The first noticeable victories after their withdrawal from Kherson, although “marginal”, bring the invading forces closer to the strategic node of Bakhmut
The Russian army on Wednesday announced its first significant victories since it began losing control in several regions of Donbas weeks ago under pressure from the Ukrainian offensive. The General Staff presented the “liberation” of three cities in Donetsk Oblast as a triumph: Belohirivka, Pershne Travna and Andriivka. However, Western analysts currently view the invading advance as “marginal”, hampered by a shortage of modern weapons and problems with supplying supplies to the front lines.
Against these advances, two oil tanks were destroyed this Wednesday in the Russian city of Bryansk, 150 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. While the reason for the incident was unknown last night, military sources pointed out that it could be another sign of the Ukrainian armed forces’ intention to cut grass under the occupiers’ feet with the systematic destruction of supplies.
Of the three Donetsk conquests, the most relevant is that of Andriivka, located only ten kilometers from the city of Bakhmut, which the Russians have tried to occupy practically since the beginning of the invasion due to its strategic nature. Nearby rises a network of roads leading directly to the Ukrainian strongholds of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, as well as to the iconic city of Severodonetsk, which the Russians took this summer and used as a symbol of the complete conquest of the Lugansk region. Two weeks ago, authorities ordered a civilian evacuation in case Kiev wants to retrieve it.
The moves appear to indicate a move of operations from Moscow to the Donetsk area following recent setbacks in the Kherson region. This seems to be underlined by the fighting that took place last night in Vodianoe, another enclave near Andriivka, within the invaders’ advance towards Bakhmut.
Nine months after the outbreak of war, the Kremlin also announced this Wednesday that it has completed training for the 300,000 reservists mobilized last September. The announcement coincides with another message from the UK government that it will sanction about 20 Russian military commanders responsible for this recruitment.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari warned on Wednesday that “weapons used in Ukraine’s war are beginning to leak into the region” feeding terrorists active in the Lake Chad region. His government has called for more security forces to be deployed on the border with this basin, where groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State exercise their reign of terror. “This movement into the region has increased the proliferation of small arms and light, which continue to threaten collective peace and security,” Buhari warned. His complaint confirms the fears of European and US security services about the risk of illegal trade in weapons exported by the West to Ukraine.
Source: La Verdad
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