Ukrainian soldiers on the front line in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine January 27, 2023 – Photo: REUTERS
According to Reuters news agency, Zelensky has warned for weeks that Russia wants to step up its attack on Ukraine after about two months of stalemate on the battlefield. Recently, Nha’s attacks will be along the front lines to the south and east.
Meanwhile, Denis Pushilin, a Russian-controlled regional official in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province, said Russian troops had gained a foothold in Vuhledar, although there was no sign of a new, large-scale offensive. bigger.
Vuhledar is a coal mining town that has been a Ukrainian fortress since Russia launched a special campaign.
Pushilin’s adviser, Yan Gagin, said fighters from Russia’s Wagner mercenary force had controlled part of the supply route to Bakhmut, a city that has been a major battleground for months.
On January 29, the head of the Wagner mercenary company said his fighters had captured Blahodatne, a village north of Bakhmut.
Although it is difficult to verify the claims of the parties, the area of fight shows clear Russian interests step by step.
Russia attacks relentlessly
President Zelensky said that Russian attacks in the east continued despite heavy casualties.
“I think Russia really wants a big, big counter-attack. I think they (have) started it,” said President Zelensky.
He told reporters in the southern port city of Odessa on January 30: “Every day they bring in more regulars or more from Wagner mercenaries.”
On the same day, the General Staff of Ukraine said that Russia had carried out air strikes and three missile attacks in the past 24 hours, one of which targeted Kharkov in northeastern Ukraine. Russia is also continuing its advances in the areas of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and elsewhere in eastern Ukraine.
Earlier, on January 29, President Zelensky said that Ukraine is facing a “very difficult” situation in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. It needs to be supplied with weapons faster and needs new weapons to deal with Russia.
According to the news agency Sputnik Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry announced it had a series of victories in eastern Ukraine and destroyed many Ukrainian servicemen. Meanwhile, Kiev claims it has repelled attacks on Blahodatne and Vuhledar.