Something is happening in Luhansk Oblast. Putin’s army digs deep trenches in the ground. Several lines can be seen in succession on the latest satellite images. In some places, so-called dragon teeth are embedded. These are anti-tank barriers.
The reason: Russia is afraid of losing more territories. “The defense line consists of two rows of ‘dragon’s teeth’, followed by a ditch, which is probably intended to hold back vehicles, and then firing positions for infantry and vehicles,” Benjamin Pittet (22) from Biel writes about the images. The artist has been following the movements of the Russians from above for months.
Pittet is not an IT or military expert, nor does he speak Russian or Ukrainian. Still, he managed to track the Russians’ movements in real time – sometimes even faster than secret services. The man from Biel explained to the “NZZ” that all he needed was a laptop, mobile phone and “poor wifi”. He simply buys up-to-date high-resolution satellite images from the war zone and analyzes them. Just like now.
Ukraine’s first major city conquered
Now the Russians are preparing for a major offensive. No wonder: Ukraine has already managed to recapture the territories occupied by Putin’s army. According to its own statements, Ukraine was able to recapture more than 400 square kilometers of territory in the Kherson region within days. Since early October, the troops have “liberated” this area in the south of the country, spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military command South, Natalia Gumenchyuk, said two weeks ago.
Kherson is one of four regions in Ukraine that Russia has annexed despite international protests. The UN General Assembly has officially condemned Russia’s “illegal annexations” in Ukraine by a large majority. 143 of the 193 UN member states voted in favor of a corresponding resolution at an emergency session in New York on Wednesday, five against.
The capital of the region of the same name, which borders the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, was the first major city in Ukraine to be captured by the Russian army in early March, shortly after the start of the Russian occupation. invasion.
Russian attacks repulsed
According to their own statements, pro-Russian separatists have seized two villages near the industrial city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. A group of soldiers from the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics “liberated” the villages of Opytine and Ivangrad “with the fire support of the Russian armed forces,” pro-Russian authorities said in the online service Telegram on Thursday.
The villages are south of Bachmut, a salt and wine producing town that once had a population of about 70,000. Bakhmut has been besieged by Russia for weeks.
The news of the gain comes after Ukrainian soldiers in recent weeks recaptured large swaths of areas in southern and eastern Ukraine that had been under Russian forces for months.
In a situation report Thursday morning, the Ukrainian army said it had repulsed Russian attacks near Ozaryanivka, Ivangrad, Marjinka and other villages. (jmh/AFP)