Victorious news of 433rd day of war: Russians preparing for "goodwill gesture,” Offensive Guard ready to recapture Ukrainian lands

Russians are preparing for a new "gesture of goodwill"

Russia is looking for ways to justify another failure in the war against Ukraine. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov pointed to signs that Russia is preparing for another "goodwill gesture." 

"If you observe a number of public statements on Russian resources, you can see that such phrases are already being heard as, "It is probably time to end the 'special military operation', ‘we need to shift to defense,’ ‘we need to hold on to our 'newly acquired territories," Reznikov said. 

In his opinion, the Kremlin is looking for options to justify another failure in the war against Ukraine. 

"In case of another success of the Ukrainian army, which is absolutely expected for them as well, they need to come up with a way to "sell" it internally, how to present it to the people? Their expectations were also overheated: to take Kyiv in three days and end the "special military operation" in three weeks. And although the propaganda in Russia is working perfectly, it is getting more and more complicated for them to keep it going every time," Reznikov said.

He added that the situation may force Russia to make another "gesture of goodwill," i.e., to get out of the occupied territories.

"This is not my prediction, but rather a speculation, but still, I would not be surprised if they have some kind of problem in the scenario, a serious catastrophic one, man-made, on the territory of Russia. Let's say something happens to a power plant, a hydroelectric power plant, a nuclear power plant, and there are risks for the population, and this will require immediate attention from the government, the accumulation of resources, including soldiers," Reznikov suggested.

In addition, in the Luhansk region, Russian troops are digging trenches under the guise of water supply works in preparation for defense. The work is being carried out in the regional center, and in the temporarily occupied territories, the local population is being forced to go on street duty to detect Ukrainian army drones.

In the Svatove direction, Russians are preparing for a counteroffensive, Yuriy Fedorenko, commander of the unmanned aerial vehicle company of the 92nd Brigade, said.

Offensive Guard is ready to liberate Ukrainian lands

Ukraine has fully formed 8 brigades of the Offensive Guard. This was announced by the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko. These brigades will come under the command of the Defense Forces after receiving a combat mission.

"We have plans to form additional brigades, because there is a demand for it, and we have the capacity... We are rearming the brigades that have already been formed, they will undergo 2 or 3 weeks of relevant training, and in parallel we are starting to form additional units," Klymenko said.

According to the minister, the task of each of these brigades is to conduct offensive assault operations together with the Defense Forces during military operations.

"The success of the operation in a particular direction will depend on each brigade, each unit, each soldier and police officer," the minister emphasized.

Ukrainian fleet of long-range drones 

A fleet of drones with a flight range of more than 3,000 kilometers is emerging in Ukraine. Roman Svitan, a reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a military expert, told this on the Espreso TV. He noted that Ukrainian drones are already operating on the territory of Russia. According to the military expert, these drones can reach the Kola Peninsula and almost reach the Urals.

"Recently, we have seen the work of Ukroboronprom and volunteers who collect donations. We have purchased long-range weapons. We really have a large fleet of drones with a range of over 3,000 km. Our drones have already been operating on the territory of the Russian Federation. We see a lot of explosions on the territory of Russia, and those military facilities can only be reached from the air," Svitan said.

Aid from Denmark

The Danish Parliament has decided to allocate a new military aid package to Ukraine worth DKK 1.7 billion (over USD 250 million). It has become the largest ever provided by Copenhagen. This was reported by the Danish newspaper DR with reference to Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.

"This (new aid package. – ed.) means that we are helping the Ukrainian air defense. There is demand for this," Poulsen said.

Denmark will provide Ukraine with demining machines, ammunition, field bridges and funds for air defense.

"This will help support the capabilities that the Ukrainian side lacks for a successful offensive now when Ukrainians plan to regain the territories occupied by Russians," explained Poulsen.

Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) terrorists face life in prison

Two LPR militants were served suspicion notices in absentia by Ukrainian investigators. Now they face life imprisonment.

Investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the Ivano-Frankivsk region served suspicion notices in absentia to two militants who fought in Kharkiv and Luhansk regions. One of them was responsible for shelling Ukrainian territory with MLRS.

According to the SBU, the resident of Luhansk, born in 1990, joined the 4th separate motorized rifle brigade of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic in 2014. After the start of the full-scale invasion, the militant fought against the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Chornobyl zone and in the Kharkiv region. 

The second suspect is a resident of Luhansk born in 1991. After the outbreak of full-scale war, he volunteered to join the territorial defense of the LPR. He fought in the Kharkiv direction, near Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. According to the SBU, the suspect is currently participating in combat against the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Luhansk region.

The men were notified of suspicion under four articles of the Criminal Code: high treason, collaboration, participation in a terrorist organization and participation in activities of armed groups not provided for by law. 

"The law provides for imprisonment for a term of 15 years or life with confiscation of property for these crimes," the SBU added.