Is Russia changing direction in Ukraine? Moscow has announced the completion of the first part of the “special operation” and will focus on the “liberation” of the Donbass region. Calcalist reports
19:00 – Biden meets with American soldiers stationed in Poland, Near the Ukrainian border. Biden told soldiers: “You are in the middle of a war between democracy and an oligarch.” Tomorrow, Biden will meet in Warsaw with Polish President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials.
17:40 – The Russian Defense Ministry said today that the first phase of the military operation in Ukraine has been largely completed – and that now Russia will focus on the “complete liberation” of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. The announcement may indicate that Russia may move to more restricted targets, having encountered fierce Ukrainian resistance in the first month of the war.
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A soldier of the Ukrainian army north of Kiev
(Reuters)
Russian news agencies quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that pro-Russian separatists now control 93% of the Luhansk region and 54% of the Donetsk region – both of which together make up the Donbass region. On the eve of the war, it will be recalled, Russia recognized these two regions as independent republics, and the Kremlin said that one of the main reasons for the Russian invasion of Ukraine was the protection of its citizens from “genocide” perpetrated by Ukraine, they claimed. Other reasons for the war were, among others, Ukraine’s attempts to join the NATO alliance.
Despite the announcement, which may indicate a change of direction in the war, the Russian Defense Ministry said it did not rule out continuing the attack on Ukrainian cities in other regions, adding that Russia would respond to any attempt to close Ukraine’s airspace – which Kiev repeatedly urges NATO to do. The Russian Defense Ministry also stressed that the “special operation” launched by Russia on February 24 would continue until “Russian forces complete the defined missions,” without elaborating. In Ukraine – one is limited to Donbas and the other throughout the territory of Ukraine.
The Russian news agency Interfax reported in the afternoon that Russia and Ukraine are approaching an understanding on “secondary issues” in the peace talks, but added that there has been only limited progress on key issues. According to various reports, Kyiv and Moscow have managed to reach agreements on Ukraine’s non-accession to NATO in exchange for protection from its allies, but the nature of these guarantees is unclear. Another obstacle to the agreement is the status of the Crimean peninsula Pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas. Despite the ongoing talks, the West has questioned President Vladimir Putin’s commitment to the process – expressing concern that Moscow is “taking time” to reorganize its forces.
In the shadow of the Russian Ministry of Defense’s announcement, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced earlier today that Russia had “partially” succeeded in creating a land corridor connecting the city of Donetsk, the “rebel capital” in eastern Ukraine, with the Crimean peninsula that Russia forcibly annexed in 2014.
15:45 – The fighting in Ukraine continues: Four people were killed and seven were injured this morning in a Russian army shelling of a clinic that operates as a humanitarian aid center in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. This was reported by the local police, who clarified: “There is no military facility nearby.” At the same time, authorities in the port city of Mariupol estimate that about 300 people were killed in the bombing of the theater where many hid nine days ago – most of them may still be buried under the rubble.
Earlier, Ukraine reported “significant destruction” following the fall of two missiles at a military facility on the outskirts of Dnipro – the fourth largest city in Ukraine. At the same time, the governor of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine announced that the city had been besieged by the Russian army and was under heavy attack by artillery and fighter jets. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also announced that Russia had “partially” succeeded in creating a land corridor connecting the city of Donetsk, the “rebel capital” in eastern Ukraine, with the Crimean peninsula, which Russia forcibly annexed in 2014.
Russia, for its part, has announced that it has destroyed a large fuel depot near the village of Kalinovka near Kiev. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konshenkov said the warehouse was used to supply fuel to Ukrainian military forces operating in the center of the country – and that it was attacked using “caliber” cruise missiles fired from today.
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Russian tank in Mariupol
(Photo: Reuters)
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The theater bombed in Mariupol
(REUTERS / Maxar Technologies)
Meanwhile, for the first time since the outbreak of the war, a first death has been recorded in Russian territory as a result of Ukrainian fire: a Russian priest was killed at noon by Ukrainian army missile fire at the village of Jurblyovka near the Ukrainian border, not far from the city of Kharkiv.
Meanwhile, the British Ministry of Defense this morning updated in its latest intelligence assessment that the Ukrainian army has managed to re-occupy several towns and defensive positions up to 35 km east of Kiev. To the capital.
These reports join the change in trend seen on the ground, after a full month of shelling, bombing and street fighting that wreaked havoc in Ukrainian cities, killing thousands of people and forcing more than 10 million to flee their homes: while at the beginning of the Russian invasion As for territories for the Russians, he now claims to be carrying out more and more successful counter-attacks, repelling them in certain areas.
Among other things, in the last two days the Ukrainians are claiming impressive successes in the capital region of Kyiv. Sources in the Ukrainian government now claim that in one of the areas north of the city Russian forces were forced to withdraw a distance of about 70 km, and in regional areas they withdrew a distance of about 35 km. These allegations, made by a spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, are somewhat consistent with what was said last night by a security source in the United States, according to which following a Ukrainian counter-attack northeast of Kiev, Russian forces there were repulsed. Take defensive positions and “dig” in them, instead of attacking.
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Destruction in Kiev
(Getty)
Later in the day, US President Joe Biden, who arrived in Europe for the summit of NATO leaders, is expected to visit the city of Rzeszow, which is about 80 km from the Ukraine-Poland border. The G7 is in Brussels, and is expected to leave for Poland today, where it will meet with President Andrzej Duda. During his visit to Rzeszow, the White House said, he was scheduled to review humanitarian efforts and meet with U.S. troops stationed in Poland.
Biden was asked last night at a press conference about the possibility that Russia will use chemical weapons in the invasion of Ukraine and stated that although “there will be some reaction” from the West, its nature depends on the nature of the chemical attack, if it does occur. Biden reiterated earlier yesterday that the NATO alliance is more united than ever, and Putin said he “did not think we could maintain such cohesion.”