Russia's regular army is now also able to deploy many of the 300,000 or more men enlisted in a forced mobilisation late last year.īritain's Defence Ministry said Wagner forces appeared to have advanced 2 to 3 kilometres (1 to 2 miles) around the north of Bakhmut since Tuesday - a rapid push in a battle where front lines have barely moved for months. Their troops include the Wagner private army that has recruited tens of thousands of convicts with a promise of pardons. Moscow's main recent focus has been Bakhmut, a small city from which most of the pre-war population of around 70,000 has fled, and the Ukranian military said it and surrounding areas had come under fresh tank, mortar and artillery fire.Īfter months of static artillery battles both sides call the "meat grinder", Russian forces have begun to encircle the city. The complete capture of those provinces, among four Russia subsequently claimed to have annexed, would let Putin assert that one of his main priorities had been achieved. 21, the date last year when he recognised as independent the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk that were controlled by Russian-backed separatists, a prelude to invading. Putin will give his delayed annual showcase address to parliament on Feb. Ukrainian governors in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk said that thrust had begun. Ukraine has been bracing for a new Russian offensive, believing that after months of reverses President Vladimir Putin wants to tout a battlefield success before the anniversary of his Feb. Russia denies targeting civilians and says it targets Kyiv's war effort. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said. "This is a deliberate targeting of infrastructure that keeps Ukrainians alive in winter," U.S. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine was without 44% of nuclear generation and 75% of thermal power capacity. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 10 Russian missiles had been shot down over the capital after sirens blared during the morning rush hour and weary civilians took shelter. The barrages have often followed Ukrainian diplomatic or battlefield advances. Russia has repeatedly attacked civilian infrastructure far from the front lines, leaving millions of Ukrainians without power, heat or water for days at a time in the middle of winter. "This concerns long-range missiles and tanks and the next level of our cooperation - fighter aircraft." There are very important understandings and we received good signals," he said in his nightly video address. "London, Paris, Brussels - everywhere I spoke these past few days about how to strengthen our soldiers. The latest Russian attacks came as Zelenskiy ended a tour of European allies where he was enthusiastically received but secured no public promises of the fighter jets he sought. Moody's website said the rating means debt obligations are "likely in, or very near, default." Global ratings agency Moody's on Friday downgraded Ukraine's sovereign rating to Ca as it expects the war with Russia to create long-lasting challenges for the country. International Monetary Fund staff will meet with Ukrainian officials in Warsaw next week, a source familiar with the plans said on Friday, as Ukraine presses for a multi-billion dollar borrowing program to cover its funding needs given Russia's war. "The president will make it very clear that the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," said John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
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