Russia has deployed around 97% of its troops as it tries to step up its offensive in eastern Ukraine — but it still lacks the manpower to “punch through” Kyiv’s defenses. a top British military official said Wednesday.
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC that Russia had yet to make a breakthrough in the eastern region of Ukraine despite its advances.
“We haven’t actually seen this massing of a single force to punch through in a big offensive. We’ve just seen an effort to advance, and that has come at a huge cost to the Russian army,” he said.
“We now estimate 97% of the Russian army, the whole Russian army, is now in Ukraine.”
Ukraine has been looking to build up its forces in time for a Russian counteroffensive, which Western officials expect Moscow to launch sometime this spring.
Wallace noted helping Ukraine defeat Russia will strengthen the rest of Europe’s security --->READ MORE HERE
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| AP Photo/Libkos |
Russian forces claimed some battlefield success Wednesday as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine labored to gain momentum almost a year after it began, while Ukraine said it needs another few months to stage its own offensive.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops broke through two Ukrainian defensive lines in the eastern Luhansk region and pushed back Ukrainian troops some three kilometers (two miles), forcing them to leave behind equipment and the bodies of those killed.
It was not possible to independently verify Moscow’s claim. Ukrainian official s made no immediate comment.
Russian artillery, drones and missiles have relentlessly pounded Ukrainian-held areas in the country’s east for months, indiscriminately hitting civilian targets and wreaking destruction, as the war largely slowed to a grinding stalemate in the winter. Moscow is hungry for some progress after months of setbacks.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said his country’s forces would need “a few months” to learn how to use new Western weapons before they can try and push the Russians out of Ukraine.
The Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which together make up the industrial Donbas region bordering Russia, continue to bear the brunt of Russia’s bombardments as Moscow reportedly moves more troops into the area. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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