The Ukrainian military claimed that they had managed to shoot down three Russian Su-34 fighters, but then Russian experts came out to refute the rumors, saying that only one Su-34 was shot down. They accuse the Ukrainian military of using the April ** to exaggerate the results. At the same time, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the Russian army has successfully captured Maryinka, which is located in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, which means that the Ukrainian army has lost a broader strategic area. Recently, heavy fighting broke out between Ukrainian forces and Russian forces in the Donetsk region, which resulted in the deaths of about 460 servicemen. The Ukrainian army organized 8 attacks in a row, including airmobile brigades and mechanized brigades, but lost 350 soldiers overnight due to the strong firepower of the Russian army and the resistance of ground forces. In the counter-battery battle, the Ukrainian army also lost one American-made M777 artillery system and two "Acacia" self-propelled guns. Such huge ** and equipment losses are undoubtedly a heavy blow to Ukraine and difficult to make up for. Is it worth it for the Ukrainian army, which has invested a lot of troops, but suffered such heavy losses?
In fact, the Marinka region has a strategically important position in the Ukrainian line of defense, and the Ukrainian military has invested a lot of fortifications in this area. The Marinka region can not only threaten the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk, but also cut off the supply road at any time. Putin also covets the positions of the Ukrainian army in the rear of Maryinka, so the Ukrainian army has no choice but to hold its ground. These factors led to a difficult process for the Russian army to capture Maryinka, and after hard fighting, the Russian army finally captured Maryinka, making Ukraine's nine-year deployment in this area go to waste. In contrast, the strategic goals and tactics of the Russian army are clearer, and the military operations are methodical. After repelling 8 attacks by the Ukrainian army, after the Russian army captured Maryinka, it quickly launched a new round of offensive towards Bodanivka, with a clear goal, that is, to clear the external resistance in order to attack Chasov Yar from the flank. At the same time, the Russian army also launched an offensive in Ivanivsk, and if it succeeds in capturing Ivanivsk, it will be able to flank Chavchasov Yar on the north and south flanks. On other fronts, the Russian army also inflicted varying degrees of losses on the Ukrainian army, losing 670 servicemen in just one day.
The Russian army has demonstrated a highly coordinated approach to its actions in terms of military strategy, achieving impressive results in the winter offensive. In this operation, the Russian army has significantly focused more on weakening the strength of the Ukrainian army. This strategy is partly due to the difficulties faced by Ukraine's recruitment campaign, with each lowering the age cut-off mean a decline in the quality of soldiers and a build-up of popular discontent. The issue of conscription has become a time bomb over the head of Ukraine's Zelensky, which could detonate at any time. Recently, the top of the Ukrainian army proposed to call up 450,000 to 500,000 soldiers again, a huge number that Zelensky found unbearable, and he repeatedly stressed that this is an extremely sensitive issue that needs to be carefully considered. On the other hand, the continuous strikes of the Russian army on the Ukrainian soldiers may put the Ukrainian army in a predicament that cannot be replenished, thereby increasing the likelihood of surrender. This will allow pressure to be transmitted to the NATO countries behind Ukraine. Not so long ago, Shoigu also said that Russia had eliminated more than 5,000 foreign mercenaries on the battlefield in Ukraine. The defeat of the Ukrainian army on the battlefield will inevitably force NATO countries to invest more energy, because strength is difficult to be replaced by **.
The possibility of NATO being drawn into the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is increasing, and the Russian army on the battlefield will never relent.