Two tactical battalions had been transferred to the city of Izyum, the Ukrainian General Staff announced on Facebook on Wednesday. In addition, two more missile divisions have been set up in the Russian border region of Belgorod. Russia, meanwhile, reported the destruction of a “large amount” of western weapons in Ukraine.
Russia claims to have destroyed Western weapons
The weapons supplied to Ukraine by the US and European countries are said to have been destroyed in a missile attack in south-eastern Ukraine. “Using high-precision, long-range Kalibr sea-based missiles, hangars with a large load of foreign arms and ammunition were destroyed at the Zaporizhia aluminum combine,” Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. The weapons came from the US and Europe, he added. The information has not yet been verified. The regional administration of Zaporizhia denied the Russian information: “No ammunition or weapons depots were hit,” and the affected factory was “not in operation for six years.” On Tuesday, the Ukrainian authorities reported rocket hits on a company in Zaporizhia without further details.
According to Konashenkov, since Tuesday the Russian air force has carried out 59 airstrikes against military objects in Ukraine, while artillery and missile forces have shelled 573 targets. In addition to troop concentrations and positions for artillery, air defense and rocket launchers, ammunition depots were also destroyed, said the major general. He also reported the alleged shooting down of two Bayraktar drones.
Russian troops were able to take terrain in Kharkiv
According to the Ukrainian situation report, the Russian troops were able to gain some ground in the north-eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv. South of Izyum they captured the village of Zavody and advanced to the northern outskirts of the village of Velyka Komyshuvah. Both places are already on the southern side of the river Severskyi Donets, which the troops have crossed with it. The further advance of the Russian troops towards the south is aimed at encircling the Ukrainian troops in the Donbass.
Fierce fighting for Donetsk
There was also fierce fighting on the front line around Donetsk. Russian troops launched attacks in the direction of Sieverodonetsk, Popasna, Kurakhove and Liman, capturing the towns of Zarichne and Novotoshkivske, the Ukrainian General Staff said. The bombing of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol is also continuing. There have been few changes in southern Ukraine: the Russians have regrouped troops there and strengthened their positions, they say.
The Ukrainian army also reported bombing Russian positions on Snake Island, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. On the island in the Black Sea, a Russian checkpoint was hit and an air defense system destroyed, the army reported on its Facebook page on Tuesday evening. There was initially no confirmation of the attack from the Russian side.
Meanwhile, Russian officials reported that there had been another shelling in the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine. This time the village of Zhuravlevka was hit; At least two people were injured, said the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, on Monday in his channel on the Telegram social network. The region, which according to the authorities has been shelled several times, borders on the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.
Presidential adviser agrees to long war
Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych, meanwhile, prepared the Ukrainians for a war that could possibly last into the coming year. “The end of the active phase in Donbass does not mean the end of the war. There will continue to be tactical actions, airstrikes, war. It’s a long story and it could be very long, going into the New Year,” Arestovych said on Tuesday according to the Ukrainian agency Ukrinform. He pointed out that Western arms shipments will not have a significant impact on the battlefield until “late May or early June (…)”.
Source: Nachrichten
