Speaking to the Defense Ministry in Moscow on Friday, Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian military official, said that what the Kremlin described as a “special operation” in Ukraine was entering a new phase designed for the full “release” of Donbass. He described the targeting of other cities, including the capital, Kiev, as part of a strategy to divert the attention of the Ukrainian military. Ukrainian authorities and Western officials have reacted cautiously to the call for a change in military strategy, which came after Russian forces were halted in Kyiv and other cities or blocked by tougher-than-expected Ukrainian defenses. A U.S. official accompanying Joe Biden on a trip to Belgium and Poland has said the United States does not view Russian statements as new and should look into changing tactics. “The main objectives of the first phase of the operation have been met,” said Rudinsky, chief of the Russian army’s main operations directorate. “The military capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces have been significantly reduced, which allows us to focus our efforts on achieving our main goal: the liberation of Donbass.” Russian troops have been able to blockade Kyiv as well as Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Sumy in the northeast and Mykolayev in the southwest, he said, as well as take control of parts of the south. This had distracted the Ukrainian army and limited its ability to respond to Donbass.
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Rudinsky said Moscow’s goal had always been to “liberate” Donbass and had chosen to target Ukrainian military capabilities throughout the country first. “We never planned to impose them,” Rudinsky said, referring to Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and other besieged cities. “While Russia” does not rule out the possibility “of continuing to target these cities,” our forces and resources will be focused on their main goal – the full liberation of Donbas, “he added. This seemed to elude Vladimir Putin’s speech on the day of the invasion, when the Russian president seemed determined to overthrow “the ruling regime in Ukraine” and encouraged aspiring Russian supporters of the Ukrainian armed forces to take over Ukraine. the President of Ukraine. in a coup.
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Are you from Ukraine? Do you have friends and family in or from Ukraine whose lives have been disrupted? Or maybe you’re doing something to help these people, such as raising funds or housing people in your homes. We want to hear from you. Tell us through a short survey. Early Saturday, the Ukrainian army said its forces in Kyiv continued to “repel the enemy attack. . . and maintain the previously defined defensive lines “. He said Russia was “continuing to regroup and mobilize forces to continue its offensive operations” while maintaining offensive operations, airstrikes and other attacks. The military added that Moscow had deployed “almost all Russian” units stationed in Crimea, annexed by the Kremlin in 2014, and in some areas of Kherson, Zaporizhia and Donetsk, “to quell resistance”. of Kherson, Henichesk, Berdyansk and some districts of the besieged city of Mariupol. The allegations of the Ukrainian and Russian armies cannot be verified immediately. A British intelligence source said on Saturday that Russia had continued to pound Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol, adding that its forces had “proved reluctant” to engage in large-scale civilian infantry operations. The Russian-backed separatists have been waging a proxy war in Donbass against the Kiev government since 2014, following the annexation of Crimea by Moscow. Putin backed the separatists’ claims throughout the region shortly before Moscow sent its troops and tanks to Ukraine on February 24. The US and European intelligence services estimate that Russia’s plan for a quick victory has largely failed amid mistakes in tactics, accounting errors and unexpectedly strong Ukrainian resistance. A senior U.S. defense official said Friday that Russian forces had given priority to fighting in Donbas and were in a “defensive crouch” around Kyiv and were no longer seeking a ground attack on the capital. However, it was too early to say whether their “strategic” goals had changed, the official said. Ukrainian forces have recaptured territory in the southern Russian city of Kherson, which is now a disputed area, the official added. This would make it much more difficult for Russia to launch an attack on the strategic port of Odessa. Another Western official reported signs of low morale among Russian soldiers after a brigade commander was deliberately trampled on and killed by his own troops. A seventh Russian general had been killed, indicating heavy casualties of senior Russian soldiers, the person added. Serious damage to residential buildings in the city of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region © Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters Rudinsky said what he said were the achievements of the Russian invasion and repeated allegations, denied by Kyiv and its allies, that Ukraine was planning an attack on Donbas as an excuse to launch a pre-emptive strike. The United Nations said on Friday that more than 1,000 civilians had been killed in the month since the Russian invasion, a possible underestimation of the “intense fighting” that has reduced the “full picture”. Authorities in the southern port city of Mariupol, which has been under heavy Russian bombardment for weeks, say an estimated 300 civilians have been killed in a Russian bombing at a theater used as a shelter. One of the Western officials said that Moscow had “obviously failed” in its initial goal of quickly occupying Kyiv, adding that “there is no guarantee that Russia will succeed in these [new] businesses “. A damaged tank is among the ruins in northern Mariupol © Maximilian Clarke / SOPA Images / dpa However, a new focus could give Russia a chance to gain more territory in eastern Ukraine by concentrating its firepower in a smaller area and[ing] some of the [logistical and tactical] mistakes they have made “. The official said information estimates that Russia was sending 10 new regular battalion groups to Ukraine. Such groups usually have about 700 soldiers as well as tanks, artillery and other vehicles. Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, was wary of the idea that Russia could abandon a large-scale invasion. “It is very dangerous to make a public forecast before the end of the war, especially when you are fighting against one of the largest armies in the world,” Yermak said. Additional references by Max Seddon in Riga and Andres Schipani in Lviv Video: China, Russia and the war in Ukraine
