EXPOSED: Putin’s Forces Forced to Retreat as Ukraine Wins Key Lyman Battle | Battle Plans

Russia has suffered staggering record losses in personnel this month.Putin continues to deploy meat grinder tactics of throwing as many bodies as possible into an offensive.Ukraine continues to demonstrate resilience on the front lines, holding critical ground.Ukrainian drones have wiped out two Russian warships right under the despot's nose.As Britain prepares to send 120 ,000 drones to Ukraine and Vladimir Putin fortifies air defences around his residence, there are fascinating developments in Ukraine.I'm Philip Ingram, and this is Battle Plans Exposed.

This month, the Kremlin's forces have suffered a catastrophic 35 ,000 casualties, the highest monthly rate of the war to date.But it isn't just the numbers that are shocking.It's the how.President Zelensky has announced a statistic that should have every commander in Moscow looking over their shoulder.Drones caused a staggering 96 % of Russian losses in March.With the UK's new package, the largest of its kind, delivering thousands of long -range strike reconnaissance and maritime drones, Ukraine is moving from adaption to total industrialization.

President Alexander Stubb of Finland recently noted that Ukraine is in its best position in months, while Kyiv warns they're now capable of building millions of drones per year.Before we look at some of the key changes on the front lines of Ukraine, let's take a look at some of the clips from the battlefield this week.So footage released by the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces shows soldiers infiltrating behind enemy lines and neutralising Russian positions.In this dramatic video, Ukrainian Special Forces operators move silently through dense woodland, closing in on the Russians in contested territory.Now watch here as the Ukrainian soldiers blend into the terrain and launch a surprise offensive.The team appears to execute a precision strike

before entering into a fierce gun battle on the ground.

Ukraine says its units suffered minimal losses in the victory, with only one operator sustaining minor injuries.What it does show is that the close battle in dense undergrowth is still something that is happening on the front lines.This is still a guttural war between human beings.We talk of drones, we talk of ones that fly, we talk of unmanned ground vehicles, but at the end of the day, it's soldier closing on soldier.And the Ukrainian special forces are particularly good here.

This next clip from the front lines illustrates the importance of Allied support for Ukraine.As the Ukrainian brigade deploys its German -made and supplied Flak Panzer, the Gepard, to intercept aerial threats.

Footage shows the Gepard in action as it shoots down an Iranian -made Russian Shahad UAV drone in real time, eliminating the enemy threat in the skies.The Flak Panzer, or the Gepard, is a self -propelled anti -aircraft gun that functions by combining a mobile Leopard 1 tank chassis with a sophisticated radar -guided fire control system and twin 35mm cannons.It's designed to track and destroy low -flying aerial targets such as drones and helicopters with high precision.It uses two distinct radar systems, a search rear -mounted radar that scans for targets up to about 15km away and once the target is identified, a tracking front -mounted radar that locks onto it to calculate the range, speed and trajectory.And the system demonstrates its effectiveness as a mobile air defence platform against low -flying drone threats as they're shot down and come crashing down to earth in flames.Interestingly, the technology in this, if we go back to the Leopard 1 chassis and the technologies, this is 1950s, 1960s technologies that are proving extremely valuable and capable in the front line.

But within it, when the German supply chaininitially, supply chains that disappear with history were an issue because a lot of the ammunition was Swiss made and the Swiss refused to supply ammunition to Ukraine initially.So the Germans were relying on old stocks that they had.That's all been sorted now.The Gephardt is making its mark.

This video shows the moment the Russians blew up the Peshkinizhskaya dam in the Kharkiv region using six guided aerial bombs.And this was on April the 14th.Russia targeted one of the area's largest reservoirs.and a critical piece of infrastructure.And it illustrates how Vladimir Putin will stop at nothing in his pursuit to take over Ukraine.And he doesn't really care what level of destruction he leaves in its path.

Now, if this dam was being used to support military infrastructure, to support military manufacturing or power plants that are powering military bases, then it is a legitimate target under international law.But if it's just providing drinking water to a local civilian population, it's not.Attacking dams is always a risky business.But in this case, from what we can see in this footage, there was no sign of a breach of the dam and therefore their Russian attack seemed fruitless.

This next segment contains first -person footage from the front lines of Ukraine showing an International Legion operative engaged in a high -risk building clearance operation.The video captured an active combat zone follows a fighter serving under Ukraine's main intelligence directorate, also known as the GUR or the HUR.The operative is part of the Omega tactical group.

The footage highlights the intensity and precision required in urban warfare, as well as the level of discipline and situational awareness demanded in such operations.We can see they prepared the building with an anti -tank missile, first of all, before then moving on.tactically towards it and carrying out room -to -room clearance.There was no evidence in this picture of enemy being within the building, but clearly their intelligence had suggested something different.And with the firing that's going in, it would have been suppressive for any Russians that were there and potentially returning fire from any Russians that were either in or surrounding the building.Now we turn to the gruelling high -stakes environment of urban warfare in the Donetsk region, where we receive reports of a successful tactical operation involving Ukrainian Rangers from the 6th Special Purpose Regiment operating in a heavily contested sector of the Donetsk Front.

