Putin makes gains in east as offensive gathers pace
Russian forces have made significant advances in a narrow corridor in eastern Ukraine as an offensive by Moscow to take territory before western military aid arrives appears to be gathering pace.
Footage posted by Kremlin military bloggers shows a Russian tricolour flying above the shattered village of Ocheretyne. Russian troops reportedly entered the territory on Sunday, north-west of the town of Avdiivka, after advancing about three miles in 10 days.
It comes as Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it was suspending consular services for military-age men living abroad, except for those heading back to Ukraine, in a move designed to increase conscription.
The Ukrainian army retreated from Avdiivka in February and has been trying to establish a new defensive line in settlements along the Durna River but in recent weeks reinforced Russian units have been pushing forward, using air-launched glide bombs to pulverise Ukrainian bunkers.
Moscow’s ministry of defence claimed Ukrainian troops fled Ocheretyne in small groups and under heavy fire. Videos showed a destroyed administration building and streets full of debris. Civilians appeared to have left.
Its capture means Russia has managed to bypass the northern flank of Ukraine’s recently constructed forward line, including minefields and trenches. The village – once home to 3,000 people, and a local road and rail hub – sits at the intersection of a network of defences. Ukraine’s regional armed forces HQ admitted the situation was difficult. It said the Russians were using an “entire arsenal of weapons against our units” including what it described as chemical weapons.
Russian forces are within about 20 miles of Pokrovsk, the main garrison city in the area, used to rotate soldiers and equipment, which appears to be the next operational Russian target.
Vladimir Putin has ordered his soldiers to capture the administrative borders of the Donetsk region.
Further north, a large Russian offensive is under way to seize the town of Chasiv Yar. Ukraine’s eastern military command said 20,00025,000 enemy troops are trying to storm the hilltop town and surrounding districts. The Kremlin wants to capture it by 9 May – the date when Russians mark Soviet victory day in the second world war, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said.
Russian combat groups may not have an “indefinite timeframe” to exploit their recent battlefield successes, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. “The Russian military command is likely aware of the closing window before more western aid arrives and is trying to secure offensive gains before the window closes,” it said on Monday.
Badly needed shells sourced through a Czech-led initiative for Ukraine are due to arrive by the end of May or early June and Joe Biden is expected to sign a $61bn (£48bn) aid package after its passage in the Senate, meaning the Pentagon is likely within a few days to deliver some supplies from storage sites in Europe, such as 155mm artillery rounds.
The ISW said even the ratio of artillery fire “will be essential to Ukraine’s ability to deprive Russian forces” and to “slow the rate of Russian advances in areas of the front”. But other weapons will take weeks and months.