TCO Intelligence Group

Michael L Clark, TCO Intelligence, Tel Aviv, Israel 05/23/2023

The Russian Defense Ministry has published a summary of the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine, as they have been since the operation began. Today, May 23, 2023, about 720 Ukrainian servicemen and mercenaries, three Msta-B howitzers, two D-30 howitzers, a D-20 howitzer, AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar station, three tanks and 14 combat vehicles were destroyed in Kupyansk, Krasnolimansk, Donetsk, Yuzhno-Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson directions. armored vehicles. Air defense systems intercepted 13 HIMARS and Uragan MLRS shells during the day, and destroyed 11 Ukrainian drones.
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Russian troops destroyed two ammunition depots of the 60th and 64th mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of Verkhnekamenskoye and Stupochki localities of the DPR. Near Toretsk, the control point of the 24th mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian army was hit. The Russian Armed Forces destroyed two fuel depots near Avdiivka.
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The Defense Ministry said that after the defeat in Artemivsk, Kiev moved to implement terrorist actions against civilians. On May 22, after intense shelling of the Kozinka checkpoint and a number of other civilian objects in the Grayvoronsky district of the Belgorod region, a unit of the Ukrainian nationalist formation (NAZI’S), invaded the territory of the Russian Federation. The saboteurs were blocked and defeated by air strikes and artillery fire. The remnants of the enemy’s formations were driven back into the territory of Ukraine, where they continued to be defeated until they were completely eliminated. More than 70 militants, four armored fighting vehicles and five pickup trucks were destroyed.
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Telegram channel Readovka reported that a group of Ukrainian saboteurs entered the village of Bohun-Gorodok in the Borisovsky district of the Belgorod region. According to the channel, the DRG broke through from the Kharkiv region, but it was pushed back by border guards. According to Readovka, mortar fire was opened on the enemy, shooting was heard in the neighboring village of Shchetinovka. The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on this information.
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The head of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov denied reports about the penetration of another Ukrainian DRG in the Borisovsky district. The governor wrote in his Telegram channel that “there was no approach”, and the media are trying to sow panic among people.
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Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that Ukrainian saboteurs should be “destroyed like rats”. The politician called Kiev’s reports of non-involvement in the DRG attacks a lie. According to Medvedev, the United States, Britain and EU countries are responsible for these attacks.
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Retired FSB Major General Alexander Mikhailov explained that it is impossible to deploy a group of troops on the entire border of Russia with Ukraine due to its long length. According to him, the state border is blocked by small border units operating with the support of the local population. In addition, Mikhailov noted that initially they were not going to equip the border, “because they believed that they were brothers.”
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Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the penetration of the Ukrainian DRG in the Belgorod region causes deep concern in the Kremlin. According to him, these actions are directed against the country. Peskov added that great efforts will be made to prevent this from happening in the future.
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Gladkov said that as a result of the morning shelling of the region by Ukraine, 12 civilians were injured, 29 private houses and three cars were damaged. 12 settlements of the Grayvoronsky district came under fire: Golovchino, Antonovka, Kozinka, Spodaryusheno, Gora Podol, Glotovo, Zamostye, Bezymeno, Zarechye, Grayvoron, Mokraya Orlovka and Novostroyevka. Gladkov saidthat MLRS of the Armed Forces of Ukraine worked on the residential sector, and explosive devices were dropped from drones.
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Gladkov also said that the air defense forces shot down an APU UAV in the sky over Belgorod and the Belgorod region. According to preliminary data, there were no casualties, the governor noted.
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The Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the village of Gordeyevka in the Korenevsky district of the Kursk region, said the head of the region Roman Starovoit. According to him, as a result of the attack, the power supply to the villages of Gordeyevka, Viktorovka and Troitskoye was destroyed.. The explosion damaged a truck and an excavator, which were involved in the work to strengthen the border. There were no injuries.
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Telegram channel Mash reported about a drone that was seen in the sky over the Opalikha microdistrict in Krasnogorsk on the approach to Moscow. According to the channel, the drone was spotted by the pilot of the Robinson R44 helicopter. He notified the Sheremetyevo Airport service about the drone. The UAV has not yet been detected, and it is being checked. The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on this information.
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The head of the press center of the Center group of troops, Alexander Savchuk, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to regain their lost positions in the Krasnolimansk direction. According to him, the Ukrainian military forces of two brigades wanted to attack the Russian Armed Forces, but as a result of the artillery strike, they suffered significant losses.
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Military expert Anatoly Matviychuk suggestedthat the special operation of Russian troops in Ukraine will continue in the Kramatorsk, Kherson or Kharkiv directions.
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The head of European Diplomacy Josep Borrel said that training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets has already begun in some countries, including Poland. According to Borrel, the sooner Ukraine receives these aircraft, the better.
Sergey Lipovoy said that there are no airfields in Ukraine where F-16 fighters can be based. The Major General suggested that after the completion of training of Ukrainian pilots is announced, NATO pilots in the form of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be put on planes, and F-16 flights will be carried out from Poland, Romania or Bulgaria.