War in Ukraine / April 15

The Molfar team sends a daily newsletter about the war in Ukraine. The editorial staff of AIN.Capital publishes the full version of the digest. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

$ 750 million went to the bottom

It has been officially confirmed that the russian cruiser “Moscow” sank as a result of an attack by Ukrainian Neptune missiles. The russian leadership does not go into details, the number of victims remains unknown. According to unconfirmed reports, no more than 50 crew members with more than 500 survived.

For russia, the loss of “Moscow” – almost the largest loss at sea in history. The loss of the Kursk submarine can be compared only. In general, this is the largest loss among warships in the last 50 years worldwide. For the russian leadership, this is also a great psychological blow: the cruiser, which can attack aircraft carriers and protect itself from submarines and planes, was destroyed by two Ukrainian land-based missiles. “Neptunes” were created in independent Ukraine after 2015, the cost of the program is about $60 million. According to various estimates, “Moscow” costs about $750 million. Two more interesting points: the cruiser was created in Nikolaev on local production in the Soviet Union. “Neptune”, in its first announcement, was ridiculed by russian propagandists on national television.

In addition to image and money losses, this is a great military loss for russia. First, “Moscow” had a powerful air defense system that allowed it to cover the airspace from the Black Sea. After the destruction, the protection of the south of Ukraine has greatly decreased, and therefore russian aircraft can no longer feel completely safe. Secondly, the Black Sea losses were left without two ships, as Saratov had been destroyed earlier. Not that Ukraine can compete with russia for the championship at sea, but the fact of destroying enemy forces remains. Third, “Moscow” could cover the militants, for example, near Odessa. But after the loss of two ships, this is virtually impossible. This is a good sign for Ukraine – part of the south may feel safer. Fourth, the possibility of shelling Ukraine will be reduced: cruise missiles were launched from “Moscow” at Ukrainian cities – there will be no more.

In general, for russia, the war in Ukraine has become extremely massive in terms of equipment losses. It is estimated that russia has already lost 5,000 units of equipment worth more than $ 10 billion. In addition to the two ships, it is 144 helicopters, 160 aircraft, thousands of BBM units and trucks, more than 750 tanks, some of which went to Ukraine. According to the Armed Forces themselves, the russians have become the largest supplier of equipment in Ukraine.

At the same time, it should be noted that Ukraine does not report its losses in equipment. But they are, of course, present.

Airstrike, missile and MRL damage

Kyiv region:

• 5 missile strikes were carried out on the Vizar plant, which produces Neptune cruise missiles. The workshop and the administrative building of the plant were seriously damaged, the windows of about 50 cars parked nearby were shattered. Several more missiles were shot down by air defense. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the strike was carried out by Kalibr missiles.
• […]

Mykolaiv region:

• Shelling of the residential areas of the city, cultural sites and private enterprises. Banned cluster munitions were used. A fire broke out as a result of the fragment of ammunition falling into a private residential building. One of the dead was blown up by undetonated ammunition. 15 more people were injured, 4 of whom are in serious condition.
• […]

Luhansk region:

• Constant shelling and attempts to assault Severodonetsk, Kreminna, Rubizhne and Popasna. The buses that evacuated the residents of Starobilsk to the Dnipro were also shelled, presumably there are victims.
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Kharkiv region:

• Shelling of the city districts, residential buildings, a dental clinic, warehouses, and retail premises, park infrastructure, garages, and cars were damaged. At ~16:00, shelling was carried out using banned cluster munitions in the KhTZ area. Among the dead there is a seven-month-old baby, 42 people were also injured, including. 9 children.
• […]

Donetsk region:

• 17 settlements of the region were shelled, ~30 civilian objects were damaged: houses, schools, farms. In Avdiivka, 2 people were injured, incl. A child. It is currently impossible to establish the number of victims in Mariupol and Volnovakha.
• […]

Chernihiv region:

• 13 shots from mortars were recorded on the territory of the village. In the afternoon, another shelling was recorded, 12 shells were fired.
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Zaporizhzhya region:

• Shelling of Kamyanske, Novodanylivka, Huliaipilske, Novoandriivka, Bilohirya, Chervone, Hulyaipole, Mala Tokmachka, Stepnohirsk, Poltavka and Pavlivka. In Kamyanske, as a result of the shelling, a fire broke out in a boarding school. In Polohy, a gas pipe was damaged and houses caught fire.
• […]

Poltava region:

• Shelling of the farm in a village near Poltava. One person died, another one was injured.
• […]

Kirivihrad region:

• Missile attack on the infrastructure of the airfield. There were dead and wounded.
• […]

Kherson region:

• Shelling of the outskirts of the village, the evacuation of women and children from the occupied territories of the Kherson region was disrupted.
• […]

New laws

Ukraine:

• [Propaganda] Until May 9, 2022, all objects whose names are associated with the Russian Federation will be renamed in Kyiv. Including streets and metro stations.
• [Support for the economy] Deputies of the City Council supported the decision to exempt tenants of communal property from rent.
• […]

Russia:

• [Other] Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia Alexander Kozlov approved the program for the restoration of the Przewalski horse population until 2030
• [Support for the economy] Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that removes the restriction on the use of temporarily imported foreign containers in the Russian Federation, limits the participation of foreign investors in water freight transportation, and temporarily abolishes the weight and dimensional control of transport transporting food.
• […]

This was the free part of the military brief

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In a paid version:

• Airstrike, missile and MLRS damage
• Civilian casualties
• Video of russian prisoners
• New laws
• Occupant’s casualties (est. from Ukrainian General Staff)
• War crimes in a de-ocupied territories
• Alternative loss estimates
• Data archive.
• Analytical charts: occupant losses, chart with known air raid alerts by region and known damage, diagram of known airstrike, missile and MRL damage and known child deaths, diagram of known damage for Ukrainian infrastructure, diagram of average duration of the air alerts in the regions.

War in Ukraine. Weekly digest of the key events