A few days after the start of the war in Ukraine, the invasion is stalled and everything points to the fierce and courageous resistance that Russian troops have encountered, along with the weapons that the West has provided to Ukraine – such as surface-to-air missiles – will prevent the swift Russian victory that Vladimir Putin predicted.
According to a military intelligence report posted this week on Twitter by the British Ministry of Defence, Russian forces have made minimal progress by land, sea or air in recent days and continue to suffer heavy losses.
The report highlights that the Ukrainian resistance remains firm and well coordinated and the vast majority of the Ukrainian territory, including the main cities, remain in their hands. “It has failed (the Russian army), to date, when it comes to achieving its original objectives” because “it has been surprised by the magnitude and ferocity of the Ukrainian resistance,” says the British part.
In the document, Defense also reveals that the invading Russian forces are having “problems” in overcoming the “challenges” posed by that country and in making progress. According to data handled by the British Ministry of Defense, Russia’s advance in Ukraine has been “blocked” by a lack of maneuverability, which has been “expertly exploited” by Ukrainian forces.
attrition strategy
According to the military intelligence report, “Ukrainian forces around kyiv and Mikolaiv continue to thwart Russian attempts to encircle the cities. The cities of Kharkov, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol continue to be surrounded and are subject to heavy Russian bombardment,” the document states.
What is coming, adds British intelligence in the last part published yesterday on Twitter, is a “attrition strategy” with which Russia will seek to hit the largest cities to try to break the population. The Russian army has been “forced” to vary its operational approach and is now pursuing a “strategy of attrition”, indicated the British Ministry of Defense, which considers that “this will probably involve the indiscriminate use of fire, resulting in a increase in civilian casualties, the destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure and the intensification of the humanitarian crisis”.
The Russian army has been ‘forced’ to vary its operational approach and is now pursuing an ‘attrition strategy’,
The confirmation of this Russian operational change seems to be confirmed in recent days with the siege of several Ukrainian cities that have left dozens of dead, among soldiers and civilians, mainly in Mariupol, where the Russian army almost completely destroyed the Azovstal metallurgical plant, one of the largest in Europe, Likewise, Friday’s attack on a barracks in Mikolaiv (south), which left dozens dead, and the revelation of the Russian army of having used, for the first time, hypersonic missiles, which destroyed an important Underground depot for missiles and ammunition of the Ukrainian aviation in the town of Deliatin.
Russian air strikes intensified yesterday at a dizzying pace in Mikolaiv), regional governor Vitali Klim reported. “We were not able to give the alert: when we announce a wave, it has already arrived. The (alert) message and the bombings come at the same time,” Klim said on social media.
As for the bombing of the barracks, the estimates of the witnesses present variations. “No less than 200 soldiers slept in the barracks,” said a 22-year-old soldier, who came from another post. “At least 50 bodies have been removed, but we don’t know how many are left under the rubble,” he added. Another soldier estimated that the balance of this attack could be a hundred dead. The Russians “cowardly fired missiles at sleeping soldiers. Rescue operations are continuing,” Governor Klim said.
The humanitarian tragedy
A balance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released on Friday said that at least 847 civilians have died and some 1,399 have been injured as a result of Russian attacks since the invasion began.
Precisely to protest the bombings that are affecting civilians, especially children, such as the one that occurred at the Mariupol theatre, a protest was held yesterday in the city of Lviven, in the historic Ploshcha Rynok, the old Market Square, declared in 1998 by UNESCO historical heritage of humanity.
During the demonstration, 112 empty baby strollers (the number of minors who have died so far) were placed on six rows, as a powerful message to the world rejecting the massacre of innocents that has been ongoing since the beginning of the invasion. On the same day, four missiles fell near the city’s airport area, considered until recently one of the few “safe” areas in Ukraine.
A balance of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, released on Friday, said that at least 847 civilians have died and some 1,399 have been injured since the invasion began.
The humanitarian tragedy in Ukraine is not just about the number of victims. The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, announced an assistance program for the thousands of displaced persons and refugees due to the invasion and accused Moscow of preventing the arrival of humanitarian aid to the cities besieged by its troops.
With 3.3 million refugees in three weeks of war, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is already the “biggest crisis in history” that the European Union has been trying to alleviate since it created its humanitarian aid system more than twenty years ago. .
Since the aggression began, the Government of Ukraine has requested food, first aid material for children, medicine and medical equipment, including ambulances, shelter facilities and gasoline. Humanitarian aid agencies do the impossible to reach the besieged cities, where there are thousands of people trapped in urgent need of assistance, explained officials of the World Food Program (WFP).
‘Catastrophic’ situation
“The challenge is to reach the cities that are surrounded or about to be surrounded,” Jakob Kern, WFP’s emergency coordinator for the crisis in Ukraine, told AFP. The situation is “catastrophic,” he stressed. The lack of humanitarian access makes it impossible to deliver emergency food aid to the fenced-off port of Mariupol and the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy. It is a “siege” tactic that is “unacceptable in the 21st century,” Kern said.
The EU countries, together with Norway and Turkey -which also provide support- have offered close to 100 million euros in material and another 93 million in humanitarian aid so that the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and various NGOs buy the necessary equipment. A great challenge, due to the insecurity on the ground. Delivery is especially difficult in eastern Ukraine, where there are restrictions on access for organizations, especially in cities such as Mariupol or Kharkov, which are suffering the heaviest Russian bombardment.
Yesterday, the British Ministry of Defense indicated in a tweet that the number of refugees “will continue to increase as a result of continued Russian aggression.” The report suggests that “incessant” Ukrainian counterattacks are forcing Russia to divert large numbers of troops to defend its own defensive supply lines. “That still greatly limits the potential Russian offensive,” he added.
TIME*
* With information from EFE, AFP and LA NACIÓN (ARGENTINA)
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