Russia moves troops to Donbas gateway Izium
Russia is moving troops and weapons towards the eastern Ukrainian city of Izium in its bid to capture the Donbas region, Britain and Ukraine have said.
Kyiv said Moscow had suffered losses in an offensive near the city but was reinforcing its attack with a battery of Tulip mortar weapons and Tornado multiple rocket launchers it had moved from Belgorod, close to Russia’s border with Ukraine.
Britain said Moscow had sent 22 battalion tactical groups – a type of formation kept at high readiness – near Izium, as part of its attempt to advance along the “northern axis” of Donbas.
Although Russia has struggled to gain momentum in the east, it is “highly likely” that it intends to proceed beyond Izium and capture the cities of Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk, the UK Defence Ministry said.
“Capturing these locations would consolidate Russian military control of north-eastern Donbas and provide a staging point for their efforts to cut off Ukrainian forces in the region,” it said.
Russia said it had shot down at least one Ukrainian drone near Izium and foiled the delivery of western arms to Donbas by destroying six railway substations. Those attacks included missile strikes in Lviv in western Ukraine, which has largely been spared the worst of the fighting.
Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said two people had been injured and water and electricity supplies were disrupted by the strikes.
At least 156 people have been rescued from a steel plant in the southern port of Mariupol and taken to the city of Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv said.
“This is not a victory yet, but this is already a result. I believe that there is a chance to save our other people,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He said Russia was flouting the terms of a ceasefire by continuing attacks on the Azovstal plant, in which Moscow says Ukrainian mercenaries and fighters have taken shelter.
Mr Zelenskyy taunted the Kremlin in an overnight address by saying the latest missile strikes were a sign that Russian generals “are trying to vent their powerlessness … because they can’t beat Ukraine”.
Russia has reorganised its invasion after failing to capture Kyiv. Western officials say the Russian military has been plagued by low morale, poor communication and faulty equipment.
Moscow’s ally Belarus, which borders Ukraine, launched surprise military exercises yesterday to test the readiness of its army to “go on the alert, move to predetermined zones and undertake combat training”, its Defence Ministry said.