Russia has carried out incursions near two key cities for the supply routes of the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said on Wednesday, in the context of Moscow looking for a breach at the summer offensive, at a time of uncertainty about US support for Kiev, reports Reuters.
In recent weeks, Russia has massaged troops and, despite heavy losses, has advanced in rural areas on the flanks of Pokrovsk and KostiantiNivka, both located at important road intersections that connect the front line to the big cities under Ukrainian control.
Russia's advances on the front are accompanied by an intensification of drones and rocket attacks on Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, in the context of Washington's support for Ukraine's war effort is increasing.
So far, the efforts of US President Donald Trump have failed to gain a ceasefire and his special conflict -resolution emissary, General Keith Kellog, accused Moscow earlier this week of “delaying” negotiations. “” No one delays anything here, “the Kremlin replied.
One of the objectives of the Russian offensive is the full occupation of the Donetk region. Viktor Trehubov, spokesman for the “Khortytsia” group of forces within the Ukrainian army, said the Russian army is currently using small assault groups, light vehicles and drones to advance to the neighboring region.
“There are constant attacks in order to force a penetration” to the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region at any price, Trehubov said in comments for Reuters.
Ukraine states that Russians have massaged over 100,000 military on a single front
General Oleksandr Sîrski, the chief commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, said last week that Russia has 111,000 soldiers in the Pokrovsk area, which he has been trying to conquer since the beginning of 2024.
Jack Watling, a military analyst at the British Royal Services Institute (Russian) thinks, says Washington's decision to suspend deliveries of armament categories, including high-precision rocket artillery, will aggravate the situation on the front for Ukrainian troops.
“The loss of these deliveries will significantly reduce Ukraine's ability to hit Russian forces more than 30 km from the front line and will therefore allow Russia to improve its logistics,” Watling said.
US military aid were put on break
The White House confirmed on Wednesday that it had suspended some armament deliveries to Ukraine, after the information was initially transmitted by the American media “on sources”.
“This decision was made to put America's interests on the forefront”, following an analysis of the Defense Department on “the support and assistance provided by the US Army to other countries around the world,” said Anna Kelly, one of the White House spokes.
The new decision came after the US had not approved any new military assistance package for Ukraine after Trump's investment, as The Kyiv Independent Since mid -June.
“If the US military aid stops, this would significantly affect Ukraine's capabilities, but the impact would be gradually, not instantly, because there are stocks and it would try to solve problems by alternative methods,” said military analyst Emil Kastehelmi for the Ukrainian publication.
“The effect would be a constant degradation of the capacities, but the final result would depend on the reaction of Europe and the efforts to remedy the most critical problems,” added the Finnish military analyst.
A “strategic and logistical regress” for the Ukrainian army
The Ukrainian blog, which uses data from open sources to map the front line, now reports that the Russian army has captured 556 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in June, considered the largest monthly loss of territory since November.
The Russian forces, which have numerical superiority, cut in May the main road that connects Pokrovsk to Kostantiacka, complicating Ukraine's movements and efforts.
“The Russian advance is under control, but the fact that they have crossed the Pokrovsk-KostiantiVka highway is a strategic and logistical regress,” said Trehubov.
The heavy losses suffered by the Russian troops prevented their advancement to Kostiantivka through the Ceasov and along the western front in the Pokrovsk area. “Now he is trying to advance further from the inhabited areas,” Trehubov added.
Deeptate also reported that the Russian advances in June, near Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka, represented more than half of the total territorial gains of Russia on the entire line of the Ukraine.
Trehubov said that Pokrovsk and KostiantiVka remain important logistics centers for Ukraine, despite the difficulties and activity of drones that reduce the efficiency of defensive fortifications.
“(Drones) make logistics difficult on both sides, but they do not make it impossible. The drones, after all, are not invulnerable,” he said.
