Photo: http://ria.ru
On April 19, there was shelling of the village of Golovchino in the Grayvorovsky district from Ukraine, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, reported in his Telegram channel.
According to Gladkov, three people were injured, one of whom is receiving outpatient care. Two more women were admitted to hospital and are now under the supervision of doctors.
The village of Golovchino is only 11 kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border. According to Gladkov, who personally visited the village, 30 houses were damaged, as well as electricity and gas supplies, which will be restored in the next few hours.
According to some reports, the shelling of Russian territory from Ukraine was carried out by the Uragan multiple-launch rocket systems equipped with cluster munitions.
Earlier, on April 14, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the villages of Zhuravlevka and Spodaryushino in the Belgorod region, located on the border with Ukraine. There were no casualties then. On the same day, two Ukrainian helicopters shelled the village of Klimovo in the Bryansk region. A two-year-old child and a pregnant woman were wounded, and six residential buildings were destroyed.
The Russian Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case in connection with the attack on the oil depot in Belgorod on April 1. As reported by RBK, a criminal case was commenced over the use of prohibited weapons, namely cluster munitions used by the Tochka-U complex.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that in case the shelling of Russian populated areas continues, retaliatory measures such as strikes on the decision-making centers located in Kiev will be applied. In contrast to the Ukrainian fighters, who destroy entire residential areas, schools, hospitals and kindergartens in their own towns and villages, the Russian Armed Forces use precision weapons to strike enemy military facilities and manpower.
For example, on the night of April 14-15, strikes were launched against the Vizar factory, located on the outskirts of Kiev. This information was also confirmed by the French news agency AFP. Reportedly, it was this plant that manufactured long- and medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems and anti-ship missiles. The Kalibr missiles that were used to hit the Vizar plant damaged the plant's facilities, which were used to manufacture military products.
We have to admit that after President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky's recent video appeals to his people, which have appeared on social networks, one gets the impression that the head of state does not have a grasp of the situation in the country at all. In particular, Zelensky said that they were ready to negotiate with Russia, but not on the basis of the “Russian ultimatum.” At the same time, he specified that hostilities could continue for 10 years. Probably, Zelensky himself was piously led to believe the Ukrainian media, which do nothing but talk about the successes of their units and the fortitude and heroism of their soldiers.
Meanwhile, Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, reported that as of April 16, 134 aircraft, 460 drones, 246 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2,269 tanks and other armored vehicles, 987 field artillery guns and mortars, and 2,158 pieces of military special equipment were destroyed on Ukrainian territory alone.
On the same day, April 16, at another briefing, Konashenkov voiced data on irrecoverable losses of the AFU and Ukrainian National Security Forces. There are 23,367 people on the list of the fallen, with names and military positions. The places of their burial will be named soon, said Konashenkov.
Meanwhile, Russia's special military operation in Donbass continues. According to Konashenkov, 13 strongholds of Ukrainian military equipment and AFU manpower near Popasna, Barvenkovo and Slovyansk were destroyed on 19 April. Russian aviation struck 60 Ukrainian military facilities. Two depots near the settlements of Balakleya and Chervonne Polyana, where Tochka-U missile heads were stored, were destroyed, wrote the Izvestiya newspaper, citing Konashenkov. In addition, according to Mikhail Mizintsev, Head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, as of yesterday the nationalists continue to hold 6,208 foreign nationals from nine countries, using them as human shields.
According to TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on April 19 that the next stage of a special military operation is beginning in Ukraine.
According to him, the special operation which is now underway in eastern Ukraine, as previously reported, is aimed primarily at fully liberating the Luhansk and Donetsk people's republics that are recognized independent by Russia. This operation is to be continued, and its next phase has already began, said Lavrov. In his opinion, “now will be an important moment.” However, as the Kommersant newspaper reported, Lavrov clarified that Russia will use conventional weapons, and tactical nuclear weapons will not be put to use in Ukraine.