Today, Monday, the Russian military operation in Ukraine enters a new day of battles, as the Russian forces continue to destroy the sites of the Ukrainian military infrastructure and liberate the lands of Donbass, while the West continues to support Kyiv and supply it with equipment and weapons.
The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed that the Russian army is massing its forces in Izyum between Kharkiv and Severodonetsk.
In the latest developments, the British Ministry of Defense indicated that the presence of Belarusian forces near the borders of Ukraine would prevent them from strengthening the Donbass front. She added that Belarus did not participate in the war, but its territory was used to launch Russian attacks, noting that the Belarusian president supports the Russian attack, but avoids direct military intervention.
And President Volodymyr Zelensky announced, in a video published on Sunday evening: “We are preparing for new attempts by Russia to attack Donbass to intensify its movement towards southern Ukraine.” control of Severodonetsk.
On the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces bombed sites in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, as it sought to encircle Ukrainian forces in A battle for control of the eastern Donbass region He repelled a counterattack around the strategic city of Izyum, currently under Russian control.
And the Russian army announced that high-precision air missiles belonging to the Russian forces had hit 6 command posts, 11 company positioning posts, and four depots of rocket and artillery weapons and ammunition belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This comes as Ukrainian forces have achieved a series of successes since the start of the Russian operation on February 24, forcing Russian leaders to abandon an attack on Kyiv, and Russian forces also abandoned Kharkiv, the second largest city in the country.
Since mid-April, Russian forces have concentrated much of their firepower on Donbass.
A British military intelligence assessment released on Sunday stated that Russia has lost about a third of the ground combat power it deployed in February. The assessment said the Russian offensive in Donbass was far behind schedule and was unlikely to make rapid progress in the next 30 days.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine is not going as planned by Moscow,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Russia said yesterday that it had hit Ukrainian sites in the east with missiles, targeting command centers and weapons arsenals, as its forces sought to To surround the Ukrainian units between Izyum and Donetsk.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian Joint Task Force said that its forces repelled 17 attacks on Sunday and destroyed 11 pieces of Russian equipment, while its air defenses shot down two Russian helicopters and five drones.
Izyum is located on the Donets River, 120 km from Kharkiv, on the main road to the southeast of the country.
Continued pressure on Izium and Russian supply lines would make it difficult for Moscow to encircle Ukrainian forces hardened by battles on the eastern front in the Donbass.
A huge convoy of cars and vans carrying refugees from the ruins of Mariupol arrived in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhia on Saturday evening after waiting days for Russian forces to allow them to leave.