Daily Report from the Ukraine Field for 2022-05-25
Ukraine Russia war UPDATE - Col. Douglas Macgregor
Henry Kissinger: ‘We are now living in a totally new era’ | FT
The slowdown of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine is intentional with a view to evacuating the population and avoiding casualties among civilians, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.
Russia’s Armed Forces are creating humanitarian corridors and announcing ceasefires to ensure the safe evacuation of residents from encircled settlements, he said, despite this approach stalling the progress of the country’s forces.
“Of course, this slows down the pace of the offensive, but it is being done deliberately to avoid civilian casualties,” he explained at a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Council of Defense Ministers.
Unlike the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Shoigu said, Russian troops are not carrying out strikes on civilian infrastructure where there may be people nearby. Instead, identified firing positions and Ukrainian military facilities are being hit with “high-precision weapons,” he added.
The defense minister also noted that Western countries, fearing the defeat of Kiev’s forces, are expediting shipments of lethal aid to Ukraine and are sending military advisers and personnel from private military companies, adding that the number of foreign mercenaries in the country has already exceeded 6,000.
However, despite punitive sanctions on Moscow and the extensive help provided to Kiev by the West, Shoigu maintained that Russia will continue its special operation until all its objectives are achieved.