These elite operators conducted a surgical sweep of a Russian health structure and during the intense engagement one Russian soldier was killed and two others were successfully captured.Again, it shows the intensity of having to go room, by room as you're going through the buildings.Think of the frontline which is a thousand odd kilometres long and all of the villages and towns that people talk about.You have to clear every room by room in every building and then occupy it or keep it in occupied territory.If you then leave it alone, the enemy can come back in and occupy that building again and you have to do it all over again.The intensity of frontline warfare is clearly shown in this video.

Now let's pivot to the front lines in Ukraine.A key part of Ukraine's fortress belt is under attack in Kostelnaya Ivka.In the early hours of April 17th, the Russians continued their desperate push across eastern Ukraine, but they were met with the unwavering steel of the Ukrainian armed forces.According to the latest operational updates from the Ukrainian General Staff, forces repelled at least 40 assaults within a single 24 -hour window.Russia has carried out 71 airstrikes, dropping 253 guided missilesaerial bombs.

And Russian forces also used 7 ,767 kamikaze drones and conducted 2 ,916 artillery strikes.The most intense pressure is being felt in Kostaninivka But it's also been felt in Pokrovsk, which remains the primary target of Russian ambitions in the east.In the Pokrovsk direction, Russian forces have launched 10 attempts to dislodge Ukrainian troops from defensive positions, with fighting continuing in at least one area as Putin continues to deploy meat grinder tactics of throwing as many bodies as possible into an offensive.Ukrainian defenders managed to repel 42 separate Russian assaults in the hotly contested Pokrovsk region, and that's only this month, as forces stand up to what has been thrown at them quite robustly.Elsewhere along the front, the situation remains largely unchanged, with no confirmed advances by Russian forces.Separately, Ukraine's military intelligence has warned that Russia may be preparing a new ground offensive in the south -east with a stated objective of capturing the entire Donbass region by September.

They've said this several times beforehand.The chances of the Russians capturing the whole of the Donbass region by September, by September 2027 or 2028, is highly remote, never mind September this year.Despite the continued pressure, Ukrainian defence forces say that they are holding their positions and continue to repel the ongoing attacks.What we're likely to see over the next coming weeks and months is a continuation of the effective stalemate that there is on the front line.

As we mentioned at the top of this video, Russia has suffered staggering record losses in personnel this month.One of the areas where Russia has had to fall back and pull troops away is in the city of Lyman.According to the Russian Defence Ministry,reports, Ukrainian units have pushed Russian forces out of parts of the area, reclaiming approximately four kilometres of territory in and around the city of Liman.In the battle of Liman, the fighting in this sector has been intense.Ukrainian ground troops, supported by drone units, mounted a determined defence that appears to have stalled Russian offensive efforts.

Analysis suggests that a combination of sustained resistance and reported manpower shortages on the Russian side contributed to the setback.Liman has been a strategically important objective, serving as a key logistics and transport hub in the Donetsk region.Russia's inability to secure control of the area is being viewed as a significant obstacle to its broader ambitions of developing deeper into eastern Ukraine.This is very damaging to Russia's ambition to further advance in the Donetsk Oblast, with many casualties and losses reported, and Russia forced to retreat and regroup.Now, the key to Lyman is this defensive belt of Lyman, Slovyansk, Krematorsk and Kostyanevka, and that's why we're seeing the Russians trying to push in from the south and from the north.Of course, Bakhmut took the Russians almost two years to try and capture.

They've moved a little beyond that.

But these cities and this defensive belt make the defences in Bakhmut seem like something that was put together in a very amateurish way.For the Russians to say that they want to capture the whole of the Donetsk Oblast, the areas that they haven't got, by September is overly ambitious.

British military intelligence or defence intelligence has assessed that to do that, would take the Russians at least another four years and possibly up to two million more casualties.

There's no way does Vladimir Putin have two million more casualties to be able to throw at the front lines and I don't thinkhe's got four years when we look at the wider war that's going on.

So turning now to developments in the north -eastern part of Ukraine, where there is a growing area of concern, and that's emerging along the Sumy axis.Ukrainian officials are warning of a sharp escalation in Russian activity across the Sumy region, as border communities come under sustained and increasingly intense pressure.Over the past few days, dozens of towns and villages have faced repeated strikes, highlighting what Kyiv describes as a deliberate campaign aimed at destabilising the region and stretching Ukrainian defensive resources.According to the Suomi Regional Military Administration, nearly 70 separate strikes were recorded in just a 24 -hour period, from the morning of the 19th of April through to the morning of the 20th of April.Those attacks targeted 23 settlements across 13 territorial communities, underlining the broad scope and scale of the bombardment.Authorities confirm that at least three civilians were injured during this wave of attacks.

