Fire on the HQ: a missile strike was carried out on a Ukrainian centre near Nikolaev

As a result of missile and artillery strikes by allied forces, 62 command posts of the UAF were hit during the day, including the headquarters of the operational command "South" in the area of the settlement of Novy Bug in the Nikolaev region. This was reported by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation in a summary for May 30, 2022.

This cannot be called the implementation of the announcement of strikes on the “centres of making decisions" concerning the attacks of the UAF on the territory of Russia, which caused a great resonance in the patriotic environment, but in itself such an event deserves attention. According to unofficial data that was distributed by operational Telegram channels, three generals and more than 30 officers were eliminated as a result of the missile strike.

In combination with the strikes on May 26, when the identified Ukrainian electronic intelligence centre was destroyed in the same Nikolaev region (Dneprovskoye), where 15 "foreign specialists" were present in addition to 11 Ukrainian servicemen, we can conclude about the systematic "decapitation" of Ukrainian intelligence and the vertical of command in this direction.

In addition, on May 30, an artillery strike from the Kherson region controlled by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation destroyed a hangar on the territory of the Nikolaev shipbuilding plant "Okean". There were at least a dozen and a half Ukrainian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in the hangar, as well as 5 large-caliber artillery pieces.

Reasons for such activity in the direction of Nikolaev-Odessa, which in the last two months has been secondary in relation to the "Donetsk" front, clearly exist. It is possible that these measures are preventive in relation to a possible provocation of the UAF in the form of the increased shelling of Kherson and another attempt by Kiev to take control of Snake Island.

Despite the insignificant size of the island, its area is sufficient to place shock and defensive means there, allowing to control a significant area of the Black Sea, and it is not worth underestimating the fact of its possession. Odessa and Nikolaev are clearly in the focus of attention of Western curators of Ukraine – without port facilities it is very difficult to establish a fully-fledged export of grain from Ukrainian territory.

Recall that on May 27, it was reported about an attempted raid by the UAF on the territory of the Kherson region in the area of Davydov Brod, as a result of which about 20 armoured vehicles and about 160 militants were destroyed.

On May 29, a missile strike destroyed a large warehouse of weapons and armoured vehicles on the territory of the industrial zone in Krivoy Rog, where another springboard for an attack on Kherson is clearly being formed.

Based on the priorities of the collective West, port facilities are of much greater interest than the "Donetsk" grouping of the UAF. In recent days, things have not been going well for Kiev in this direction. In any case, the battles for Severodonetsk and other settlements do not look like a repetition of Mariupol – the resistance of the enemy is noticeably lower, which is noted by many observers.

Earlier it was noted that in order to successfully close the "cauldron" at Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, allied forces will have to take control of Slavyansk in a short time. Apparently, based on free forces and means, a frontal battle was recognised as more promising – more resources are needed for encirclement.

By now, at least to a large extent, the suburbs of Severodonetsk have been taken under control, battles are already taking place in the city itself. According to established tradition, parts of the UAF hold the industrial zone of the “Azot” plant.

It is worth noting that the local garrison is not too motivated – in particular, thanks to the information that has already spread about the inglorious surrender of the Nazis from the terrorist group "Azov" in Mariupol. In addition to morale, supply also suffers – bridges and overpasses suitable for this purpose are damaged.

Of the three bridges across the Seversky Donets, only one is conditionally suitable for passage – the Jubilee one, which was shot through by the fire of the allied forces. Everything suggests that the battles for the industrial zone of Severodonetsk will be less prolonged than the siege of “Azovstal”.

In general, the current situation can be described as follows. The risks of armed provocations in the direction of Kherson are growing – both from Odessa-Nikolaev and from the north, from the direction of Krivoy Rog. The Donetsk front is gradually shifting to the west.

Based on the nature of the fighting, it can be concluded that instead of large "cauldrons", the tactics of small encirclements have been adopted, which can be provided directly by the first echelon of attacking units. In most cases, the assigned tasks of destroying enemy manpower are achieved without encirclement, and the groups of the UAF concentrated in Severodonetsk and Lisichansk do not demonstrate the ability to pin down the allied forces for several weeks.