Kyiv makes gains in north
Govt readies for new Russian Donbas push
Ukraine was preparing yesterday for a new Russian push in the eastern Donbas region, as Kyiv said its army’s counterattack around Kharkiv had gained momentum.
Since failing to take the capital at the beginning of the invasion in late February, control of Donbas has become one of Moscow’s primary objectives — but Western intelligence has predicted its campaign will stall amid heavy losses and fierce resistance.
“We are preparing for new attempts by Russia to attack in Donbas, to somehow intensify its movement in the south of Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address.
“The occupiers still do not want to admit that they are in a dead-end and their so-called ‘special operation’ has already gone bankrupt,” he added.
Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich told local television that Russian troops were being transferred in the direction of Donbas after withdrawing from Kharkiv following the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Kyiv’s troops have made so much progress in the northern region that they have almost reached the border with Russia, according to interior ministry adviser Vadim Denisenko.
The Ukrainian army said yesterday that some Russian forces remained to try and block the advance, and air sirens sounded in Kharkiv city in the early hours.
Mr Arestovich said the Russian troops that had been pulled out were being sent towards Lugansk.
“Their task is to take Severodonetsk,” he said. “Well, something is not working for them.”
Severodonetsk is the easternmost city still held by Ukraine, and its fall would grant the Kremlin de facto control of Lugansk, one of two regions — along with Donetsk — that comprise Donbas.
Russia’s attempt to cross a river to encircle it has been repelled with heavy losses of equipment, according to Lugansk governor Sergiy Gaiday.
To further deter the attack, Russianoccupied railway bridges leading to Severodonetsk were blown up, the Ukrainian military said on Facebook late on Sunday, posting a video of a huge explosion taken from above.
Mr Gaiday said yesterday that fighting in the region “continues almost around the clock”.
For its part, Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had struck four artillery munitions depots in neighbouring Donetsk.
Air strikes had also destroyed two missile-launching systems and radar, while 15 Ukrainian drones were downed around Donetsk and Lugansk, it added.
But British defence chiefs said Russia’s offensive in Donbas had “lost momentum”.
Demoralised Russian troops had failed to make substantial gains and Moscow’s battle plan was “significantly behind schedule”, UK Defence Intelligence said.
It added that Russia may have lost one-third of the ground combat forces it committed in February and was “unlikely to dramatically accelerate” its advance in the next 30 days.
Ukrainian commanders say they expect a turning point in their favour by August, but Western powers have cautioned the conflict will turn into a protracted war of attrition stretching into next year.
On Sunday, Nato pledged openended military aid for Kyiv, with Germany’s Annalena Baerbock promising it “for as long as Ukraine needs”.
“Ukraine can win this war,” Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg added.