Russia claims minor advance in embattled eastern Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces claimed some battlefield success Wednesday as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine labored to gain momentum almost a year after it began, while Ukraine said it needs another few months to stage its own offensive.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops broke through two Ukrainian defensive lines in the eastern Luhansk region and pushed back Ukrainian troops some two miles, forcing them to leave behind equipment and the bodies of those killed.
It was not possible to independently verify Moscow’s claim. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.
Russian artillery, drones and missiles have relentlessly pounded Ukrainianheld areas in the country’s east for months, indiscriminately hitting civilian targets and wreaking destruction, as the war largely slowed to a grinding stalemate in the winter. Moscow is hungry for some progress after months of setbacks.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said his country’s forces would need “a few months” to learn how to use new Western weapons before they can try and push the Russians out of Ukraine.
The Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which make up the industrial Donbas region bordering Russia, continue to bear the brunt of Russia’s bombardments as Moscow reportedly moves more troops into the area.
In Luhansk, the number of Russian ground and air attacks is “growing every day,” Gov. Serhii Haidai said on Ukrainian TV.
“The Russians were able to transfer new forces for the offensive and now they are trying to overwhelm us with sheer human mass,” Haidai said.
Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said Wednesday that one town had come under “nonstop” rocket fire for over three hours the previous day that damaged at least 12 residential buildings. At least 12 civilians were wounded when Russian forces struck a fivestory apartment block in the city of Pokrovsk, Kyrylenko said. Two others remained under the rubble.
Both Russia and Ukraine are depleting ammunition stocks at a staggering pace, putting pressure on weapons makers globally to meet demand and
forcing Moscow to turn to allies such as Iran to bolster supplies, The New York Times reported.
As the fighting intensifies yet again, with Russia expanding its offensive operations and Ukraine planning for its own counteroffensive in the coming
months, the next phase of the war could turn on which side can rearm faster and more effectively, according to Western military officials.
Meanwhile, Kyiv’s military administration said six apparent reconnaissance balloons were detected floating over the capital on
Wednesday. Ukrainian air defense systems shot down “most of ” them, an online statement read, adding that the balloons “could carry corner reflectors and certain reconnaissance equipment” and were designed to “identify and deplete” Ukraine’s air defenses.