Ukrainian troops gain a foothold in Lugansk (EFE).
Ukraine already made it, free 13 locations in Lugansk in the last days. However, the russian troops hold her offensive and try to advance towards the strategic city in the southwest BahamutEpicenter of a fierce battle in the eastern region of Donetskand try -also- to gain a foothold in neighboring Lugansk.
“The situation at the front is difficult. Despite extremely heavy Russian losses, the occupiers are trying to advance in the Donetsk region and gain a foothold in the Luhansk region, gain a foothold in the Kharkiv region, they are planning something in the south,” commented President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his usual daily message.
However, Ukrainian troops stand firmly in their defense and will not allow the enemy to “achieve their objectives”. So they continue their counter-offensive in the Lugansk region, which is practically controlled by Russia.
“Currently, 13 settlements in the Lugansk region have been liberated. It is necessary to carry out demining work in order to safely provide social services to residents and restore the functionality of critical infrastructure,” commented the first deputy head of the civil-military administration of the region Oleksiy Smirnov.
While Russia maintains its offensive and tries to advance in different areas, the Ukrainian army maintains its defense (Portal)
Recently, Moscow has intensified its attacks in the region Bahamut Y Avdeyevka, where they directed the fire of tanks, artillery and aviation. This Wednesday again the spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkovsaid he took control of three new sites in Donetsk: Belohirivka, Pershne Travna and Andreevka -ten kilometers south of the strategic city of Bahamut-.
The capture of the latter city opens the enemy’s way to Slaviansk and Kramatorsk, the main Ukrainian bases in Donetsk.
Moscow has intensified its attacks in the Bahamut and Avdeevka regions, where tank, artillery and aircraft fire have been targeted (Portal)
Despite these “marginal gains,” the Russians made the Institute for War Studies (ISW) American doubted that “they have progressed at the pace they claim”.
Therefore, “it is unlikely that Russian forces around Bahamut will quickly expose the city to the threat of imminent encirclement.”
This position was joined by Zelensky, who in a tone ironicrelated to the promises of the Kremlin that “they will take the Donetsk region in spring, summer and autumn, and winter will start already this week”.
Zelenskyi ironically ironized the Kremlin’s promises that “they would take the Donetsk region in spring, summer and autumn, and winter starts already this week” (Franco Fafasuli).
On the other hand, the Ukrainian Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermakagain denounced the Russian strategy with which the mercenary group wagner He sends the Russian prisoners hired to fight to the front without weapons or equipment.
“They take them to the positions without weapons, as if they were flesh. Then their weapons are brought to them practically before the order to advance. They get a rifle but without bulletproof vests or helmets and start attacking our positions,” he said.
As Yermak went on to say, Wagner sends hundreds of people to the front lines every day in hopes of weakening Ukraine’s defenses, while Russian professional soldiers are hiding behind these “cannon fodder”.
Casualty numbers in both armies are increasing and will continue to increase as the offensive progresses. Zelenskyy appreciated that Russia will lose 100,000 soldiers this year and God only knows how many mercenaries.”
Both sides avoid talking about the losses in their armies, and Ukraine assured that Russia “will lose a hundred thousand soldiers this year and only God knows how many mercenaries” (AFP).
That Ukrainian site already more than accounted for 88,000 victims in Moscow since the beginning of the offensive during Russia accounted for only 6,000 and pointed against it Ukraineto the reported to have more than 61,000 deaths.
This topic, which is particularly avoided by both parties, sparked a controversy this Wednesday when the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der LeyenOn Twitter he posted a video in which he mentioned 100,000 casualties in the Ukrainian ranks. The post was quickly edited to remove the information.
For his part, the press secretary of the Ukrainian General Staff, Bogdan Senikrefused to confirm the number, instead stressing that it is a “Private Information” and are subject to distribution restrictions.
“However, if what the President of the European Commission said is intended to condemn the aggressor country, we can only support measures leading to legal punishment of those who commit genocide against the Ukrainian people,” he concluded.
(With information from EFE)
Continue reading:
Ukraine has been pressuring NATO to speed up deliveries of arms and ammunition to bolster its anti-aircraft defences. The European Union proposed a court to try Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The United States condemned the Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure: “This brutality is cruel.”