The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said that his special forces are successfully destroying Ukrainian forces in the pro-Russian breakaway Luhansk People’s Republic.
The footage, which was obtained from Kadyrov, purports to show Chechen special forces carrying out operations in eastern Ukraine, blowing up a rural building and killing Ukrainian troops in the so-called pro-Russia Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), in eastern Ukraine.
Kadyrov said in a statement obtained on the evening of Monday, June 20: “The offensive tactics of the Chechen special forces to liberate the Luhansk People’s Republic are improving every day. The guys demonstrate stable success in destroying the armed nationalist formations, not even allowing them to regroup.
“Trying to get away from the inevitable punishment, the Nazis and Banderites run from house to house, trying to hide behind civilians. Apparently, they do not know that our fighters took all the residents out of the special operation zone in advance. As soon as the enemy enters the next house, my dear BROTHER, commander Musa Akhmatov, together with his subordinates, immediately covers them with a shell.
Banderites were a group of Ukrainian fascist nationalists led by Stepan Bandera, who aligned themselves with Nazi Germany during World War 2 and conducted ethnic cleansings of Jews and Poles during that period.
“I have repeatedly said and I will repeat again to the Ukrainian-Nazi henchmen: no matter how much you run and no matter what you do, you will not win this confrontation. We will overtake everyone and call them to account. By continuing to resist, you only bring your end closer.”
The LPR also issued a statement attributed to an LPR militia captain named as I. M. Filiponenko, saying on Tuesday, June 21: ”
“Over the course of clashes with units of the defense department, over the past day, the enemy suffered losses in manpower and military equipment, namely: 25 personnel; 4 armored personnel carriers; 7 vehicles; and 6 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine made the right decision and laid down their arms, thereby saving their lives.”
The statement also said: “The People’s Militia of the LPR calls on Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms, for this purpose, the artillery units of the defense department continue to cover the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with propaganda leaflets.
“The enemy continues to terrorize the civilian population of the Republic, shelling the civilian infrastructure of the front-line settlements of the LPR, which do not pose a danger to the enemy and are not military facilities.”
The LPR also claimed that “over the past day, the armed formations of Ukraine fired two missiles from the Tochka-U tactical missile system at the settlements of Stakhanov and Zimogorie.”
We have not been able to independently verify the images or the claims.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation.” June 21 marks the 118th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and June 21, Russia had lost about 34,100 personnel, 1,496 tanks, 3,606 armored combat vehicles, 752 artillery units, 239 multiple launch rocket systems, 98 air defense systems, 216 warplanes, 181 helicopters, 611 drones, 137 cruise missiles, 14 warships, 2,537 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 59 units of special equipment.
Russia recently conducted an anti-ship missile exercise in the Baltic Sea amid escalating tensions with NATO member Lithuania after the latter country blocked the transit of goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Ukrainian forces have said that they have been successfully thwarting fresh Russian attempts to advance in the Kharkiv region of north-eastern Ukraine.
And Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, has urged locals in the Kherson region to evacuate the area so as to help Ukrainian forces “de-occupy” the area.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Ukraine’s southern frontline as Ukrainian forces mount a counterattack in the region to push back Russian troops.
The new head of the British Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, has told British forces that they need to be ready to face Russia on the battlefield and said the British Army now needs to be capable of defeating Russia.
President Joe Biden has promised Kyiv another one billion dollars in security assistance and weapons. General Mark Milley, who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says Russia has lost around 20 to 30 percent of its armored forces during the ongoing invasion.
President Zelenskyy said that a “historic week” has begun as Kyiv awaits a decision from Brussels regarding its EU candidate status.
Zelenskyy, speaking to the African Union on Monday, June 20, also accused Russia of holding Africa “hostage” over grain and fertilizer shortages.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi held talks in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with President Zelenskyy on June 16.
Former Russian president and staunch Vladimir Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev has derided French, German, and Italian leaders visiting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as “fans of frogs, liverwurst and spaghetti.”
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on June 8 recommending that the European Union grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership. Four hundred thirty-eight Members of the European Parliament voted in favor of the measure, while 65 voted against and 94 abstained.
Independent Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov has auctioned off his Nobel Peace Prize medal for 103.5 million dollars, with all the proceeds going to help Ukrainian refugees.
Muratov, 60, is the editor-in-chief of Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which he co-founded in 1993. He has been a vocal advocate for the freedom of the press and argued that it needs to remain independent from government influence.
