he signs. But one thing is clear. Putin's ambitions have risen significantly in recent months due to American hesitancy in support for Ukraine and the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. On March 13, he said in an interview: “Negotiating now just because they are running out of ammunition would be absurd on our part.” Russia's leading warmonger and its former president Dmitry Medvedev, who has been using this war as an opportunity to remind the world about himself, has also continued to make statements that clearly demonstrate that the very idea of ​​Ukraine is unacceptable to many members of the Russian elite.

During his speech at the World Russian Youth Festival on March 4, he stated that “Ukraine is, of course, Russia,” stating that all of Left Bank Ukraine and parts of Right Bank Ukraine are integral territories of historical Russia, and added that Ukraine's western territories could come under the control of Poland, Romania and Hungary. At the end of the month, Medvedev's social media post went even further. He wrote that a peace with Ukraine could only be possible if this country capitulates, accepts the full demilitarization and denazification of its government, the revocation of its status as an independent state, the payment of reparations to Russia and, finally, absorption into Russia.

Some may say that Medvedev's statements should not be taken seriously, since he does not actually have a say in the Kremlin's strategic planning, but we should not forget that Medvedev is the vice-president of the Security Council. He has been one of the main coordinators of the recent Russian increase in domestic military production. And he now he's basically playing the role of the late Vladimir Zhirinovskiy: saying things that seem absurd at the time and that Putin personally doesn't mean, things that eventually become the Kremlin's strategy. Therefore, Medvedev's words should not be simply dismissed as inconsequential rumors from a former official.

Zelensky visited Turkey on March 8, where he discussed a possible peace process with Turkish President Erdogan. Zelensky stated that Ukraine first intends to develop a peace plan with its allies and then invite the Russians to discuss it. For now, Putin feels confident enough to reject any proposals from Ukraine or the West. Russia remains isolated from the West and is strengthening its alliance with the anti-Western bloc and forces of the Global South. On March 11, Russia, China and Iran jointly concluded the Maritime Security Belt in the Gulf of Oman. Military and naval exercises carried out jointly by these three countries have become commonplace in recent years.

Russia has been relying on military support from Iran and North Korea, along with diplomatic support from China for its war in Ukraine. But India's position has been more careful. It is noteworthy that, according to the Bloomberg report on March 22, India has stopped accepting Russian crude oil transported on Russian tankers to avoid US sanctions. CONCLUSION The largest and bloodiest war in Europe since World War II

continues

in all its brutality, death and tragedy. Putin is risking the future of his country in this war and believes that victory is the only option for the survival of his regime, while Ukraine once again fights as the disadvantaged side.

Still, its defenses largely hold up against Russian pressure. Speculation about casualties on both sides does not cease and will continue to circulate in the absence of verifiable information on this matter. The most recent notable analysis on Russian

losses

was carried out by the Verstka platform. According to official Russian figures, 2.17 million men between the ages of 31 and 59 were registered as disabled in 2023. This is a drastic increase of 507,000 compared to 2022. 290,000 men between the ages of 18 and 30 were registered as disabled in 2023. Without a doubt, the main cause of these disabilities is the war waged by Putin, which gives at least an idea about the magnitude of Russian

losses

.

What about equipment losses? As always, we turned to Oryx's military blog and its tally of visually confirmed losses on both sides. As of April 1, Russia has lost at least 2,878 tanks, 6,152 vehicles, 274 command posts and communications stations, 1,183 artillery systems and vehicles, 363 multiple rocket launchers, 107 aircraft and 135 helicopters. Ukraine has lost at least 786 tanks, 2,467 vehicles, 18 command posts and communications stations, 530 artillery systems and vehicles, 63 multiple rocket launchers, 82 aircraft and 42 helicopters. We will continue to talk about this war in the coming weeks, so make sure you are subscribed and have pressed the bell button to watch them. Please consider liking, subscribing, commenting and sharing;

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