Vladimir Putin’s forces are making the “maximum” effort in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine after being found in a “drone nest” as they were hit by fierce resistance across the country, Western officials said on Friday. They said Russian military commanders had “stopped” some offensive operations as more emphasis was placed on trying to gain ground in Donbas, where the two breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk are located. The Kremlin claims to have completed the first phase of the invasion four weeks later. However, Western officials have dismissed the allegations, saying Mr Putin had been forced to change his plan of invasion after his initial plan to seize Kyiv within days had failed. More groups of Russian battalions headed for Donbass, they added, but stressed that they were less trained soldiers, with the worst equipment and often lower morale.

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Residents of the area sit on a bench in the besieged city of Mariupol / REUTERS An official said: “It is clear that what Russia recognizes is that it can not continue to operate on many axes at once. “Therefore, it must focus its power, especially its supply and firepower, on a more limited number of approaches.” “As we can see, both by the nature of the operations and by the scale of support of these new battalion regiments that are being fed to operations in and around Donbass instead of being more evenly distributed around the other axis of advance.” He added: “It is clear that we do not see the need to take forces from Kyiv and other strategic directions to strengthen Donbass, but in fact to stop these operations to limit the amount of logistics that will be required, either in these defensive positions . to offer the maximum possible effort to Donbas “. People stand in line when distributing humanitarian aid to Mariupol / REUTERS But in Donbas, Ukraine has ten brigades, including its best-trained and well-equipped soldiers, so the Russian military commanders will face a battle to win in this area. Their strategy seemed to be to encircle Ukrainian forces from the front with separatist forces, reinforced by Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries in Donetsk and Luhansk, and by moving troops down from the Kharkiv region to the north. the area of ​​Mariupol in the South. The official added: “They had to adjust their operation because of the resistance they faced, because of their own problems they created through the way they fought and because of the false assumption that supported the Putin invasion that they would be welcomed as liberators. “Instead of being liberators, they have ended up where they have been invited, they have actually been found in a drone nest and they are suffering very badly.” In Moscow, Russian officials hinted at a possible change of strategy on Friday, saying it would now focus its forces on “liberating” the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. The announcement would mean that Russia would focus on more limited targets after fierce Ukrainian resistance in the first month of the war.

Russia-Ukraine crisis: Bombing and evacuation of Kiev The Defense Ministry in Moscow, which has been accused by the West of spreading misinformation, has claimed that Russian-backed separatists now control 93 percent of Ukraine’s Lugansk region and 54 percent of Donetsk region – the two regions. which together form Donbass. “The main objectives of the first stage of the operation have generally been achieved,” said Sergei Rudskoi, head of the General Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff. “The combat potential of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has been significantly reduced, which … makes it possible to focus our main efforts on achieving the main goal, the liberation of Donbass.” His comments came hours after Britain’s defense chiefs said Russian forces had been pushed back up to 22 miles east of Kiev. They believe the reports that 10,000 Russian soldiers have already been killed are a “reasonable estimate”. Three to four times as many Russian servicemen are believed to have been wounded or incapacitated. However, as Putin’s plan collapses, his forces resort to increasingly indiscriminate bombing and airstrikes on cities and towns, with thousands of civilians killed since the invasion began on February 24. At least ten more Russian regular battalion groups are mobilizing to head to Ukraine’s war zone. But Putin’s invasion strategy has failed miserably, much to the surprise of many in the West and, no doubt, in Moscow. This is believed to have been partly due to logistical problems left by Russian troops with few days left in food, ammunition and fuel, as well as fierce Ukrainian resistance. Some Russian troops were also reportedly unaware that they were going to war, but merely taking part in a military operation. Ukrainian forces carry out some limited counterattacks around Kyiv and Chernihiv. However, despite reports that Ukrainian forces were repelling Russian troops in some areas, the Western official warned that we should not overtake too much. Donate here: Please donate as much as you can to the Evening Standard Ukraine appeal / IS “There is no complete reversal of the situation on the ground. “We do not see another reversal,” he said. Russia was calling in more troops from the Eastern Military District, Kaliningrad and Georgia, he explained. But many of the troops would go from “barracks to important battles” in a short time, so there would be a question of readiness. Regarding the threat of a chemical weapons attack by Russian forces, the official said he was “very confident” that this would happen. He added: “My main concern at the moment is the danger of false flag operations by Russian forces, and every time we see a narrative being made public by Russian officials, it tends to be a precursor to a false flag operation. “We saw this in the weeks before the crisis and since the invasion began.” The official explained that he was “very confident” that Russia would launch a chemical attack of this kind soon, but added: “I expect it to be very good … and very clear that they did it themselves and I hope we will be able to to quickly reveal the truth “. There were concerns about a chemical ammonia attack earlier this week, but the official said it was an accident caused by a Russian shell that struck a legal Ukrainian warehouse of the substance. In other developments:

Russia was becoming increasingly isolated, with Spotify the last major company to withdraw from the country. The streaming giant said it was suspending its services in Russia in light of the country’s strict new censorship law, which it said endangered its employees and possibly even its listeners. China’s state-owned Sinopec Group – Asia’s largest oil refinery – has reportedly cut off talks on an investment in petrochemicals and a Russian gas trading venture. If confirmed, it would be an important sign of how Western sanctions are hurting Russia, and in particular trade between Moscow and Beijing, which has so far refused to criticize the Kremlin for the invasion. There seems to be little sign of significant progress in the peace talks, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba saying negotiations with Russia were difficult. “The Ukrainian delegation has taken a strong position and is not giving up on its demands,” he said. “We insist, first of all, on a ceasefire, guarantees of security and territorial integrity of Ukraine.” Three hundred civilians were reportedly killed in a theater in Mariupol, with the largest loss of life since the invasion. Sky News reported that pregnant women were inside the theater at the time. Russia is thought to have lost a seventh general in Ukraine as Kyiv said Lt. Gen. Yakov Rezantsev was killed in an attack. A Russian colonel has been hit by a chariot by his own soldiers over the huge number of casualties suffered by their own brigade in Ukraine, according to Western officials. President Joe Biden gave a speech to US troops stationed in Poland near the border with Ukraine. However, President Andrzej Duda was unable to receive him in Poland due to a malfunction of his plane and had to make an emergency landing. Writer JK Rowling was pushed back when Vladimir Putin led her into an attack on Western attempts to “cancel” Russian culture. “Criticism of Western culture of annulment may not be better than that of slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance or imprisoning and poisoning their critics,” the Harry Potter author tweeted in connection with an article about imprisoned Putin critic Alexei. Navalny.