{"id":126345,"date":"2022-03-30T13:44:42","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T13:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=126345"},"modified":"2022-03-30T13:44:42","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T13:44:42","slug":"wednesdays-top-5-stories-from-putins-war-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/economy\/wednesdays-top-5-stories-from-putins-war-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Wednesday’s Top 5 Stories From Putin’s War in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are Russian ground forces really withdrawing from positions near Kyiv?<\/strong> Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is skeptical.<\/p>\n

A Russian defense ministry official said on Tuesday that the country (i.e., Vladimir Putin) will \u201cdramatically\u201d reduce the size of its forces and activities around Ukraine\u2019s capital city. The announcement came after the day\u2019s negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey.<\/p>\n

In remarks late Tuesday night, Zelensky said:<\/p>\n

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You saw the news today that the Russian military command allegedly decided to \u2018reduce hostilities in the directions of Kyiv and Chernihiv.\u2019 We should not lose vigilance. The situation has not become easier. The scale of the challenges has not diminished. The Russian army still has significant potential to continue attacks against our state.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nThe Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is also wary of Russian claims.<\/strong> In its Tuesday assessment, the ISW begins with, \u201cThe Russians have not yet abandoned their attacks on Kyiv, claims by Russian Defense Ministry officials notwithstanding.\u201d The ISW\u2019s report continues:<\/p>\n

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The Russian high command has likely concluded that it cannot seize Kyiv and may not be able to move artillery closer to the center of the city. It may have decided to stop its previous practices of forcing units that have already taken devastating losses to continue hopeless offensive operations and of feeding individual battalion tactical groups into the battle as they become available rather than concentrating them to achieve decisive effects. Russian officials are likely casting these decisions driven by military realities as overtures demonstrating Russia\u2019s willingness to engage in serious ceasefire or peace negotiations, possibly to conceal the fact that they have accepted the failure of their efforts on the Kyiv axis.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Ukrainians have \u201cout thought the Russian President,<\/strong> his advisors and the Russian military institution,\u201d according to retired Major General (Australian) Mick Ryan. The Ukrainians also have been \u201csuperior strategists\u201d Ryan tweeted on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

After reviewing the four main elements of Ukraine\u2019s strategy, Ryan asks the central question, \u201cCan Ukraine win?\u201d He concludes that it can, \u201c[b]ut it will require massive amounts of military, diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian aid to continue to fight & ensure it is best placed to get what it needs from peace negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russia has launched hypersonic missiles into Ukraine,<\/strong> according to U.S. Air Force General Tod Wolters. Russia claimed on March 19 that it had used one of its hypersonic Kinzhal missiles to strike an ammunition dump in Ukraine, but the report was only just confirmed by Wolters.<\/p>\n

In his remarks, Wolters, who is the top U.S. commander in Europe, also noted that \u201cRussia has committed at least 70 percent of its total military capability to its unprovoked war on Ukraine, yet failed to topple the government or crush the outnumbered Ukrainian resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russia placed its first hypersonic weapon into service in late 2019. The term \u201chypersonic\u201d describes a missile capable of traveling at a speed exceeding Mach 5, or about 3,800 mph.<\/p>\n

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Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 30 March 2022<\/p>\n

Find out more about the UK government's response: https:\/\/t.co\/ete9x5Ty71<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 #StandWithUkraine<\/a> \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 pic.twitter.com\/202UH5Uz8t<\/a><\/p>\n

— Ministry of Defence \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 (@DefenceHQ) March 30, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n