Of . – 04/08/2022 11:07 (act 04/08/2022 14:37)
Mariupol in Ukraine: Russian troops are said to focus on conquering the city. ©REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko (image of symbol)
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian troops remain focused on capturing Mariupol in southern Ukraine.
This was announced by the Ukrainian General Staff in its morning situation report published on Facebook on Friday.
Capture of Mariupol in the next few days?
In their latest analysis of Ukraine, military experts from the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that Russian forces could “probably” complete the capture of Mariupol in the coming days. Russian state television reported that the city center on the Sea of Azov had already been taken. However, there are still 3,000 Ukrainian fighters in the city, he said.
Kiev: Russia gathers troops
The Ukrainian staff’s report said Russian troops were also focusing on an offensive around the occupied town of Izyum in the eastern region of Kharkiv. According to information from Kiev, Moscow had recently concentrated troops there to advance towards the city of Slovjansk, in the Donetsk region. Russian air strikes and rocket launchers continued on several cities in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
GB: Russian forces withdraw from northern Ukraine
Russian forces have completely withdrawn from northern Ukraine into Belarus and Russia, according to British sources. At least some of these troops would be transferred to eastern Ukraine to fight in the Donbass region, the British Defense Ministry announced on Twitter based on information from military intelligence. This will likely take some time. Troops would need to be resupplied with new soldiers before they could be moved east. A large troop deployment from the north would likely take at least a week. Russian bombing of cities in eastern and southern Ukraine continues. Russian troops are also advancing south of the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, which remains under their control. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the report.