The situation at a glance: Russian troops are advancing into eastern Ukraine

The situation at a glance: Russian troops are advancing into eastern Ukraine

The situation at a glance
Russian troops are advancing into eastern Ukraine






There is fierce fighting in Ukraine, and Russia’s air strikes are not letting up. Both sides are waiting for the new US president. A certain character trait of Donald Trump causes both concern and hope.

Russian troops continue to suffer heavy losses in eastern Ukraine, but are continuing to advance steadily in the new year. According to military observers, the Ukrainian defenders had to give up three more villages near the town of Pokrovsk in Donbass, which has been fought over for months.

The Ukrainian military blog “DeepState” named the towns of Dachenske, Novy Trud and Vovkove a few kilometers south of Pokrovsk. The blog “Liveuamap” painted a similar picture, while the General Staff’s official situation report for Friday evening described Novyj Trud as still being contested.

According to Ukrainian military information, the Russian army lost more than 300 soldiers killed or wounded on the Pokrovsk sector of the front on Friday alone. Such information cannot be verified in detail and the leadership in Moscow remains silent or spreads figures that are hardly believed. However, all data from the past few months indicate high Russian losses in soldiers and technology.

Russians are close to the Dnipropetrovsk region

Nevertheless, the advance continues. The Russian army has recently switched to no longer attacking the mining and industrial city of Pokrovsk head-on, but instead bypassing it in the south. The Russians are about to reach the border of the Ukrainian Dnipropetrovsk region. This has been spared from ground battles since the war began in 2022. The invaders are getting closer and closer to the goal of actually bringing the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which were declared annexed, under control.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the Russians’ continued advances in eastern Ukraine. In a television interview, he attributed it primarily to the Ukrainian army’s lack of reserves. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that there is front stabilization in January,” he said.

Heavy Russian air strikes

Russia attacked Ukraine with more than 20 missiles and around 300 combat drones in the first three days of the new year, Zelenskyj wrote on the social network X on Friday evening. There were fatalities and injuries. “This Russian terror, which continues with no letup in intensity, requires us and all our partners not to let up in building up our air defense,” Zelensky wrote. He announced further talks with foreign supporters next week.

On Friday, the Russian air strikes, which were usually concentrated at night, continued for most of the day. After drone attacks in the morning near the capital Kiev that left one dead and several injured, three ballistic missiles hit Chernihiv in the afternoon. In the large city about 150 kilometers north of Kiev, one civilian was killed and four were injured, regional governor Vyacheslav Tschaus announced.

Mayor Dmytro Bryshynskyj spoke of three impacts on the outskirts of the city, which had almost 300,000 inhabitants before the war. Two residential buildings were damaged. Other cities were also shelled. The Air Force said 3 guided missiles and 19 of 32 drones were intercepted.

Hope for Trump’s unpredictability

Despite all considerations about a way out of the war that has been going on for almost three years, Ukraine and Russia are currently waiting for the future US President Donald Trump to take office on January 20th. There is great fear in Kiev and among foreign partners that the Republican could reduce military aid and force Ukraine to negotiate.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyj wondered whether Trump’s much-cited unpredictability could tip the balance in his country’s favor. “I think he is strong and unpredictable. I would very much like President Trump’s unpredictability to affect primarily the Russian Federation side,” the head of state said in an interview broadcast on Ukrainian television.

Zelensky assumes that Trump is really interested in a peace agreement and that Russian head of state Vladimir Putin fears the future US president, although there is little evidence of the latter. Zelensky also devoted part of his New Year’s address to asking Washington not to let up on its support for Ukraine.

dpa

Source: Stern

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