Update on conflict in Ukraine for April 23-24, 2023:

- Most of Bakhmut is now under Russian control;

- Ukraine & Western media report increasing use of precision-guided bombs by Russian military aviation;

- Russian bombing is increasingly effective owed to dwindling Ukrainian air defenses;

- Recent Ukraine Contact Group in Germany admit air defenses in Ukraine are a priority, fail to commit to any possible solution;

- US announces acceleration of its shipments of 31 M1-Abram tanks to Ukraine after a 10 week training course, less than half the training an entry-level US tank crew receives;

- Despite growing doubts of a Ukrainian offensive, it will likely unfold and may even have success in taking territory but will leave Ukraine at a further disadvantage in what is otherwise a war of attrition;

- Ukraine faces critical shortages in arms, ammunition, & trained manpower;

- US claims sanctions against Russia are “working,” yet data to substantiate that claim appears deliberately cherry-picked and taken out of context;

References: DW - Guided bombs — new Russian tactics in the Ukraine war? (April 23, 2023): https://www.dw.com/en/guided-bombs-ne... US DoD - Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley Hold a Post-Ukraine Defense Contact Group Press Conference, Ramstein Air Base, Germany (April 21, 2023): https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcri... Ukrinform - Ramstein countries deliver over 230 tanks to Ukraine (April 21, 2023): https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/... RFE/RL - U.S. Military Chiefs Say Increasing Ukraine's Air Defense Capability Most Urgent Critical Task (April 21, 2023): https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-bakhm... History Legends - Ukraine is Running Out of Soldiers (April 17, 2023):    • Ukraine is Runnin...   Washington Post - As spring offensive nears, Ukraine is drafting reinforcements (April 11, 2023): https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/... Guardian - Nato ‘confident’ Kyiv can retake territory in new offensive; Moscow issues warrant for Ukrainian spy chief – as it happened (April 22, 2023): https://www.theguardian.com/world/liv... NYT - U.S. Says It Will Begin Training Ukraine on Abrams Tanks Within Weeks (April 22, 2023): https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/04/... Washington Post - Wounded Ukrainian soldiers reveal steep toll of Kherson offensive (September 2022): https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/... NPR - Ukraine's offensive in Kharkiv was hard and bitter, say soldiers who did the fighting (September 2022): https://www.npr.org/2022/09/29/112527...

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