Russian forces are reported to be using a wide array of weapon systems in these strikes, including mortars, conventional artillery, FPV and other unmanned aerial vehicles and drones, and guided aerial bombs.Despite the sustained pressure, Ukrainian officials emphasise that defensive positions in the region remain intact.Russian sources have asserted that their forces have made advances in certain border areas, including claims of occupying the settlement of Ovchanskoye Kotori in the Kharkiv sector.As the border conflict continues, this northern front is likely to remain a key area to watch, both for its strategic importance and for the ongoing impact on civilian populations caught in the crossfire.In a massive blow to Vladimir Putin's Russian economy, Ukraine has blitzed the Russian oil facility, a two -apsed, losing Russia's $100 million a day.Ukraine is no longer just defending its own soil, it's taking the fight 1 ,000 kilometres into the Russian heartland.

They're striking oil terminals, military factories and even chemical plants.Reports suggest Russia has been forced to cut its oil output by at least a fifth following these hits.A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapsk sparked a fire and left at least one person dead, according to Russian officials.The strike, reported early Monday, comes just hours after emergency crews extinguished a previous blaze at the same port following a similar attack on April 16.Regional Governor Veniamin Konyatiev said the port was hit by what was described as a massive drone assault, triggering a fire at the seaport.Authorities confirmed that one man was killed and another injured in the incident.

Drone debris also caused damage across the city.Tuapse is one of Russia's key southern ports, serving as a major export hub for oil products, as well as dry cargo such as coal and fertiliser.The strike comes amid a broader increase in Ukrainian attacks targeting Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks, as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict remain stalled.In a major blow for Putin, Ukrainian drones have wiped out two Russian warships right under the despot's nose in the Sevastopol Bay in Crimea.This footage, recorded in the night of April 19th, shows the daring strikes behind enemy lines targeting two Russian naval vessels.According to information available, the vessels hit were the Yamal Project 775.

large landing ship and the Nikolai Filchenkov, a Project 1171 large landing ship, both part of Russia's Black Sea fleet, or should I say Russia's remaining Black Sea fleet, because there's not much left.At the time of the strike, both ships were stationed in the bay, a key naval hub in Crimea.The Yamal was built in 1988, measures over 110 metres in length, and is capable of transporting up to 500 tonnes of cargo, including armoured vehicles and troops.The warship is armed with 57mm AK -725 guns, MRS A215 Grad M launchers, and Strela II manpads.Its estimated value is reported to be in excess of $80 million.Meanwhile, the Nikolai Filchenkov, built in 1975, has a significantly larger carrying capacity of up to 1 ,000 tonnes, allowing it to deploy dozens of armoured vehicles, along with a substantial landing force.

Equipped with various naval guns, and in some configurations, surface -to -air missile systems, its estimated value is put at over $70 million.A third Russian warship has reportedly been damaged in the attack, alongside port facilities and oil tankers.Fires are said to have burned for hours following the assault.In temporarily occupied Sevastopol, Ukrainian intelligence officers also claim to have destroyed a Podoliot K1 enemy radar station with an estimated value of around $5 million.The strike was carried out using Ukraine's drone fleet, which appears to have operated undetected.The operation has drawn comparisons to the June 2025 Operation Spider's Web when covert drones targeted a Russian airbase deep inside enemy lines.

What we're seeing here in Crimea in particular is the Ukrainians systematically destroying the different layers of the Russian air defence system.What that says to me is they're increasingly highlighting to the Russians the weakness of Crimea, the difficulties that there are in resupplying it through the Kirsch bridge, The railway line across that has been damaged and it would not surprise me if we see further attacks on the Kirsch bridge very soon because the Ukrainians have destroyed the ferries that are used to back up and take heavy cargo across.These heavy landing craft will affect the ability to resupply Crimea again as well and with the land routes Having to come through this occupied territory that Ukrainians are increasingly influencing with their long -range drone attacks, Crimea is becoming a bit of a difficulty for Russia when they're trying to sustain their presence in the area.

We'll see a lot more of this over the next 12 months, I believe.The largest attack is expected to significantly disrupt Russia's ambitions to strike Odessa, with the damage to its Black Sea fleet forcing commanders to reassess their next move.What we're seeing is the systematic dismantling of Russia's ability to project power from the sea by targeting landing ships like the Yamal and the Velichkov.Ukraine is effectively trapping Russian forces in Crimea.They're making it impossible for the Kremlin to reinforce the southern flank by water, forcing them onto predictable, vulnerable land routes, as I've highlighted.If the Black Sea Fleet cannot even protect its most valuable transport assets inside the most defended harbour in the region, then the fleet has ceased to be an effective fighting force and has become a collection of sitting ducks.

Putin's Russian lake is being reclaimed.one drone strike at a time.That's all for today's Battle Plans Exposed.Ukraine continues to demonstrate resilience on the front lines, holding critical ground while also striking deep into Russian infrastructure.Meanwhile, Moscow presses on with costly attritional tactics that show little sign of slowing and show little sign of the value of human life.But as the pressure mounts, a key question remains.

How long can this strategy continue before it begins to stall?I'm Philip Ingram.

If you enjoyed what you've seen today, please like, share with your friends.If you've got any comments, put them in the comments below.But I look forward to seeing you again on the next edition.Thank you.Goodbye.