2024-05-14 05:58:41
Russian troops were locked in fierce battles with Ukrainian soldiers across the besieged city of Vovchansk in northeastern Ukraine on Monday, launching a ground offensive that opened a new front and put more pressure on overstretched Ukrainian forces.
Moscow’s renewed offensive in the northeast, launched late last week, is a sign of the a most significant border invasion since the invasion began on a large scale.
In just two days, Moscow occupies between 100 and 125 square kilometers including at least seven towns, most of which are already depopulated, according to analysts cited by the AP agency.
Vovchanskone of the largest cities in the area, whose pre-war population (17,000) was reduced to just 2,500 before Russia renewed its ground offensive last week. the main focus of the pitched battles which surrounds the Kharkiv region. On Monday, only 200 to 300 residents remained, said Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov, as the Russian forces went from three sides.
Poorly constructed fortifications and a long-term ammunition shortage have allowed extensive Russian advances in the area since Friday, according to local official sources. The forces of the Kremlin tried to divert and distract Ukrainian troops along the 1,000-kilometer front line until a major batch of new military aid to kyiv from the United States and European partners arrives on the battlefield in the coming weeks and months, Ukrainian commanders and analysts said.
A window of opportunity for Russia
That makes this period a window of opportunity for Moscow and one of the paths to Kyiv in two years, they said. By stepping up offensive operations, Russia seeks to reduce Ukrainian forces and advance.
The IS Kharkiv raid effectively immobilized Ukrainian forces in the region, although it could after withdrawing valuable reserves of the fierce battles in Avdivka and Chasiv Yar districts the Donetsk region, where Russia’s advance was far more significant and strategically important.
Local Ukrainian officials said they fear the fate of Vovchansk that could be it Bakhmut and AvdivkaCities in Ukraine where fierce fighting and brazen tactics forced the Ukrainians to retreat.
The latest information suggests that Russian forces were getting closer and closer to Vovchansk with fierce battles being fought on the outskirts of the city. Using infantry attack units, there are Kremlin troops trying to secure positions in three directions, and Ukrainian forces try to free them by using firepower. Ukrainian commanders describe the battles as dynamic and complex.
When the town of Avdivka Donetsk was captured in February, Kremlin troops opened an advance westward deeper into Donetsk. Russia illegally annexed Donetsk and three other regions in 2022, shortly after invading Ukraine, and gain control over all Donetsk yes one of the main objectives of war part of the Kremlin.
If Ukraine cannot stop Moscow’s progress, it could create conditions for a possible attack on Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine. It could also create a “restricted zone” for protection Belgrade, where the Kremlin is embarrassed by regular attacks from Ukraine. In March, Russia announced plans to evacuate around 9,000 children from the Belgorod region because it was constantly being shelled.
Blinken visits Kyiv to express American support and send a “strong signal of calm”.
US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenwho arrived in kyiv next tuesday i unannounced diplomatic mission ensure that Ukraine has it US support as they struggled to defend themselves against fierce Russian attacks.
The visit comes less than a month after Congress, after months of accumulated delays due to the Republican blockade, approved a foreign aid package that allocates $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, much of which will go to Ukraine. replenishment of artillery and air defense systems seriously exhausted.
According to diplomatic sources, Blinken will send “a a strong sign of calm” to Ukrainian leaders and civil society figures whom he will meet during his two day visit.
In a statement released after Blinken’s arrival, the US State Department said the US diplomatic chief he will meet with President Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials “to discuss battlefield updates, the impact of new US economic and security assistance, long-term security and other commitments, and continued work to boost Ukraine’s economic recovery”.
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