Ukraine Under Russian Fire

"We are inspired by the resilience of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine in the face of President Putin's brutal war of aggression."

"We are continuing to support them and, today, we wish them and all others celebrating Easter hope and a swift return to peace."

U.S. Secretary of /State Antony Blinken

 

"Poor Russian morale and limited time to reconstitute, re-equip and re-organize forces from prior offensives are likely hindering Russian combat effectiveness."

British military intelligence

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht gives a statement on the sidelines of a meeting with members of a Ukraine Security Consultative Group at the US Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, on April 26, 2022. (Andre Pain/AFP)

Easter celebrations were shattered in the Luhansk region of the Donbas, stated Seerhiy Gaidal, its governor. Seven churches in his region were "mutilated" by artillery, and an unspecified number of civilians killed by Russian shelling. Both Ukrainians and Russians celebrate the very same Orthodox Catholic traditions and religious culture. It appears that the Russian tradition of conflict, however, supersedes the sacred nature of Easter and its message of peace and regeneration.

 

Moscow's "special military operation", however, is badly misunderstood. It is a liberating, compassionate move on the part of Vladimir Putin, who so much empathizes with his Slavic cousins in Ukraine. The wider world fails to comprehend -- through sheer spite -- that Kyiv has staged atrocities attributing them to Russia, quite deliberately, with the purpose of undermining peace talks. While Ukrainian refugees fill churches across Central Europe.

"I pray that this horror in Ukraine ends soon and we can return home"; the poignant words of Naaliya Krasnopolskaia, now in Prague where she fled from her home in Odesa, one of over five million Ukrainians to escape the raging conflict in their homeland. The Kremlin's focus is the capture of Mariupol, that utterly destroyed port town that was formerly home to 400,000 Ukrainians. Ukraine authorities succeeded in repulsing a dozen attacks on Donetsk and Luhansk, destroying four tanks, 14 armoured equipment units and five artillery systems.

Russia is outraged that a village in its Belgorod region that borders Ukraine was shelled on Sunday from across the frontier. Despite Russian gains, British military intelligence assessment is that Ukrainian resistance is strong, particularly in the Donbas. Speaking with anonymous confidentiality, U.S. sources assess that Russia will rely on artillery strikes to try to pound Ukrainian positions while moving in ground forces from multiple directions with the intention of enveloping and wiping out a large portion of Ukraine's military.

On the other hand, they also say that Russian units are depleted, some operating with large personnel losses,as high as 30 percent; too steep to continue fighting. Anecdotes have arisen that Russian tanks have sole drivers and no crew with substandard equipment, prone to breakdowns, or out of date. According to British assessments some 15,000 Russian personnel had died, 2,000 armourd vehicles destroyed, including 530 tanks, 60 helicopters and fighter jets. 

 

Yet Russia still possesses forces in superior numbers with a willingness to continue to direct soldiers and units into the conflict. Ukraine, on the other hand, shines with high morale, creativity and adaptive battlefield tactics -- and familiarity with the fighting terrain. Arms and intelligence from the United States and NATO allies continue to benefit Ukraine. "They can win if they have the right equipment, the right support", remarked U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as he left Ramstein Air Base in Germany where discussions on Ukraine took place among representatives of over 40 countries.

US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, rear center, delivers a speech as he hosts the meeting of the Ukraine Security Consultative Group at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, on April 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)