| Translate This News In |
|---|
Russia has ordered mercenaries to hold sectors of the Ukrainian lines, indicating a lack of combat soldiers, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence on Friday, as Kyiv ramps up its counter-offensive in the south.
Increased dependence on contracted fighters from the Russian private military company Wagner Group for frontline duty rather than their customary work in special operations would be another indication that Russia’s military is under strain six months into its war in Ukraine.
The British defence ministry, however, stated in an intelligence assessment that Wagner mercenaries were unlikely to compensate for the loss of conventional infantry forces or change the course of Russia’s invasion.
“This is a substantial difference from the group’s prior employment since 2015, when it normally executed tasks distinct from overt, large-scale regular Russian military activities,” the ministry wrote on Twitter.
Outside of regular business hours, Wagner and the Kremlin were not immediately accessible for comment.
Sources in Kyiv stated on Wednesday that they had seen a “huge relocation” of Russian forces to the south, where British defence officials believe Russia’s 49th Army, stationed on the west bank of the Dnipro River, is vulnerable.
According to British intelligence, the southern city of Kherson, which is crucial to Russia’s overland supply lines from Russian-annexed Crimea, is now virtually shut off from the other territories held by Russia.
The Kherson region fell to Russian forces shortly after they launched what Moscow terms a “special military operation” on February 24. Ukraine describes Russia’s invasion as an imperial-style conquering war.
In recent weeks, the Ukrainian military has severely damaged three bridges across the Dnipro, making it more difficult for Russia to supply its men on the western bank.
On Thursday, Ukraine said its jets attacked five Russian outposts near Kherson and another adjacent city as part of its largest counter-offensive of the conflict.
On Thursday, Russia bombarded the environs of Kyiv for the first time in weeks. According to regional Governor Oleksiy Kuleba on Telegram, missiles targeted military sites in the Vyshhorod area on the outskirts of the capital, injuring fifteen persons.
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and visiting Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda addressed parliament, air raid sirens blared.
The onslaught destroyed the sense of normalcy that had returned to Kyiv after Russian forces abandoned attempts to conquer the city in the early weeks of the war due to robust Ukrainian opposition.
Eastern Front
Ukraine’s counter-attacks in the south come as Russia continues to fight for control of the entire industrialised Donbas region in the east, which includes the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Russian military shelled the village of Bakhmut four times on Thursday, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko stated on Telegram. According to him, at least three individuals were killed and three were injured.
As the battle raged on, international efforts to restore Ukrainian ports and allow grain and other supplies to be exported continued.
Allowing grain supplies from Ukraine safe passage should alleviate shortages that have left tens of millions of people around the world facing rising food prices and starvation.
Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement last week to resume grain deliveries from Black Sea ports, but United Nations assistance head Martin Griffiths said “crucial” arrangements for vessel safety were still being worked out.
Griffiths expected the first grain shipment from a Ukrainian Black Sea port to arrive as early as Friday.
