There are three major news related to the situation in Ukraine: the bombing of the Odessa airfield where Western weapons are stockpiled, the "Azov battalion" issued a desperate cry for help from the Ukrainian high-level, and the Western nuclear submarine force also changed.
Fighting in the Donbass region remains intense, and the Russians appear to be seeking to weaken the combat effectiveness of the Ukrainian army on the front line by striking the Ukrainian logistics transport node. According to a recent statement by the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian military used precision-guided weapons to destroy a military airport runway in Odessa, while blowing up a batch of Western military aid weapons for Ukraine, which was also confirmed by some Western media. Odessa is one of Ukraine's important transportation hubs, which can be called the center of gravity of the current defense of southern Ukraine and an important link between the West and Ukraine. At present, Odessa has become an important node for the air transport of Western materials into Ukraine, and due to the fast time limit of air transport, the West usually sends the most urgent supplies to Odessa, which is then transshipped by the Ukrainian government to other required areas.
By bombing military airfields in the Odessa region, the Russians were able to partially achieve the goal of killing two birds with one stone. On the one hand, the Russian army destroyed the weapons and equipment shipped by the West to Ukraine directly in the arsenal, which was much easier than eliminating them on the battlefield. On the other hand, by destroying the airport runway, the Russian military is actually reducing the air transport capacity of the city of Odessa, after all, by destroying the airport to block the use of air vehicles, it is a textbook tactic. Odessa Governor Marchenko admitted that the city's external air links had effectively been cut off after the Russian bombing of the Odessa airfield. Of course, at present, Marchenko's statement is still exaggerated, and if the Russian army really cut off Odessa's external ties, or massively destroy Western military aid, it also needs to strengthen the intensity of follow-up strikes. Subject to the inadequacy of precision-guided weapons, the Russian military may have certain difficulties in accomplishing these two goals, but Russia's efforts in these two areas can be seen.
At the same time as the Russian army bombed Odessa, the remnants of the "Azov Battalion" in Mariupol also issued a desperate cry for help from the Ukrainian headquarters. According to the Global Times news reported on May 1, the wife of the commander of the "Azov Battalion" Prokopenko desperately sent a desperate plea to the West, calling on the Western Group to carry out a "Dunkirk-style mission" as soon as possible. The implication is that the Ukrainian army here can no longer insist and needs to be rescued by the West quickly. Similarly, Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko said on the 29th that life under the Azov Steel Plant in Mariupol is simply hell! Obviously, the Ukrainian army trapped here has reached the brink of complete collapse, although relying on the fortifications hidden deep underground, they can avoid the fire of the Russian army, but hiding in the ground like rats is indeed extremely torturous. Even if the "Azov Battalion" armed forces are some extreme die-hard elements, but they have been hiding underground for dozens of days, their nerves are probably almost to the limit. But it is also obvious that the Ukrainian military is incapable of breaking the siege for them, and if these remaining extremists do not surrender, the only thing that awaits them is to die in the catacombs like rats.
Watching the Russian offensive in Ukraine make progress little by little, the Western bloc can not sit still, in addition to continuing to provide military assistance to Ukraine, the Western nuclear submarine force has also changed. On April 27, a U.S. Virginia-class attack submarine was exposed to the British Naval Base in Clyde, a day after a French Ruby-class nuclear submarine. Notably, the base is also home to the Royal Navy's alert-class nuclear submarines. The dispatch of the Us and French nuclear submarines is equivalent to bringing together the nuclear submarines of the three NATO countries and forming a terrifying underwater combat force. In this regard, some Western media pointed out that this is a move by the Western bloc to demonstrate against Russia in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. However, judging from the fact that they choose attack nuclear submarines rather than ballistic missile submarines capable of launching intercontinental missiles, although the West wants to use nuclear submarines to demonstrate to Russia, they are still relatively restrained and know that they cannot overstimulate Russia.
It can be said that the development of the situation in Ukraine to this point is something that many people did not expect. It is true that the Russian side underestimated the resistance of Ukraine and the effectiveness of Western military assistance, but the West also underestimated the determination of Russian President Vladimir Putin and underestimated Russia's resilience. The next issue around Ukraine will continue to be a game at the military, economic and diplomatic levels, and the conflict in Ukraine may be difficult to end in the short term. In the end, it is likely that a bitter tug-of-war, or even a long-term conflict of multi-party attrition, will take Russia, Ukraine and the West, to reach a barely acceptable peace agreement. The specific terms of the agreement depend on the actions on the battlefield.