The Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022 – Day 33 (ground actions)

Russia has pushed into isolated Mariupol. The city has been without power since 1 March. I suspect it is going to fall in the next week or so. There were some Ukrainian counterattacks to the southeast of Zaporizhzhiya yesterday and around Kharkov. The attacks southeast of Zaporizhzhiya were 63 miles northwest of Mariupol. That is a still a long way away in war.

This does appear to be the first of several “sieges” in the campaign. Is this the future of the Russian offensive? Is the next one at Kharkov? 

Russia continues to occupy three cities, Berdyansk (pop. 107,928), Melitopol (pop. 150,768) and Kherson (pop. 283,649). They have also taken parts of Izium (pop. 45,884). On the other hand, it appears the Ukrainian forces have advanced to the outskirts of Kherson.

I will put any changes/updates since yesterday’s post in italics. There is not many today. I also have a series of other posts on the war that are relevant:

Russian casualties? | Mystics & Statistics (dupuyinstitute.org)

So, have 9,861 Russians really been killed in Ukraine? | Mystics & Statistics (dupuyinstitute.org)

So, is this war really stalemated? | Mystics & Statistics (dupuyinstitute.org)

Does Russia have chemical warfare capability? | Mystics & Statistics (dupuyinstitute.org)

International Pariah | Mystics & Statistics (dupuyinstitute.org)

Contested Air Space over Ukraine? | Mystics & Statistics (dupuyinstitute.org)

I will update this post during the day as I find more information. 

We are looking six major areas of operations right now.

1. Kiev

2. Odessa

3. Kharkov

4. The Donetsk and Lugansk provinces
5. Mariupol
6. Crimean border/Kherson

Here is what I have heard/seen from open sources:

1. Kiev (pop: 2,962,180): The reinforced Russian Army have occupied the defunct nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, the large Antonov/Hostomel airport north of Kiev, the northern outskirts of Kiev (the Obolon district), the outskirts of Irpin to the west of Kiev, and are on the outskirts of Brovary to the east of Kiev. The center of the city appears peaceful. The city is still open to the south. The Ukrainian Army in conducting counterattacks west of Kiev. The Ukrainian Army reports they have re-taken Makariv (pop. 10,300), which is due west of Kiev. They are also claiming that 80% of Irpin is under Ukrainian control. They have also re-occupied some villages to the east of Kiev.

Chernigov (pop. 285,234) it located to the NNE of Kiev. The Russians have pushed columns past the city and down to Kiev, but the city remains under Ukrainian control. It is reported that all exits from the city have been mined. They are shelling the city and for all practical purposes, it is isolated. The latest maps are showing that it is no longer isolated. Article on Chernigov, dated 26 March: Shelled city in north Ukraine fears becoming ‘next Mariupol.’

2. Odessa (pop: 1,015,826): Appears to be safe and secure for now.

3. Kharkov (pop: 1,433,886): Kharkov is being shelled but it does not look like the Russians have tried to re-enter the city. It looks like all action in and around Kharkov has pretty much halted, with the Russians reported digging in. 

Sumy (pop. 259,660) looks in danger of being isolated. The Russians have taken Konotop (pop. 84,787), although the Ukrainian neo-fascist mayor has remained in charge there.

Izium (pop. 45,884) is reported under siege. Russia claims to have taken full control of Izium on the morning of 24 March. This is denied by Ukraine. Apparently, the northern part of the city is in Russian hands, while the southern part is surrounded but still under Ukrainian control. Ukraine is reporting fighting near Kamianka (just SE of Izium) and Tykhotske (further SE of Izium).

4. The Donetsk and Lugansk provinces: So far, we have not heard much from this area. The Donetsk People’s Republic is reporting as of 17 March that they had 349 soldiers killed and 1,930 wounded (5.25-to-1 wounded-to-killed ratio) out of a supposed strength of 20,000. This is 11% casualties, which is pretty serious.

Severodonetsk (pop. 101,135) is being shelled. It might soon come under assault or possibly siege. It does appear like the Russia/Russian separatists are trying to take all of Lugansk and Donetsk. Suspect this will be a point of contention in the peace talks.

5. Mariupol (pop: 431,859): Day twenty-seven of the siege. The city has been decimated, lots of buildings and houses destroyed. The Russians have captured the eastern outskirts of the city. Mariupol has no power, gas or water. The vice-mayor of this city said on 3 March that they can hold out for five days. The neo-fascist Azov Regiment is posting videos of fighting inside of Mariupol.

