{"id":54473,"date":"2022-05-13T13:20:43","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T13:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/05\/13\/russia-takes-losses-in-failed-river-crossing-officials-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:08:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:08:58","slug":"russia-takes-losses-in-failed-river-crossing-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/05\/13\/russia-takes-losses-in-failed-river-crossing-officials-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia takes losses in failed river crossing, officials say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) \u2014 Russia lost significant numbers of troops and important equipment when Ukrainian forces thwarted their attempt to cross a river in the east, British officials said Friday, another sign of Moscow\u2019s struggle to win decisive victories and salvage a war gone awry<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, opened the first war crimes trial<\/a> of the conflict, in proceedings that will be closely watched by international observers eager to ensure atrocities are fairly prosecuted. A Russian soldier stands accused of killing a Ukrainian civilian in the early days of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trial gets underway as Russia\u2019s campaign in Ukraine\u2019s eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas makes faltering progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s airborne forces command has released photos of what it said was a damaged Russian pontoon bridge over the Siversky Donets River and several destroyed or damaged Russian military vehicles nearby. Ukrainian news reports said troops thwarted Russian passage across the river earlier this week, leaving dozens of tanks or military vehicles damaged or forcing troops to abandon them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Britain\u2019s Defense Ministry said Friday that Russia lost \u201csignificant\u201d elements of at least one battalion tactical group \u2014 about 1,000 troops \u2014 as well as equipment used to quickly deploy a makeshift floating bridge while trying to cross the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConducting river crossings in a contested environment is a highly risky maneuver and speaks to the pressure the Russian commanders are under to make progress in their operations in eastern Ukraine,\u201d the ministry said in its daily intelligence update.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have struggled to do so, even after diverting troops from other parts of the country to the Donbas, the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some analysts initially thought the campaign in the Donbas might offer President Vladimir Putin an easier battleground, after his forces failed to overrun the capital. Instead, Russian and Ukrainian troops have fought village by village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that grinding fighting, the Ukrainian military chief for the eastern Luhansk region said Friday that Russian forces opened fire 31 times on residential areas the day before, destroying dozens of homes, notably in Hirske and Popasnianska villages, and a bridge in Rubizhne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials claimed another success in the Black Sea, saying their forces took out another Russian ship, though there was no confirmation from Russia and no casualties were reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry employees clear rubble at the side of damaged during a heavy fighting buildings in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People’s Republic, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, May 12, 2022. (AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Vsevolod Bobrov logistics ship was badly damaged but not thought to have sunk when it was struck while trying to deliver an anti-aircraft system to Snake Island, said Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukrainian president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April, the Ukrainian military sank the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of Russia\u2019s Black Sea fleet. In March it destroyed the landing ship Saratov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only has Russia struggled to make progress on the battlefield, but the invasion has also breathed new life into the western NATO alliance \u2014 which is poised to expand soon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, Finland\u2019s president and prime minister announced that the Nordic country should apply right away for membership in the military defense pact founded in part to counter the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finland\u2019s Parliament still has to weigh in, but the announcement means it is all but certain to apply \u2014 and gain admission. Sweden, likewise, is considering putting itself under NATO\u2019s protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kremlin warned it may take retaliatory \u201cmilitary-technical\u201d steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The support of NATO countries to Ukraine has been key in its surprising success in stymieing Russia\u2019s invasion. Western nations have also imposed tough sanctions on Russia to punish it for the war \u2014 and outrage only grew after allegations of atrocities committed by Moscow\u2019s troops began to emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Feb. 28, four days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Sgt. Vadim Shyshimarin, 21, was among a group of Russian troops that had been defeated by Ukrainian forces, according to the prosecutor general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Russian army Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin, 21, is seen behind a glass during a court hearing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 13, 2022. The trial of a Russian soldier accused of killing a Ukrainian civilian opened Friday, the first war crimes trial since Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. (AP Photo\/Efrem Lukatsky)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As the Russians fled, they headed to a village in the Sumy region, and Shyshimarin is accused of shooting a 62-year-old Ukrainian man in the head there. The killing is just one of several thousand potential war crimes that Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the alleged atrocities came to light last month after Moscow\u2019s forces ended their bid to capture Kyiv and withdrew from around the capital, exposing mass graves and streets strewn with bodies in towns such as Bucha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a small Kyiv courtroom Friday, scores of journalists, many with cameras, packed together to see the start of the wartime proceeding. The suspect, dressed in a blue and gray hoodie and gray sweatpants, sat in a small glass cage during the proceedings, which lasted about 15 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shyshimarin was asked a series of questions, including whether he understood his rights and whether he wanted a jury trial. He declined the latter. His attorney, Victor Ovsyanikov, has acknowledged that the case against him is strong, but said the final decision over what evidence to allow will be made by the court in Kyiv. The lawyer hasn\u2019t indicated what defense he will offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shyshimarin, a member of a tank unit that was captured by Ukrainian forces, admitted that he shot the civilian in a video posted by the Security Service of Ukraine, saying he was ordered to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the war grinds on, teachers were trying to restore some sense of normalcy after the war shuttered Ukraine\u2019s schools and devastated the lives of millions of children. In Kharkiv, Ukraine\u2019s second-largest city, lessons are being given in a subway station used as a bomb shelter that has become home for many families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt helps to support them mentally. Because now there is a war, and many lost their homes … some people\u2019s parents are fighting now,\u201d said teacher Valeriy Leiko. In part thanks to the lessons, he said, \u201cthey feel that someone loves them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Primary school-age children joined Leiko around a table for history and art lessons in the subway station, where children\u2019s drawings now line the walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An older student, Anna Fedoryaka, monitored lectures on Ukrainian literature being given by Kharkiv professor Mykhailo Spodarets online from his basement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The internet connection was a problem for some, Fedoryaka said. And, \u201cit is hard to concentrate when you have to do your homework with explosions by your window.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesica Fisch in Bakhmut, Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv, Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Elena Becatoros in Odesa, and other AP staffers around the world contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#Ukraine<\/a>: Russian forces sustained remarkable losses from the failed bridging attempt over the Siverskyi Donets River.

We count 6x T-72B-series MBT, 14x BMP-1\/2 variants, 7x MT-LB, a tugboat & 5+ other armoured vehicles destroyed\/abandoned\/damaged. Note precise ID is very hard. https:\/\/t.co\/py48JvXWUG<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/cqX60F0KPT<\/a><\/p>— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) May 11, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>