Russian terrorists must feel only one thing: they will be destroyed – address by the President of Ukraine

13 August 2023 – 22:19

Fellow Ukrainians!

Today, Russian invaders brutally attacked Kherson region. There are dead and wounded.

At 4 am, the village of Veletenske was shelled. A house caught fire. A guy was wounded: he has severe burns, he is now in an intensive care unit.

9 am – the occupiers attacked the village of Shyroka Balka. They used artillery. Five people were killed.

Among them was a baby girl, 22 days old. Her brother, who was only 12 years old, was taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, they could not save him. He died from severe wounds. The children’s mother – her name was Olesia, she was only 39 years old – died. My condolences!

Around the same time, the village of Stanislav was shelled. Two people were wounded, two were killed. The men were 71 years old and 57 years old.

In total, from the beginning of this day until 6 pm, there have already been 17 reports of shelling from Kherson region alone. Other regions include Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donbas, Kharkiv, the border areas with Russia in the northeast.

Everywhere our warriors retaliate against the occupiers’ terror. There is not a single day when Russian evil does not get our completely fair retaliation.

Every occupier destroyed, every piece of Russian equipment burned, fire instead of their headquarters and warehouses, the very eloquent smoke on Kerch bridge and more – all this proves that we will not leave any of Russia’s crimes unanswered. And each of our warriors who gives Ukraine results on the frontline – along the entire frontline from Kharkiv to Kherson – each of our warriors has the opportunity to bring justice to Ukraine.

Everyone who helps our warriors. Now there are only two personal lines of behavior: either you fight for Ukraine, or you help fight and save lives.

Today, there is much to thank the 95th separate airborne assault brigade for: their resilience and results in the battles in the Kupyansk sector. Well done, warriors! Powerful.

The 1st battalion of the 67th separate mechanized brigade, also in the Kupyansk sector, acted heroically and courageously. Thank you!

The paratroopers of our glorious “Seventy-ninth” in the Maryinka sector – thank you, warriors!

Melitopol and Berdyansk direction – I thank every warrior who gives Ukraine the necessary results!

Bakhmut direction – well done, guys!

Every time we have something to thank our warriors for, Ukraine becomes closer to justice, closer to victory. And Russian murderers on our land become closer to destruction.

This is the only way we can create the conditions for the whole of Ukraine to become free and safe again.

Russian terrorists must feel only one thing: they will be destroyed.

And one more thing. Behind every report of shelling and injuries of our people, there are stories of heroism of our Ukrainian doctors and nurses working in the frontline areas.

I am grateful to all our medical workers who, despite everything, save lives!

Today, I would like to recognize those who have shown themselves the most in helping our people in Kherson region.

Doctors: Vasyl Chystiakov, Natalia Kyniv, Artur Rakhimov, Ivan Ososkalo. This is a team from the Kherson Regional Clinical Hospital.

Nurses: Iryna Tytarenko, Olena Bondar, Larysa Shmyhol.

Medics from the ambulance teams who helped the wounded in the villages of Stanislav, Komyshany and Shyroka Balka: Natalia Pupenko, Ilona Shylo, Victoria Hanzha, Maryna Shramkova, Svitlana Stoliarova.

Kherson’s ambulance: emergency medicine doctor Pavlo Dziuba and feldsher Vitalii Biriukov, both sent to Kherson region from Sumy for reinforcement.

Feldshers: Natalia Adriyanova and Vitalii Rudakov.

Kherson city hospital: surgeons Serhiy Bondaruk, Serhiy Tonkontsov and Viktor Yakovenko.

I thank you, each and every one of you, and all your colleagues, for every life saved!

The Ukrainian people are extremely brave and courageous. We know that freedom is priceless, and we know how to defend it. We know how to protect life. And we have to remember that every day must bring results in the defense of Ukraine. Not a single day should be wasted! At the front, in the areas near the front, everywhere in the rear, and, very importantly, by every diplomatic mission of Ukraine.

