Time.news – On the 67th day of the war in Ukraine, the plan was launched to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant, in the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol, thanks to the humanitarian corridor coordinated by the UN, with the Red Cross and the Ukrainian and Russian forces . According to Kiev, about 100 civilians have been rescued, about 80 for Moscow, some of whom have been transferred to the UN and others to the territory of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk. The first 20 civilians were released yesterday.
The stalemate on the Izyum frontthe city south-east of Kharkiv essential to allow Moscow to launch a North-West attack on Donbass and gain control of the entire administrative borders of the Lugansk and Donetsk oblasts, already partly in the hands of pro-Russian separatists.
According to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), elements of unspecified units from the Eastern Military District and various air defense assets are coming deployed by Belgoroda Russian city 75 kilometers north of Kharkiv, towards Izyum to support Russian troops, probably dented in personnel and equipment, attempting to advance south of the city.
“These forces are unlikely to allow Russian forces to overcome the current stalemate, since Russian attacks remain confined to two major highways (towards Slovyansk and Barvinkove) and cannot exploit a greater number of them “, observes the ISV,” several successful Ukrainian counterattacks outside the city of Kharkiv in the last 72 hours have also allowed the reconquest of a suburban ring to the north and east of the city “.
These counterattacks “could then force the Russian forces to redeploy the units destined for the axis of Izyum to maintain these positions”. It therefore appears increasingly unlikely that Russian forces will make significant progress in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian troops may prove capable of carrying out larger counterattacks in the coming days.
A Ukrainian counter-offensive from Kharkivin particular, it could alleviate pressure on areas of the city that suffered the most from Russian bombing and could lead Russian troops concentrated in Izyum to redeploy northwards to support the forces maintaining the partial encirclement of Kharkiv.
Russian troops, ISW says, have made no confirmed progress southwest or southeast of Izyum or west of the Donetsk-Lugansk front line. Moscow forces a Kherson, the only capital so far conquered by the Russiansare suspending the main offensive operations to improve their tactical positions and reorganize to prepare for a renewed offensive to capture the administrative borders of the region, where for hours Internet and mobile phone services have been skipped and as of today, British military intelligence claims, the ruble should come into circulation.
Also in Kherson, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of bombing a school, kindergarten and cemetery in villages in the occupied southern region. The news was not commented on by Kiev.