The situation on site
Here is an update on the situation based on information from Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists on the ground, official Ukrainian and Russian statements, Western sources, analysts and international organizations.
Kyiv on Wednesday acknowledged an advance by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine with the capture of several locations in the Kharkov region and Donbass. From Izium, already under their control, Russian forces launch an attack towards Barvinkove further south. They captured the village of Zavody and the north-eastern suburbs of the village of Velyka Komychouvakha, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said in its morning report. Further east, towards Lyman, the Russian army took the town of Zaritchne and “made attempts to attack near Iampil,” he continued.
Near Sievierodonetsk, one of the region’s largest cities with a population of 100,000 before the war, troops from Moscow have taken control of the village of Novotochkivske and are conducting an offensive towards Nijyn and Orikhiv, according to the same source.
Russian air activity is concentrated in the south and east of the country in support of land forces, which in turn refers to the British MoD, which specifies that “Ukraine retains control of most of its airspace”. “The Russians are penetrating the Donbass, they manage to capture a few villages, a few towns, they are making progress, but it will be a difficult battle, very slow and with high casualties,” estimates a French military source.
The Russian army said Wednesday it destroyed a “large amount” of weapons shipped to Ukraine from the United States and European countries during a strike. “Sheds with a large quantity of foreign arms and ammunition supplied to the Ukrainian armed forces by the United States and European countries were destroyed with high-precision Kalibr missiles fired from the sea at the Zaporizhia aluminum plant in south-eastern Ukraine, said the Russian Defense Ministry. The Russian military also claims to have carried out airstrikes against 59 Ukrainian targets, including 50 where troops were stationed, and four ammunition depots. “Russia continues to attack Ukrainian military targets and infrastructure across the country,” it said the British Ministry of Defence.
The Ukrainian army claimed to have bombed Russian positions on Snake Island in the Black Sea, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since the invasion by Russian forces began on February 24. Russia has not confirmed gunshots hit the island.
The situation appears to be deteriorating in western Ukraine. Authorities in Moldova’s pro-Russian separatist republic of Transnistria said on Wednesday that a village on the border with Ukraine, home to a large Russian ammunition depot, came under fire after drones flew over it. “Several drones were sighted over the village of Kolbasna last night,” the Transnistrian Interior Ministry said, adding that on Wednesday morning “shots were fired towards Kolbasna from Ukraine” with no casualties.