Weapons for our warriors, support for our state, and legal responsibility for Russian terrorists. Ukraine will definitely prevail!

But this will be our common result. Of all those who are fighting and working for Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine!

Dragonfly attacks.

📷: Dmytro Smolienko / NurPhoto / IMAG pic.twitter.com/f6wDnJiOiv

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) August 13, 2023

pic.twitter.com/kqRBvsfkhS

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) August 13, 2023

Tallyho!

Original source claims that the Su-25s fired HARMs, but there are about 8 reasons I can think of off the top of my head that make the Kh series significantly more likely. https://t.co/xyQWRmSE8K

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) August 13, 2023

Kharkiv:

Kharkiv school children face another year without offline education. Safety remains the top concern, with only a handful of schools equipped with proper bomb shelters. Like this one, hosting chess club meets before the school year begins. pic.twitter.com/JXmQ3OdfoE

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) August 13, 2023

Urozhaine:

Russian military channels say Ukrainian troops have liberated Urozhayne, on the seam between Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.

— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) August 12, 2023

Congrats on yet another Ukrainian tactical success.
Urozhaine is just about to be retaken now. pic.twitter.com/DpYI4WVWDR

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) August 13, 2023

The shelling of a group of Russians which is retreating from the settlement of Urozhaine. Cluster munitions also was used.
(47.7281751, 36.8335446) pic.twitter.com/nnB9PM1sNy

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) August 13, 2023

Recently, 2 JDAMs hit this high-rise building in Urozhaine and eliminated they entire position from which Russians were coordinating their operations, probably killing every Russian there.

Coordinates:

47°44'49"N 36°49'06"E

Standby for news regarding this town.

Source:… pic.twitter.com/4ELtFTunpO

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) August 13, 2023

The decimation of the last surviving Russian troops happened at the following coordinates:

47°43'46.56"N, 36°49'58.45"E

It was the only remaining and open road for them to flee from Urozhaine, but for many it was ultimately the final road to their own demise.#Ukraine… https://t.co/oqoYGu73t3 pic.twitter.com/zLNvxDk9n2

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) August 13, 2023

Donestk:

For the context, the Buryats are ethnic Mongols.

Occupiers of Buryat origin came to a Donetsk venue for a grub and were attacked by a local racist woman who accused them of only fighting for money. She says she never wants to see people like them in their city. United like never before. pic.twitter.com/59W9eW6tcF

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) August 13, 2023

Bakhmut:

WARNING!! WARNING!! GRAPHIC IMAGERY!! WARNING!! WARNING!!

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1690646919402356736

ALL CLEAR!!

Kyiv:

Orphaned 16-year-old Ilona and her brother have been hiding in the occupied territories for a year and a half to avoid deportation to Russia.

Now they have finally managed to escape and reach Kyiv.

📹: CurrentTimeTv pic.twitter.com/nuxmsx8bmp

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 13, 2023

Robotyne:

By merging satellite images taken between June 5th and August 9th, I made a time-lapse that shows the fluctuations and changes in the battleground terrain spanning from Robotyne to its eastern extents. pic.twitter.com/JGqcerbsix

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) August 13, 2023

Kerch Strait Bridge in Russian Occupied Crimea:

Ongoing repairs to the Crimean Bridge can be seen in new satellite imagery of the Kerch Strait

This time lapse shows Russian efforts to repair the bridge after Ukraine struck the site last month. pic.twitter.com/h9Cz9ksmCs

— Brady Africk (@bradyafr) August 13, 2023

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1690771068653383680

Russian occupied Oleshky:

Ukrainian forces hit an ammunition storage warehouse in Russian-occupied Oleshky.