Some videos:

Posted 24 March (1:14): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7KTFQXF5D8

Posted 22 March (0.48): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ2sSYNvwJE

Posted 22 March (2:20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDEIGK3EeyM

Posted March 21 (1:16): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN8wEYmRg-g

6. Crimea & Kherson (pop: 283,649): Kherson is under Russian control. 

Mikolaiv (pop. 476,101) is under Ukranian control. The latest reports are that the Ukrainian Army is counterattacking outside the city and life has returned to “normal” in the city. I gather that areas to the north, like Vosoznesensk and Nova Odesa have been cleared (it is being showed as such on the attached map). I gather this all means the Odessa is safe from overland attack.

The Russians have taken a lot the area between Donetsk and Crimea. Is the seizure of all of Kherson Oblast a negotiating strategy or a military strategy? They now have to garrison it.

There has been more protests in the occupied areas of Ukraine. This video (1:38) is showing recent protests (Sunday, 20 March) in Kherson, Enerhodar (pop. 52,887) and Kakhovka (pop. 35,400), and Berdyansk. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcT9184_fzo. Also see, starting at 1:12 for more Kherson protests : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmo4mTz50xI. These are all in the around to the north of Crimea, in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.

Weather: Kiev at 3 PM: 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 Celsius) and mostly sunny. Low tonight 45 degrees (7 Celsius). Kharkov at 3 PM: 43 degrees (6 Celsius) and partly cloudy. Low tonight 42 degrees (6 Celsius). Rain forecast for the next days at Kiev and coming later in the week for Kharkov.

Ukrainian Army Build-up: According to interviews publish by Radio Free Europe (see: Kyiv Volunteers Get Last-Minute Training On Powerful Anti-Tank Weapons (rferl.org)) the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Force now has 200,000 recruits.

I gather that a few hundred foreign volunteers have also gathered in Ukraine. Do not know if they have reached the front lines. One video (1:06) seems to shows at least one American on the front lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbc7BBDu9kE. There is a published interview done a few days ago of another American serving at the front that says that he has seen no other Americans at the front. There is also a video of Brazilians in combat in Ukraine.

According to senior U.S. officials, the U.S. and other NATO members have so far sent Ukraine 17,000 AT missiles and 2,000 Stinger AA missiles. The U.S. has promised an additional 9,000 AT missiles and 800 Stinger AA missiles.

Russian Army Build-up:  I have yet to see many reports of Russia expanding its army or calling up more reserves and conscripts. Their annual call-up starts on 1 April. We are now in the fifth week of the war. Are they going to expand their army as Ukraine is clearly expanding theirs, or are they expecting that this war will end shortly? Not sure how serious to take claims that Syria is promising 40,000 soldiers. It looks like the Russian Army is adding a couple of thousand volunteers.

Opposing forces: Ukraine had before the war an army (ground forces) of 169,000 in 2016. The Russian army (not armed forces) was 280,000. The current Ukrainian army is now probably over 200,000. The Russian army (ground forces) in and around Ukraine is probably around 150,000 (up to 190,000). Donetsk PR is estimated at 20,000 and Lugansk at 14,000. Russia may be able to add more forces from their own resources, but not much more. If they want to add more, they are going to have to mobilize. They appear to be hesitant to do so. I suspect with full mobilization; we could be looking at a Ukrainian army larger than 300,000. At some point, Russia will have to mobilize to continue this war.

The Russian Home Front: Count of detained protesters is claimed to be over 14,900 since the war began. See: OVD-info. At least 800 people have been detained in Belarus. 

Exchange rate: The Ruble is at 98.72 to a dollar as of 8:25 AM EST. Not sure what the exchange rate will be if Russia ever opens its stock market. 

Price of oil (Brent crude): $112.06 as of 8:25 AM EST. Several years ago, if the price of oil dropped below $80, the Russian budget would go into the red.

Casualties: The UN is reporting for 26 March 1,119 civilians confirmed dead in the war. They previously reported that 23 were in territory controlled by Russian separatists. Ukraine is claiming 2,500 civilians killed in Mariupol alone (15 March). Zelensky (President of Ukraine) is reporting on 12 March that around 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed. Russia is claiming to have captured 572 soldiers (which is entirely believable). U.S. officials are saying that between 2,000 to 4,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed (or 3,000 to 10,000 as of 18 March, which is kind of too broad a range to be a useful estimate).

Russia reported on 2 March 498 troops have been killed and 1,597 wounded. This is a 3.21-to-1 wounded-to-killed ratio, which seems a little low (see link below). Ukraine is reporting almost 200 Russians captured. The Donetsk People’s Republic is reporting as of 17 March that they had 349 soldiers killed and 1,930 wounded (5.53-to-1 wounded-to-killed ratio). The Russian Army stated on March 25 that 1,351 soldiers have been killed and 3,825 wounded.  This is a 2.83-to-1 wounded-to-killed ratio, which is still pretty low, but at least much more believable. 

