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Moscow has shifted its focus in its war against Kyiv after nearly 50 days of fighting with a senior US defense official who reported on Wednesday that all Russian ground forces had now entered Ukraine’s eastern flank.
Security officials have sounded the alarm that the Kremlin’s inability to take the capital Kyiv meant it would launch a major offensive in eastern Ukraine.
The fighting in Ukraine has shifted to the east of the country. (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)
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Russia launched its second convoy this week and ground forces poured into the Lunhask region across Ukraine’s northern border, the official said.
“I think you would go so far as to say that all their ground forces are stationed either in Donbass – Luhank region or Donetsk region – and then south of Mariupol down to Mykolaiv,” the official added.
Defense officials have warned that Russia’s determination to continue its “military special operation” in a concentrated place like Donbass will mean an even more brutal fight.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday poked fun at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion and asked how many people must die before he gives up.
“Remember how Russia boasted that it would capture Kyiv in 48 hours? Instead, Ukraine repelled the enemy for 48 days,” he said in an address to the nation.
Ukrainian soldiers board a combat vehicle outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 2, 2022. (AP)
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“They say they do everything for the benefit of the people, for the benefit of Donbass, but even during World War II Donbass did not experience such cruelty in such a short time,” he continued. “The history of the siege of Leningrad was repeated in the Donbas. What would the people who died or nearly died during the Nazi blockade in Leningrad say? What would you say about the blockade of Mariupol?”
Zelenskyi said this week that Ukrainian forces are not getting what they need from allies to quickly end the war before it escalates further in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president again urged the US and NATO to send in fighter jets so his troops could lift weeks-long blockade of Mariupol and help deter further invading Russian forces from tightening a grip on the region.
In this photo provided by the Press Office of the President of Ukraine, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens to his meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday April 1, 2022. ((Press Office of the President of Ukraine via AP))
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The US has provided more than $1.7 billion in security aid since the invasion began, but has refused to provide jets over fears it could channel Russian aggression towards NATO countries beyond Ukraine’s borders.
The Biden administration is expected to announce another round of security assistance this week.