The Capital

Opening for Russia seen along front

Zelenskyy says foe is taking advantage of aid delays to Kyiv

- By Hanna Arhirova The New York Times contribute­d.

KYIV, Ukraine — Delays in weapons deliveries from Western allies to Ukraine are opening a door for Russian battlefiel­d advances, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, making the fight “very difficult” along parts of the front line where the Kremlin’s forces captured a strategic city last weekend ahead of the war’s second anniversar­y.

Zelenskyy and other officials have often expressed frustratio­n at the slowness of promised aid deliveries, especially since signs of war fatigue have emerged. European countries are struggling to find enough stocks to send to Kyiv, and U.S. help worth $60 billion is stalled over political difference­s. That appears to be playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Even so, more help is heading Ukraine’s way, as Sweden announced Tuesday its biggest aid package so far and Canada said it was expediting the delivery of more than 800 drones.

Zelenskyy, in his daily video address late Monday, said Russia has built up troops at some points along a 930-mile front line, apparently aiming to pounce on any perceived defensive weaknesses.

The Russians “are taking advantage of delays in aid to Ukraine,” he said after visiting the command post Monday in the area of Kupiansk, in the northeaste­rn Kharkiv region.

He said Ukrainian troops keenly felt a shortage of artillery, air defense systems and long-range weapons.

Ukrainian forces withdrew during the weekend from the strategic eastern city of Avdiivka, where they had battled a fierce Russian assault for four months despite being heavily outnumbere­d and outgunned.

On Tuesday, Putin congratula­ted Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on capturing Avdiivka and urged him to press Russia’s advantage.

Shoigu said the military launched up to 460 strikes on Avdiivka daily, equivalent to more than 200 tons of explosives: “We got the enemy in such a state that it was forced to flee the unbearable conditions.”

According to senior Western officials and soldiers fighting for Ukraine, hundreds of Ukrainian troops may have been captured by advancing Russian units or disappeare­d during the chaotic retreat from Avdiivka.

Estimates of how many Ukrainians were captured or missing vary, and a precise count may not be possible until Ukraine solidifies new defensive lines outside the city. But two soldiers with knowledge of Ukraine’s retreat said 850 to 1,000 soldiers appear to have been captured or are unaccounte­d for. The Western officials said that range seemed accurate.

But Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said that while the situation on the battlefiel­d is hard, especially due to a lack of ammunition, the situation on the eastern front is not catastroph­ic.

“We fight and will continue to fight,” he told news outlet Ukrainska Pravda. “We have only one request to our partners: to help with weapons, with ammunition, and with air defense.”

He said Russia racked up heavy losses of troops and equipment in the fight for bombed-out Avdiivka. His claim could not be independen­tly verified.

Analysts predicted a lull in Russian attacks in the

Avdiivka area. The Kremlin’s forces will require time to “rest and refit,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an assessment Tuesday. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, also expected an “operationa­l pause” by Russia in the area.

Zelenskyy said talks with foreign partners are focusing on how to “resume and extend” support.

Sweden, which is poised to join NATO, said Tuesday that it will donate military aid to Ukraine worth $681 million. That includes 30 boats, some of which are fast and powerful military assault craft.

The deal includes artillery ammunition, Leopard tanks, shoulder-borne anti-aircraft defense systems, anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers, hand grenades, medical transport vehicles, underwater drones and diving equipment.

“By supporting Ukraine, we are also investing in our own security,” Defense Minister Pål Jonson told a news conference in Stockholm. “If Russia were to win this terrible war, we would have significan­tly greater security problems than we have today.”

The Canadian government said Monday that it will dispatch more than 800 drones to Ukraine starting as early as this spring. They are part of a previously announced $370 million in military help.

Ukraine received $42.5 billion last year from foreign partners, of which $11.6 billion was in nonrepayab­le grant aid, Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a Russian Lancet drone struck a house Tuesday in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, killing five members of the same family, the regional administra­tion said.

Ukraine shot down all 23 Shahed drones that Russia launched Monday night over various regions of the country, the country’s air force said.

Air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Russian aircraft activity had dropped off after Ukraine recently shot down a number of enemy warplanes.

The air force commander, Mykola Oleschuk, said Monday that his troops destroyed Su-34 and Su-35 bomber jets. Over the weekend, he said other Russian jets were shot down.

 ?? ANATOLII STEPANOV/GETTY-AFP ?? Ukrainian soldiers work at their anti-aircraft gun position Tuesday in the Donetsk region.
ANATOLII STEPANOV/GETTY-AFP Ukrainian soldiers work at their anti-aircraft gun position Tuesday in the Donetsk region.

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