Local officials said the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine was facing heavy artillery fire. Local military leaders said the Ukrainian defenders of the city, which had been resisting for months, are preparing for new and anticipated ground attacks. “The city, the suburbs of the city, the whole environment, and indeed the whole direction between Bakhmut and Kostyantynivka are under crazy and chaotic bombardment,” said Volodymyr Nazarenko, deputy commander of the Ukrainian Svoboda battalion.
The Ukrainian army also reported that 16 settlements near Bakhmut were bombed. The capture of the city will give Russia a new foothold in the Donetsk region and will constitute a rare victory after months of failure.
If the first phase of the all-out invasion of Russia resulted in a rout for Putin’s forces – if they were repulsed from the north, then from the Kharkiv region in September, and then again in November from Kherson in the northern Kherson region and west of the Dnieper – IThe second phase was an attempt at a war of attrition in which thousands of Russian mercenaries and convicts were sacrificed for minor territorial gains around the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar, with mass rocket attacks on power plants, electricity transmission infrastructure and water systems. One started with the new offensive against Donbass According to analysts, the third phase of the war could lead to an all-out war not seen in Europe since the Second World War.
LDara Masicot, a former Pentagon analyst, says Russia’s ability to sustain large-scale offensive maneuvers right now will be “really tested”. “They tried last year and it didn’t go well and the forces they left on the field are not that professional and the equipment is not that good.” However Even poorly managed, poorly equipped and poorly trained troops can be overwhelming if they are in sufficient numbers. According to various analysts, Ukraine will seek to attack wherever it deems the Russian lines weaker and more fragile, and this could be primarily in the east, in the Luhansk region, where enemy troops are more exhausted and demoralized. However, other analysts agree completely on one thing: the Kremlin can afford to throw enormous numbers of people into war and inflict enormous losses without real large-scale social consequences. But how long can it last? There is no certainty about this.
Meanwhile, NATO defense ministers will meet in Brussels today to strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and reaffirm and intensify support for Ukraine. Ahead of the meeting, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted the urgency of providing key capabilities to Kiev before Russia takes the lead in another major offensive on land. “Almost a year after the invasion, President Putin is not preparing for peace. He is launching new attacks. Therefore, we must continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to win. To achieve a just and sustainable peace,” he said. NATO leader.
In Brussels will also be Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who will attend both the American-led Ukraine Contact Group meeting and his meeting with NATO ministers. Talking about a real “logistics competition”, Stoltenberg said, “Together we will address the urgent needs of Ukraine.” He stressed that key capabilities such as ammunition, fuel and spare parts “must reach Ukraine before Russia takes the lead on the battlefield”. “Speed will save lives.” The secretary-general applauded all allies who had recently promised to provide “new tanks, artillery and training” to Kiev. “I look forward to more deliveries,” he said. The question of warriors, loudly demanded by President Volodymyr Zelensky, is more complex. If NATO were to send aircraft to create a ‘no-fly zone’ over Ukraine, it would be a direct intervention in this conflict and we will not do that,” he said, adding: “Our message is clear. “NATO stands by Ukraine as long as necessary,” he said.
Allies will also take decisions to further strengthen the deterrence and defense of the transatlantic bloc. “We’ve done a lot so far. The aim is to secure the right strengths and capabilities over the long term,” said the secretary general. In this context, Stoltenberg expects Allies to agree on new guidelines for the Alliance’s defense planning, as well as focus on ways to increase defense industry capacity and replenish Allied stockpiles. On the other hand, the NATO leader said, “The war in Ukraine is depleting enormous amounts of ammunition and depleting allied stockpiles.” “Ukraine’s current ammunition expenditure rate is many times higher than NATO’s production rate. This puts a strain on our defense industry.”
Europe, which is short of ammunition, is considering joint purchases to replenish stocks.
The protection of critical submarine infrastructures is also on the agenda of the summit. NATO has been working on this for years. “We decided to set up a new coordination cell at Alliance headquarters to map our weaknesses and engage with the industry,” Stoltenberg said. “This will support our efforts to prevent and counter threats to critical infrastructure, including undersea cables and pipelines.” In short, a work that will have to “clear the way for the Vilnius Summit” scheduled for July. The secretary-general said it would serve “to keep our people safe in a more dangerous world.”
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
