By Paul Craig Roberts - March 25, 2022

Those who rely on Western media have the impression of a stalled Russian campaign in Ukraine with demoralized Russian soldiers deserting and surrendering to Ukrainians in order to get something to eat. Russian soldiers are even allegedly shooting holes in the gasoline tanks of their motorized equipment so that they cannot advance, out of sympathy for the innocent Ukrainians.

This propaganda has been so effective on NATO that NATO is considering deploying troops in Western Ukraine where Russian troops are not operating. This would be a fatal mistake, but propagandists usually end up believing their own propaganda.

To prove our solidarity with the official narrative, we in the West are supposed to believe only the narrative and not anything knowledgable commentators or the Russian Ministry of Defense say. Only Russian agents and dupes believe the truth.

As I watch NATO blunder into war, I again dissent from the official narrative and present below the facts as announced today, March 25, by the Russian Ministry of Defense:

The results of the 1st month of the SVO from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation:

1. The offensive of the Russian troops disrupted the plans of the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the DPR [Donetsk Republic] and LPR [Luhansk Republic] using artillery, missile systems and aviation.

2. On January 22, Russian intelligence intercepted the order of [Ukrainian] General Balan about the need to complete preparations for offensive operations by February 28, so that in March the Armed Forces of Ukraine could go on the offensive [against the republics] .

3. The [Russian] operation is progressing according to plan. The main tasks of the first stage of the operation have already been completed.

4. The main priority remains the preservation of the lives of the civilian population. [In territory of the republics where most of the fighting is, the population is mainly Russian.] Hence the tactics of high-precision strikes against the military infrastructure and armed forces of the enemy.

5. The [Russian] blockade of large cities ensures the fettering of the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and prevents the Ukrainian command from transferring reinforcements to the Donbass [the area of the republics]. The main operation at the moment is in the Donbass. In the DPR and LPR, 276 settlements have already been liberated. 93% of the territory of the LPR and 54% of the territory of the DPR were liberated. The group now defending in Mariupol has more than 7,000 people.

6. Air supremacy was won by the Russian Aerospace Forces in the first two days of the operation. The organized air defense system, the Ukrainian Air Force and the Ukrainian Navy actually ceased to exist.

7.[Russia] destroyed up to 70% of all military stocks of Ukraine as a result of systematic attacks on warehouses. Destroyed 30 key objects of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine. 68% of the enterprises where military equipment was repaired have already been destroyed. At the same time, since the beginning of the NMD, the Ukrainian army has destroyed 127 bridges.

8. All organized reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already been put into action, there are no new ones. Hence the stake on the mobilization of an untrained contingent. In Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, 6,595 foreign mercenaries are fighting.

9. Total losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the month of the operation. About 14,000 killed and about 16,000 wounded (total losses of the AFU [Armed Forces Ukraine] grouping in Donbass amount to 26% of the personnel). Out of 2416 tanks and armored fighting vehicles combat-ready as of February 24, 1587 were destroyed in a month. Out of 152 military aircraft, 112 were destroyed, out of 149 helicopters – 75, out of 36 Bayraktar TB2 drones, 35 were destroyed. Out of 180 S-300s and Buk M1 – 148, out of 300 radars for various purposes – 117.

The Russian Defense Ministry will promptly respond to any attempts to close Ukrainian airspace for the Russian Aerospace Forces.

10. According to the RF MoD [Russian Federation Ministry of Defense], at least 10 Ukrainian naval mines are now drifting uncontrollably in the Black Sea, posing a threat to shipping.

11. The Russian Defense Ministry transferred captured weapons to the DPR and LPR. Among other things, 113 tanks and 138 Jevelin anti-tank systems were transferred.

More than 23,000 applications have been received from citizens of 37 states wishing to fight for the DNR and LNR. There are also a lot of such applications from Russian citizens.

12. Official [Russian] losses since the beginning of the NWO [the Russian intervention in Ukraine]. Killed – 1351. Wounded – 3825.

13. The operation will continue until the full implementation of all goals.

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