Russia presses, Ukraine resists: Kiev’s defense continues to suffer along the eastern front in Donetsk, where the pressure of Moscow’s forces is constant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to the eastern region to give a signal to the troops committed to stemming the constant enemy offensive.
With him was General Andriy Hnatov, newly appointed to the command of the joint forces. The objective is to support the morale of the troops, while Russian forces continue to advance and the war that exploded on February 24, 2022 with the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.
The visit, in Zelensky’s words, served for “detailed meetings on security and support for the population.” The Ukrainian president arrived in Pokrovsk, a city of around 61,000 inhabitants before the start of the conflict, two days after a Russian attack that left at least five dead and 41 injured. From here he recorded a video after celebrating the “historic day” for the start of EU accession negotiations and before today congratulating the next NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, thanking his predecessor Jens Stoltenberg for the “unwavering support ” in Kiev.
“I visited the Donetsk region with our fighters, with Commander Syrskyi and the new head of the joint forces, General Hnatov – writes the president in a post on X – I officially presented him to all those responsible for the defense of the Donetsk region “. Zelensky explains that he received “updates on the operational situation” and that he “talked about our actions” with Syrskyi and “the brigade commanders”.
In the video, the president clarified the issues addressed during the visit, not only from a military point of view, but also with regards to the population and seems to want a better response from Kiev officials who supervise the dossiers. Zelensky did not go into detail, but assured that, upon returning to the capital, he will speak with those who “must be here and in other areas close to the front line, in the difficult communities where people need immediate solutions” and added that he was “surprised to know that some haven’t been here for six months or more.”
In recent days, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda, analysts from the Ukrainian ‘DeepState’ project have reported an advance by Russian forces in the areas of Novooleksandrivka and Sokil and near Novopokrovske and Volodymyrivka. The conquest of Novooleksandrivka, highlights the Guardian, brings Russian forces closer to the road between Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka, a crucial artery for supplies for Ukrainian troops, and Moscow seems to want to exploit a strategic opportunity before Ukraine receives new military aid from West, also F-16s and tens of thousands of artillery ammunition thanks to a Czech initiative.
US Contractor in Ukraine?
With the conflict going on for over two years, according to CNN sources the Administration Biden would aim to allow the deployment of American military contractors to Ukraine in order to support Kiev’s forces in the maintenance and repairs of weapons systems. An Administration official specified that “no decisions have been made.” Then Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder underlined how “the president and the secretary” of Defense have been “clear” and “we will not send US troops to fight in Ukraine”. A fixed point, he said, that “won’t change”.
And in the last few hours Ukraine has been at the center of a telephone conversation between the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, and the Russian Defense Minister, Andrey Belousov, a conversation initiated by the United States – as explained by the Department – in the name of he importance of keeping communications open between the armies of the two countries. It was the first contact between the US and Russian defense ministers since March 15, 2023.
At the time, Sergei Shoigu was still in office in Moscow, hit in the last few hours – together with the Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov – by arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court. They are accused of ordering attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. For the Kremlin, the arrest warrants are “absurd”.
Meanwhile in Yekaterinburg, Evan Gershkovich was in the courtroom, the 32-year-old Wall Street Journal journalist who has been in prison in Russia for fifteen months, arrested on charges of espionage while he was reporting for the American newspaper. Charges rejected by Gershokovich, his newspaper and the American government which considers him illegally detained by Russia. If he is convicted he faces 20 years in prison.
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