Front lines shift in Donbas as Russia makes advances
Finland, which shares a 1,300km border with Russia, confirms it will apply to join the Nato, a major policy shift after invasion of Ukraine
RUSKA LOZOVA, UKRAINE: The front lines in Ukraine had shifted on Sunday as Russia made advances in the fiercely contested eastern Donbas region and Ukraine’s military waged a counteroffensive near the strategic Russian-held city of Izium.
Near the northeastern city of Kharkiv, where Ukrainian forces have been on the attack since early this month, commanders said they believed Russia had been withdrawing troops to reinforce positions around Izium to the south.
Ukraine has scored a series of successes since Russia invaded on February 24, forcing Russia’s commanders to abandon an advance on the capital Kyiv and then making rapid gains to drive them from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city.
Keeping up pressure on Izium and Russian supply lines will make it harder for Moscow to encircle battle-hardened Ukrainian troops on the eastern front in the Donbas.
Izium straddles the Donets river, about 120km from Kharkiv on the main highway heading southeast.
“The hottest spot remains the Izium direction,” regional governor Oleh Sinegubov said in comments aired on social media.
Meanwhile, the president of Finland, which shares a 1,300km border with Russia, confirmed on Sunday that his country would apply to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), a major policy shift prompted by Russia’s invasion.
Nato’s deputy secretary-general said he was confident Finland and Sweden, which is also expected to confirm its intention to join, could be swiftly admitted to the alliance, and that concerns raised by Turkey could be overcome.
Since mid-April, Russian forces have focused much of their firepower on trying to capture two provinces known as the Donbas after failing to take Kyiv.
An assessment by British military intelligence issued on Sunday said Russia had lost about a third of the ground combat force deployed in February. Its Donbas offensive had fallen “significantly behind schedule” and was unlikely to make rapid advances during the coming 30 days, the assessment said.