Ukraine war: Russia masses troops in Donbass – Ukrainian front falters
Created: 05/25/2022, 07:37
By: Isabel Wetzel
With massive shelling, the Russian army is wearing down the Ukrainian defense lines in the east - and is advancing further in the Donbass.
Kyiv – The situation in the Ukraine conflict is becoming increasingly precarious for the Ukrainian troops in the east of the country.
According to the authorities, the city of Zaporizhia in eastern Ukraine was hit by several rockets on Wednesday morning (May 25), the regional administration announced on its Telegram channel.
One of the missiles was intercepted by air defenses.
The rescue workers are on site to get an idea of the situation, the damage and possible victims of the attack.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of a difficult situation in the Donbass and again asked for heavy weapons.
tanks and anti-ship missiles.
Meanwhile, the military experts at the US war research institute Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report in their latest analysis of Ukraine that the Russian military is concentrating forces from different directions in the heavily contested Luhansk region.
The reserves needed for an offensive would be withdrawn from the areas around Kharkiv, Izyum, Donetsk and Zaporizhia.
In the last week, the Russian troops in the Luhansk region managed to gain more territory than in the whole of May, the analysts said.
And Zelenskyj also emphasized on Tuesday evening (May 24) that the Russian army was throwing "all the forces it still has" into this fight.
Massive attacks in eastern Ukraine: Russia is approaching an important goal in the Ukraine war
With massive artillery and air strikes, the armed forces have driven the Ukrainian defenders out of several towns in the east of the country in the past few days, and the Ukrainian front is beginning to falter.
For Russia, the complete conquest of the Ukrainian administrative regions of Donetsk and Luhansk is an important war goal.
In Luhansk, this goal has almost been achieved.
Two injured Ukrainian soldiers in an ambulance: The Russian attackers are putting more and more pressure on the troops in the east of the country.
© Alex Chan Tsz Yuk/dpa
War in Ukraine: Russia apparently wants to encircle Ukrainian troops in Sievjerodonetsk and Lyssychansk
In the region, Russian troops and their pro-Russian separatist allies now control 90 percent of the territory.
The Ukrainian military holds the metropolitan area between the cities of Sievjerodonetsk and Lysychansk - both cities were large cities with around 100,000 inhabitants before the war.
According to the ISW analysis from the USA, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin probably intends to encircle several small Ukrainian units in the area at the same time.
However, despite the progress made, the Russians have not yet achieved a “major breakthrough”.
"The occupiers want to destroy everything there," Zelenskyj warned.
He listed the cities of Lyman, Popasna, Sieverodonetsk and Sloviansk.
It will take great efforts on the part of the Ukrainian people to overcome the Russian superiority in armaments and technology.
According to the administration, 15 civilians were killed within 24 hours in the Donetsk region alone.
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The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also spoke of a difficult situation in the Donbass coal and steel region.
Apparently, the Russian army wants to encircle Ukrainian units in the cities of Sievjerodonetsk and Lysychansk, said spokesman Olexander Motusyanyk.
The only supply route of the Ukrainian armed forces is already under fire.
(iwe)
