British intelligence sees mixed progress in recent Ukraine-Russia fighting
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Ukrainian troops at the front line south of Bakhmut, where they have been reported to have gained more ground.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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LONDON – Britain’s government on Saturday described mixed progress for Ukrainian and Russian forces fighting in southern and eastern Ukraine over the past 48 hours.
“In some areas, Ukrainian forces have likely made good progress and penetrated the first line of Russian defences. In others, Ukrainian progress has been slower,” Britain’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
Kyiv said there had been heavy fighting in the eastern region of Donetsk on Friday.
Counter-attacking Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 1.4km at a number of sections of the front line near the eastern city of Bakhmut in the past day, a military spokesman said on Saturday.
The advance is the latest in a series of similar gains reported this week by Kyiv near Bakhmut, which Russia said it had fully captured in May after the bloodiest and longest battle since it began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“We’re trying... to conduct strikes on the enemy. We’re counter-attacking. We’ve managed to advance up to 1,400m on various sections of the front,” the spokesman for the eastern military command said, when asked about fighting near Bakhmut.
Mr Serhiy Cherevaty, the official, said in televised comments that Russian forces were themselves trying to counterattack but that they had not been successful.
Ukrainian forces, he said, had inflicted heavy Russian troop casualties and destroyed military hardware in the area.
Russia, on the other hand, said Ukraine’s counter-offensive has failed so far. Ukraine has not said the counter-offensive has actually begun – nor is it likely to – although the consensus among military analysts seems to be that it has.
With virtually no independent reporting from the front lines and Kyiv saying little, it was impossible to assess whether Ukraine was penetrating Russian defences in its bid to drive out occupying forces.
“Russian performance has been mixed,” the statement from the British government said on Saturday.
“Some units are likely conducting credible manoeuvre defence operations while others have pulled back in some disorder, amid increased reports of Russian casualties as they withdraw through their own minefields.”
The counter-offensive is ultimately expected to involve thousands of Ukrainian troops trained and equipped by the West.
The United States announced an extra US$2.1 billion (S$2.8 billion) in security assistance
Russia, which has had months to prepare its defensive lines, says it has repelled attacks since the start of the week.
Kyiv has said its main effort has yet to begin. REUTERS
