The first appreciable victories after their withdrawal from Kherson, although “marginal”, bring the invading forces closer to Bakhmut’s strategic knot
The Russian Army announced on Wednesday its first victories of some relevance since weeks ago it began to lose control in various regions of Donbas pushed by the Ukrainian offensive. The General Staff presented as a triumph the “liberation” of three towns in the Donetsk Oblast: Belohirivka, Pershne Travna and Andriivka. However, Western analysts consider the invading advances to be “marginal” right now, hampered by a deficit of modern weapons and problems with the delivery of supplies to the front line.
Contrary to these advances, two oil tanks were destroyed this Wednesday in the Russian town of Briansk, 150 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. Although the reason for the incident was unknown last night, military sources pointed out that it could be a new sign of the intention of the Ukrainian forces to mow the grass under the feet of the occupants with the systematic destruction of supplies.
Of the three conquests in Donetsk, the most relevant is that of Andriivka, located only ten kilometers from the city of Bakhmut, which the Russians have tried to occupy practically since the beginning of the invasion due to its strategic nature. Nearby rises a network of roads leading directly to the Ukrainian strongholds of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk and, as well as the iconic city of Severodonetsk, which the Russians seized this summer and used as a symbol of the complete conquest of the Luhansk region. . Two weeks ago the authorities ordered a civil evacuation in the event that kyiv wants to recover it.
The moves appear to indicate a move of operations from Moscow to the Donetsk area following recent setbacks in the Kherson region. This seems to be underlined by the fighting that took place last night in Vodianoe, another enclave near Andriivka, within the progression of the invaders towards Bakhmut.
Nine months after the start of the war, the Kremlin also announced this Wednesday that it has completed the training of the 300,000 reservists mobilized last September. The announcement coincides with another message from the United Kingdom Government, where it reported that it will sanction some twenty Russian military commanders responsible for this recruitment.
Nigeria alerts that arms sent to kyiv have reached Chad
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari warned Wednesday that “weapons used in the war in Ukraine are beginning to leak into the region” and feed terrorists operating in the Lake Chad region. His government, in fact, has requested an increase in the deployment of security forces on the border with this basin where groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State apply their reign of terror. “This movement to the region has increased the proliferation of small arms and light, which continues to threaten collective peace and security,” Buhari warned. His complaint confirms the fears of European and US security agencies about the risk of illicit trafficking in weapons exported by the West to Ukraine.
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