This couldn’t have arrived at a worse time since Russians are increasingly having problems along the Dnipro river and while Russians are trying to take potato fields near Kupyansk in hope to lure… pic.twitter.com/pkcI94ZB45

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) August 13, 2023

Ramenskoye, Moscow Oblast:

A big fire in Ramenskoye, a suburb southwest of Moscow which is close to Zhukovsky International Airport. Unclear what is burning yet. pic.twitter.com/rtUQ1tR2Rl

— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) August 13, 2023

Additional footage. The burning warehouse belongs to agricultural company Lama Pro.

📍55.60269676544774, 38.27404842383309 pic.twitter.com/HYM0UzbUIN

— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) August 13, 2023

For those of you mine clearing enthusiasts:

How does this compare to historical minefields? “In an urgent appeal to allies, Oleksii Reznikov told the Guardian his soldiers were unearthing five mines for every square metre in places…” https://t.co/7XxMkx9tCV

— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) August 13, 2023

“Serhiy Ryzhenko, chief medical officer of the Mechnikov hospital in Dnipro, where many of the most seriously wounded are treated, said he was receiving between 50 & 100 soldiers a day, with mines being second to artillery as the cause of their injuries” https://t.co/7XxMkx9tCV

— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) August 13, 2023

More details from The Guardian:

Ukraine is now the most heavily mined country on Earth and its army is suffering from a critical shortage of men and equipment able to clear the frontlines, the country’s defence minister has said, as soldiers spoke of heavy casualties in the engineering brigades.

In an urgent appeal to allies, Oleksii Reznikov told the Guardian his soldiers were unearthing five mines for every square metre in places, laid by Russian troops to try to thwart Ukraine’s counteroffensive.

He said the vast minefields could be traversed, but that it was critically important that allies “expand and expedite” the training already being provided by some nations, including Britain.

The number of sappers in the Ukrainian armed forces was nowhere near enough to get through the complex Russian defences on the vast 600-mile (1,000km) front, with mine clearing units targeted with heavy fire.

Defence ministry officials in Kyiv suggested there was an opportunity for countries such as Japan that do not want to provide lethal aid to offer support in the form of mine clearing equipment and training.

Reznikov said: “Today, Ukraine is the most heavily mined country in the world. Hundreds of kilometres of minefields, millions of explosive devices, in some parts of the frontline up to five mines per square metre.

“Russian minefields are a serious obstacle for our troops, but not insurmountable. We have skilled sappers and modern equipment, but they are extremely insufficient for the front that stretches hundreds of kilometres in the east and south of Ukraine.”

Some of the mines littering the country have been laid by Ukrainian forces to protect their own defensive lines, but the vast majority are Russian.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has complained that having to wait for western delivery of arms and delay the start of this year’s counteroffensive allowed Russia to lay millions of mines ahead of their positions.

Ukraine has five engineering battalions, divided into 200 brigades, which as of May, before the start of this year’s counteroffensive, were each 30 strong.

According to testimony from the front, the numbers of active mine clearers is now significantly lower. The killing of sappers and officers is said to be the most highly prized by the Russian forces.

One brigade active around Staromaiorske, a recently liberated village in the Donetsk region, said it was 30-strong on paper but that it had 13 men in reality, of whom only five were active as a result of injury. Two members of the unit lost limbs in the last fortnight.

Serhiy Ryzhenko, the chief medical officer of the Mechnikov hospital in Dnipro, where many of the most seriously wounded are treated, said he was receiving between 50 and 100 soldiers a day, with mines being second to artillery as the cause of their injuries.

At a meeting in July in Ramstein in Germany of the alliance of 54 countries supporting Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark agreed train and equip Ukrainian mine clearing units. Other countries were invited to join.

Reznikov said the initiative had unlocked donations, but that more was desperately needed from a wider range of partners.

“At this stage of our de-occupation campaign we critically need more mine clearance equipment, from minesweeping trawls to Bangalore torpedoes,” he said.

Much more at the link!

That’s enough for tonight.

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— Patron (@PatronDsns) August 12, 2023

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