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| Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images |
Russia is repositioning troops to strengthen its hand in southern Ukraine, shifting forces from the front line in northern Donbas, according to the Ukrainian and British militaries, ahead of a planned Ukrainian offensive in the south.
Ukraine’s southern command said Russian battle groups were being deployed near Kryvyi Rih and Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukrainian cities that lie to the north of territory fully controlled by Moscow.
“Now the Russian army is trying to strengthen its positions in the occupied areas of the south of our country, increasing activity in the relevant areas,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an overnight address.
The U.K.’s Defense Ministry said Russia was reallocating a significant number of troops and likely adjusting its Donbas offensive after failing to make a decisive breakthrough under a plan Moscow has followed since April. “It has likely identified its Zaporizhzhia front as a vulnerable area in need of reinforcement,” the U.K. Defense Ministry said Monday.
Russia’s Defense Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
After months of Russian forces making slow gains in Ukraine’s east, the focus of the war is moving south.
Ukraine has used long-range artillery and rocket systems, including U.S.-supplied M142 Himars, to halt Russia’s advances in the east, and apparently limit Moscow’s ability to supply its front lines. Now, with the help of these Western weapons, Ukraine says it is mounting a counteroffensive to take back the southern port city of Kherson, the largest population center occupied by the Russians and the first city to fall. --->READ MORE HERE
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| AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File |
Even as Moscow’s war machine crawls across Ukraine’s east, trying to achieve the Kremlin’s goal of securing full control over the country’s industrial heartland, Ukrainian forces are scaling up attacks to reclaim territory in the Russian-occupied south.
The Ukrainians have used American-supplied rocket launchers to strike bridges and military infrastructure in the south, forcing Russia to divert its forces from the Donbas in the east to counter the new threat.
With the war in Ukraine now in its sixth month, the coming weeks may prove decisive.
While the bulk of Russian and Ukrainian military assets are conсentrated in the Donbas, the industrial region of mines and factories, both sides hope to make gains elsewhere.
Ukraine has vowed to drive the Russians from the territory they have seized since the start of the invasion, including the southern region of Kherson and part of the Zaporizhzhia region, while Moscow has pledged to hold on to the occupied areas and take more ground around the country.
The Donbas consists of Luhansk province, now fully controlled by Russia, and Donetsk province, about half of which is in Moscow’s hands.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov noted that by stepping up the attacks in the south, Kyiv has forced Russia to spread its forces. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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