Russia has repeatedly threatened to strike, or actually claimed to have hit, such shipments. The official said there is no evidence Russia has been successful in intercepting any of what has been a steady flow of military aid into Ukraine from the U.S. The rockets can travel about 45 miles (70 kilometers). defense official said Friday that more Ukrainian forces are training outside Ukraine to use the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and are expected back in their country with the weapons by mid-July. 24, Russian forces have shifted their focus to the Donbas, where the Ukrainian forces have fought Moscow-backed separatists since 2014.Īfter repeated requests to its Western allies for heavier weaponry to counter Russia’s edge in firepower, four medium-range American rocket launchers have arrived, with four more on the way. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.įollowing a botched attempt to capture Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in the early stage of the invasion that started Feb. In other battlefield reports, the Russian Defense Ministry declared Friday that four Ukrainian battalions and a unit of “foreign mercenaries” totaling about 2,000 soldiers have been “fully blocked” near Hirske and Zolote, south of Lysychansk. Ukrainian military analyst Oleg Zhdanov told the AP that some of the troops moving away from Sievierodonetsk are heading to the fight in Lysychansk. The governor added that a bridge leading to Lysychansk was badly damaged in a Russian airstrike and is unusable for trucks. ![]() Haidai said the Russians are also advancing toward Lysychansk - from Zolote and Toshkivka - adding that Russian reconnaissance units conducted forays on the city’s edges but its defenders drove them out. “The Russians are relentlessly shelling the Ukrainian positions, burning everything out.” “As of today, the resistance in Sievierodonetsk is continuing,” Haidai told the AP. Haidai noted that while the retreat is under way, some Ukrainian troops remain in Sievierodonetsk, facing Russian bombardment that has destroyed 80% of buildings. This will add to Ukraine’s effort to keep Russian forces pinned down longer in a small area, the official said. defense official, speaking in Washington on condition of anonymity, on Friday called the Ukrainians’ move a “tactical retrograde” to consolidate forces into positions where they can better defend themselves. The head of the regional administration, Roman Vlasenko, said the withdrawal has already begun and will take several days.Ī senior U.S. Serhiy Haidai said Ukrainian troops have been ordered to leave Sievierodonetsk to prevent bigger losses and move to better fortified positions. Much of the city’s electricity, water and communications infrastructure has been destroyed. Bridges to the city were destroyed, slowing the Ukrainian military’s ability to resupply, reinforce and evacuate the wounded and others. Russia used its numerical advantages in troops and weapons to pummel Sievierodonetsk in what has become a war of attrition, while Ukraine clamored for better and more weapons from its Western allies. The Russians and separatists also control about half of the Donetsk region, the second province in the Donbas. The two cities and surrounding areas are the last major pockets of Ukrainian resistance in the Luhansk region - 95% of which is under Russian and local separatist forces’ control. ![]() Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk have been the focal point of the Russian offensive aimed at capturing all of the Donbas and destroying the Ukrainian military defending it - the most capable and battle-hardened segment of the country’s armed forces. ![]() Many unidentified Ukrainian soldiers are being buried without their families finding their remains.
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