The battle in Ukraine has largely become an artillery battle as Ukrainian forces have frustrated Russian efforts to capture territory in the eastern part of the country, a senior US Department of Defense official said Friday.
Ukrainian artillery, supported by nearly 90 US howitzer guns, has prevented Russian troops from crossing the Donets River, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe developments on the battlefield. The failure of Russian troops to cross the river prevents them from consolidating their forces in Ukraine’s northern Donbas region.
All but one of the 90 US M777 howitzers are in Ukraine, and Ukrainian soldiers report that the guns have been effective in attacking Russian positions, the official said.
Elsewhere, the Russians have made incremental gains, but nothing considered significant, the official said. The Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine appears to be at least two weeks behind schedule.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov admitted on Friday that the war with Russia had entered “a new, long phase”.
“To win it, we must carefully plan resources, avoid mistakes and project our strength so that the enemy eventually breaks,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
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Latest developments:
Russian shelling has killed a civilian and injured 12 more in the eastern Donetsk region of the Donbas, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Friday.
►President Joe Biden spoke with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on Friday as the two Nordic countries weigh up whether to join NATO.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, said Friday that the bloc plans to give Ukraine nearly EUR 500 million or USD 520 million for heavy weapons.
►The British government said Friday it was adding the ex-wife and alleged girlfriend of Russian President Vladimir Putin to its list of Russian individuals and entities facing economic sanctions.
►WNBA star Brittney Griner extended her detention in Russia for another month on Friday, her lawyer said. Griner has been arrested for allegedly holding cannabis oil vape cartridges, but US officials say she was “unjustly detained”.
►About 3,000 Mariupol civilians are being held in prisons controlled by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern region of Donetsk, Ukraine’s human rights chief said. Lyudmyla Denysova said officials are aware of at least two de facto prisons.
Ukrainian troops set out at Mariupol steel plant, determined to hold out
The deputy commander of the Azov regiment, the last Ukrainian army unit to hold out in the devastated port of Mariupol, said on Friday that his troops will resist Moscow’s forces “as long as they can” despite shortages of ammunition, food, water. and medicines. †
During an online session of the Kiev Security Forum, Sviatoslav Palamar said Russian troops continue to storm the Azovstal steelworks, the last stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, where his troops are huddled.
“We continue to resist and follow the orders of our high-ranking political leaders to hold the defence. We hold the defense and keep fighting despite everything,” he said.
Speaking to a panel including U.S. Generals Philip M. Breedlove and Wesley K. Clark, Palamar called on the U.S. to assist in the evacuation of approximately 600 wounded soldiers from the Azovstal plant and to help the rest of the Ukrainian troops to help them recover.
Members of the Azov regiment holed up in the factory have repeatedly refused to surrender to Moscow, fearing being killed or tortured.
US Secretary of Defense meets with Russian counterpart
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met his Russian counterpart for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday, the Pentagon said.
Austin, who had not had a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu since Feb. 18, “pressed for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and stressed the importance of maintaining lines of communication,” a Pentagon spokesman said. . John Kirby said in a statement.
The conversation lasted about an hour. A U.S. Department of Defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the war’s developments said the Pentagon had been in touch with Russia’s defense secretary since their last phone call. It’s unclear why Shoigu chose to take Friday’s call.
Russian soldier faces conflict’s first war crime trial
A Russian soldier accused of killing a civilian appeared in a Kiev courtroom on Friday in what is the first trial for an alleged war crime since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergeant Vadim Shyshimarin, 21, allegedly shot a 62-year-old man in the head in the northeastern village of Chupakhivka in the first week of the war. The member of the Russian tank unit faces life imprisonment under Ukrainian law.
Lawyers and judges briefly discussed procedural matters on Friday. Defense attorney Victor Ovsyanikov said the court would decide what evidence will be allowed in the trial, but added that the case against the Russian soldier is strong.
Since the invasion began in February, more than 10,700 possible war crimes have been investigated by Ukrainian Attorney General Iryna Venediktova. According to her office, there are more than 600 suspects, including Russian soldiers and government officials.
Swedish report shows costs and benefits of NATO membership
A Swedish government report on its potential NATO membership lists Russian cyber-attacks as one of many aggressive actions the country could face if it joins the military alliance.
The report released Friday comes as the Scandinavian country considers whether to join NATO and its neighbour Finland said this week it wanted to be part of the military alliance.
The Swedish report pointed to the security benefits of NATO membership, but also said the country could be subject to hybrid attacks and violations of its airspace or waters.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister: We are still open to talks with Russia
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday that his country is still willing to negotiate with Russia blocked grain supplies and a diplomatic solution to end the war.
Kuleba made the comments in Germany, where top diplomats from the Group of Seven meet. Kiev has received “no positive feedback” from Moscow, which “prefers wars to talks,” Kuleba said.
“We are ready to talk, but we are ready for a meaningful conversation based on mutual respect, not on the Russian ultimatums being thrown on the table,” he added.
Nearly 100 Ukrainian children killed in April
UNICEF almost said on Thursday: 100 Ukrainian children were killed in April alone, and the humanitarian agency estimates the death toll is likely much higher.
Omar Abdi, deputy director of UNICEF, said earlier this week that hundreds of schools in Ukraine have been bombed by Russian forces. “In Ukraine, education is also being attacked today,” Abdi said.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian troops continued the attack on Ukrainian education on Thursday evening, attacking schools in the Chernihiv region.
Millions of children have been displaced by the war and the United Nations estimates that 6 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the invasion began in February.
Ukrainian army blocks Russian column trying to cross river
Russian attacks in multiple eastern Ukrainian villages were not all successful, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in an operational update on Friday.
Villages were attacked near Donetsk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Kurakhiv, and artillery was also fired at Ukrainian troops near Novopavlovsk and Zaporizhzhya, the general staff said. Bombing of the Azovstal steel factory in the besieged city if Mariupol continues, the Ukrainian army said.
According to the assessment of British defense officials, Russian forces have not made significant progress in eastern Ukraine lately. Russian troops also suffered heavy losses when a column tried to cross the Siverskyi Donets River, west of Severodonetsk, on a pontoon bridge, the British Defense Ministry said.
“Crossing rivers in a contentious environment is a very risky maneuver and speaks to the pressure Russian commanders face to make progress in their operations in eastern Ukraine,” British officials said in a daily intelligence update. .
Russian army damaged more than 500 medical facilities, says Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday evening that the Russian military has damaged 570 medical facilities and completely destroyed 101 hospitals since the war started in February.
“They are cowards and they are trying to hide the truth behind missiles, air strikes and artillery shelling,” Zelenskyy said in a nightly video address to the nation. “Therefore, our job is to fight until we achieve our goals in this war: to liberate our country, our people, and ensure our safety.”
Zelenskyy also said Russian forces hit the Chernihiv region and hit schools and condemned what he suggested were senseless attacks on the refinery in the central Ukrainian industrial center of Kremenchuk, on the Zaporizhzhya region and the Donbas.
Contributions: The Associated Press