For the Saker Blog by Saker Staff

While battles are raging, factual reports are few.  This is fog of war and it is better not to report on the minutiae that are still being decided on the battlefield.  Here is a short machine translation from Readovka but what they report as areas or towns taken by the Russian forces needs to be taken with a pinch of salt at this stage.

On the fronts. In the north of the Kharkiv region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not abandon attempts to break through to the border. The enemy has no other real results on this part of the front.

On the Izyum part of the front, in almost all directions, our troops are making progress. In the Barvenkovsky direction, fighting is currently underway near the locality of Gusarovka. And we assume that they are about to spread to Barvenkovo itself. Dolgenkoe is ours, the fighting has moved to the south. It is reported that in the vicinity of Krasny Liman, the APU is pouring in, our troops have occupied Drobyshevo and Aleksandrovka, and there are battles near the Estuary itself. From Yampol, the line moved to the village of Dibrovo.

Near Belogorovka, the fighting for the bridgehead continues with ferocity. There are battles on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, the APU blew up a railway bridge in the direction of Rubizhne. North of Popasnaya, successful progress, expanding the safe zone around the city. In the north, they advanced beyond Kamyshevakha. Near Donetsk, there is fighting along the entire line, there is an advance in two places, there is an assault on the outskirts of New York and the Avdiivka-Konstantinovka highway.

On the Zaporozhye part of the front there are no changes.

It’s the same on the Southern Front. New details of the battle for Zmeiny Island have emerged, and the whole puzzle has been solved, although we still have some questions.

One fact and many rumors

Fact:  Nine Ukrainian soldiers who left the territory of the blocked Azovstal plant in Mariupol represented the interests of a larger group and asked for negotiations, said Alexander Khodakovsky, founder of the Vostok Battalion (DPR).

“Now a lively stage of negotiations is underway. It was just the first group leaving. As it turned out, the group left, representing the interests of a larger group that continues to be at Azovstal,” Khodakovsky said on the air of the 60 Minutes program on the Rossiya 1 TV channel.

Rumor:  There are rumors over the radio networks that the Ukies will mass surrender if Azovstal surrenders.  I stress this is rumor.   It looks like this from many sources:  At 17.30 the mass surrender of the AFU will begin from Azovstal, the radio airwaves are buzzing with NEWS all over the front…16.05.2022. 

This is one source:  https://twitter.com/ruslantopa40/status/1526136010186317825

Ukies are calling for awol commanders that left them in the field.  This is broadly reported and at least in Lugansk confirmed by the Russian MoD as follows:

  • Military medics of the Central MD, together with their civilian colleagues from the Lugansk People’s Republic, continue to provide the necessary medical assistance to civilians.
  • Assistance is also provided to captive AFU servicemen left by their commanders on the battlefield after retreat.
  • Russian servicemen use Linza armored ambulance to evacuate casualties from the combat zone.

Let us see what facts we receive over the next 24 hours.

Enjoy your discussion and please be careful on the Ukie propaganda. It is everywhere.  (The rumors about mass surrenders could be Russian propaganda being seeded in the field).