Ukraine fears new missile attacks and admits difficulties in the east

The president of UkraineVolodymyr Zelenski, has asked the population to prepare for new attacks with Russian missiles, mistrusts the calls for peace negotiations from the Kremlin and has recognized that the situation in some areas of Donbas, in the east of the country, is ” hard”.

This was stated by the president in his traditional message to the population in which he stressed that the situation in the region of Donetsk “Now it demands the maximum of forces and concentration”.

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“The situation there is tough, painful. The occupiers use their resources – and they are important resources – to make even some progress,” he explained.

The Donetsk region, Russia’s priority target

The Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Hanna Malyar, stated in turn that the Russian command has set itself the task of occupying the entire region of Donetskpart of which is under the control of Ukrainian troops.

He pointed out that the city of Bájmut, next to which the Russian Army has concentrated a large number of troops and weapons and that Zelensky visited before his trip to the United States last week, has become Ukraine’s “eastern fortress.”

“There (together with Bakhmut) there was a small advance, but the enemy was repulsed,” Malyar said.

The Deputy Minister of Defense indicated that Russian troops are trying to surround Bájmut, but without success.

The city, located 65 kilometers north of Donetsk, the capital of the region of the same name, is a strategic communication hub, the capture of which by Russian forces would pave the way for them to advance towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, Ukraine’s main strongholds in area.

Experts doubt the success of the Russian offensive

According to experts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the advance of Russian troops on the Bakhmut front has slowed down in recent days, although it is premature to say that the offensive to capture the city has reached its climax. .

At the same time, the ISW considers that the Russian troops do not have sufficient numbers or supplies to sustain their current offensive intensity in the Bakhmut area for a long time.

“In the last 48 hours, the fighting has focused on the Bámut sector, in the region of Donetskand near Svatove, in that of Lugansk. Russia continues to launch frequent small-scale assaults in these areas, although little territory has changed hands,” British Defense Intelligence reported today.

According to the Ministry of Defense of Russialast day at least 200 Ukrainian soldiers died in attacks by forces participating in the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.

In his daily report, the spokesman for that portfolio, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, indicated that almost all of the war actions took place in Donbas and were mainly artillery fire attacks.

Across the territory of Ukraine at around 3:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. GMT) air alarm sirens sounded today after the take-off of a Russian radar plane was detected in neighboring Belarus, without a missile attack taking place at the moment.

Russia’s peculiar willingness to negotiate

Although the Russian president, Vladimir Putinhas declared that it is willing to negotiate with all the parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine for an “acceptable solution”, its Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, shed light on that “disposition” today.

“The matter is simple: (the demands) are met for good or the Russian Army solves it,” Lavrov said in an interview with the TASS agency.

The head of Russian diplomacy stressed that the “proposals to demilitarize and denazify the territories under the regime (of kyiv), and to eliminate threats to the security of Russia from there are well known to the enemy”.

“Regarding the continuation of the conflict, the ball is in the field of the regime and of Washington, which is behind it,” he said.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.