Severodonetsk was lost to the Russians but considering the at least 80% destruction, one wonders what was really won.
Key Takeaways
- The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the leadership of its central and southern groups of forces fighting Ukraine has changed, confirming ISW’s previous assessment that the Russian high command is restructuring the leadership of operations in Ukraine.
- Ukrainian intelligence officials emphasized that Belarus remains highly unlikely to join the war in Ukraine.
- Ukrainian sources confirmed that Russian forces have taken full control of Severodonetsk and are fighting within Lysychansk.
- Russian forces made measured gains to the north and southeast of Bakhmut.
- Russian forces continued unsuccessful attempts to advance southeast of Izyum toward Slovyansk.
- Russian forces continued positional battles north of Kharkiv City.
- Russian forces attempted to strengthen their defensive lines and recapture lost positions on the Southern Axis.
www.understandingwar.org/...
UZHGOROD, Ukraine — As intense battles raged in eastern Ukraine and Russian forces pressed to cut off the supply lines for thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, Moscow unleashed more than 40 missiles on targets across the country on Saturday morning, including in areas in the north and west that have been largely spared in recent weeks.
The barrage, which officials say was fired from Belarusian airspace and which appeared to hit mostly military installations, was a stark reminder of the vulnerability of cities across Ukraine. It also spotlighted the escalation in Russian air attacks in recent weeks.
Even in western and northern regions where the wail of air alarms had become more sporadic in recent weeks, they rang out five times in less than 48 hours to signal that missiles had been fired within striking distance, a noticeable uptick in intensity.
Dozens of the missile strikes were launched by Russian aircraft in Belarusian airspace overnight, according to a Belarusian monitoring group, Belarusian Guyun, that has been detailing Russian actions since the start of the war.
The strikes came hours before President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was scheduled to meet with President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus in St. Petersburg. Belarusian forces are also once again conducting military drills near the border with the Kyiv region, raising tension and putting Ukrainian authorities on high alert.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency called the Russian assault “a large-scale provocation of Russia for the purpose of further dragging Belarus into the war against Ukraine.” While many Western military analysts say it is unlikely that Belarus would directly join the Russian war effort, Mr. Lukashenko’s hold on power is dependent on the Kremlin’s support.
According to the Belarusian monitoring group, the bombers took off from Russian airfield, entered Belarusian airspace, flew up to the border with Ukraine, and fired missiles.
Those details were confirmed by the local authorities in Ukraine. At least 24 missiles fired from Belarus hit the outskirts of Zhytomyr, a city about 80 miles west of Kyiv, the mayor of Zhytomyr, Sergey Sukhomlyn, said on Saturday.
www.nytimes.com/...