U.S. officials are claiming figures between 3,000 to 10,000 soldiers killed. In the past they claimed around 5,000 to 6,000 Russian soldiers killed. Not sure why the lower end of this estimate has declined. In the past they have claimed 3,000 captured. There is report recently released of 9,861 Russians killed and 16,153 wounded (1.64-to-1 wounded-to-killed ratio). I seriously question that report (see my posts on the subject of 22 and 24 March). The BBC has counted 557 confirmed killed through 21 March based upon individual Russian media reports. 

“Officials” are now claiming that 20 of the 115-120 Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs) are “no longer combat effective” due to losses. It is hard to square this estimated with claims of 10,000 or more Russian soldiers killed.

Note: Wounded-To-Killed Ratios | Mystics & Statistics (dupuyinstitute.org)

Also see Chapter 15 (Casualties) in War by Numbers.

It is now reported that a sixth Russian general has been killed, Lt. Gen. Yakov Rezanstev of the 49th Combined Arms Army. Ukrainian “sources” estimate that around 20 major generals have been deployed to the Ukrainian front. 

During World War II the United States lost 11 generals killed in action. Germany lost 135, and had 84 executed. See: A List of American Commanders in WWII Who Lost Their Lives (warfarehistorynetwork.com). The U.S. lost six generals killed in action in Vietnam:  Last US general killed in combat was in Vietnam in 1970

Russian Equipment Losses: @oryxspioenko is reporting the following Russian losses based upon his analysis of pictures and videos. See: https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html

           2100, 7 March       0800, 11 March     1000, 17 March   0900, 23 March

Tanks:            141                179                         230                    267

AFVs:               89                108                         148                    179

IFVs:               131                158                         211                    259

APCs:               52                  61                           69                      78

Jet aircraft:      10                  11                            11                      12

Helicopters:     11                  11                            30                      32

The Ukranian Ministry of Defense is claiming as of 14 and 24 March they have destroyed 530 tanks (24 March), 1,279 armored vehicles (14 March), 108 aircraft (24 March) and 95 helicopters (14 March). They also claim 15,800 Russian soldiers killed (24 March).

Ukrainian Equipment Losses: @oryxspioenko is reporting the following Ukrainian losses based upon his analysis of pictures and videos:

           2100, 7 March       0800, 11 March     1000, 17 March       0900, 23 March

Tanks:           46                          49                        66                        73

AFVs:            38                          42                        48                        59

IFVs:              33                          36                        43                        53

APCs:            18                          19                        24                        27

Jet aircraft:     6                            7                          8                        10

Helicopters:    0                            0                          1                          1

Have no idea how accurate this count really is (the Ukrainian losses seem low), but I figure it is probably the best count publicly available.

It is clear that at least 4,000 people have died in this conflict (1,351 + 1,300 + 1,104 + 349 = 4,104). It may be more like 7,000 total deaths. 

There are people doing a better job of this on Twitter, including @RALee85 and @Oryxspioenkop and @caucasuswar, none of whom are known to me.

Air Power: The Pentagon on 12 March is reporting that Russia is flying about 200 sorties a day. The Ukrainian air force has 56 operational jets flying 5 to 10 hours a day. March 22 it was reported by the U.S. that Russia flew more than 300 sorties into Ukraine. March 24 it was reported that more than 250 Russian sorties were flown, mostly around Kiev and Kharkov.

Missile Defense: According to Zelenskyy the missile barrage near Lvov on 12 March consisted of 30 missiles, 8 missiles that landed and 22 missiles that were intercepted and shot down. 

End of the War:  While Ukrainian and Russian delegations are talking, I don’t expect much from this in the short term. I suspect the Russians will not be interested in negotiating until they have taken Mariupol. It is part of the Donetsk province.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, provided four conditions for a cease fire:

1. Ukraine ceases military action,
2. Change its constitution to enshrine neutrality (i.e. never join NATO),
3. Acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory, and
4. Recognize the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states. 

These same demands were made at the talks with Ukraine 10 March in Turkey. Needless to say, these talks went nowhere, as is the case with subsequent talks.

Other Issues: Azerbaijani troops have occupied an area in Nagorno-Karabakh that they are claiming is theirs. The Russian peacekeeping troops there have not expelled them.

The attached map is from Wikipedia. It is dated 28 March. The map has been updated without date marks. It is showing Chernigov as no longer besieged, it is showing the area behind Sumy as much more open. It is showing other changes in the front lines, even though it is posting no dates since 22 March. View with caution, but it does appear to be one of the better maps out there.