War against Ukraine: this is the situation
According to Kiev, Russia is attempting to force a military success with intensified attacks near the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk. On Tuesday evening, the Ukrainian General Staff reported a large number of Russian attacks near Avdiivka and Mariinka. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi saw a connection with the upcoming presidential election in Russia in 2024. Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin was keen to be able to demonstrate a success beforehand, he said in Kiev.
At the same time, the Ukrainian leadership commented for the first time on a bridgehead on the southern bank of the Dnipro River near Kherson, which is actually occupied by Russia. Ukraine has been fending off a large-scale Russian invasion with Western help for almost 21 months. On Wednesday, the Ukrainian military marked the 630th day of war. As an important part of the support, Germany has trained around 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers during this time, according to Bundeswehr figures.
Dozens of Russian attacks near Donetsk
There were 57 battles along the entire front, the General Staff wrote in its situation report in the evening. Ukraine had repelled 18 attacks alone near the towns of Marjinka and Novomychaylivka to the west of Donetsk. A further 15 attacks were repelled near the town of Avdiivka in the north of Donetsk, it said.
With a population of just under one million, Donetsk is the center of the eastern Ukrainian coal and steel region of Donbass and has been in the hands of Russian-controlled forces since 2014. Since then, the front line has run close to the city; the Ukrainian army maintains heavily fortified positions there. As a result, the front line has hardly changed since the large-scale Russian invasion began in 2022.
In recent weeks, the Russian army has stepped up its attacks in the Donetsk region. Even if the losses of soldiers and vehicles are high, the number of attackers is putting pressure on the Ukrainian defenders.
Selenskyj: Putin needs success for his candidacy
In his video address, Zelenskyi said that Kremlin boss Putin was cynically pursuing a political goal with the battles near Donetsk. "He is prepared to kill an unlimited number of his people in order to be able to show at least one tactical success in the first half of December. Namely when he wants to announce his elections."
In these battles, Russia is losing soldiers and technology even faster than in the long battle for Bachmut last winter. "It is extremely difficult to withstand this pressure," said Selenskyj and thanked his soldiers. The more Russian forces are destroyed near Avdiivka, the more difficult the situation becomes for the enemy.
Presidential elections will be held in Russia next March, for which the Kremlin is already making preparations. Putin has not yet officially declared his renewed candidacy. According to the Kremlin, he plans to meet with representatives of the Central Election Commission on Wednesday.
Ukrainian bridgehead on the Dnipro is being expanded
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed a bridgehead on the actually Russian-occupied southern bank of the Dnipro in the Kherson region. "Against all odds, the Ukrainian armed forces have gained a foothold on the left bank of the Dnipro," said Jermak during a speech in Washington. The aim here is also to get closer to the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia. "We have covered 70 percent of the distance. And our counter-offensive continues," he said.
According to analyses by Western observers, the Ukrainians have expanded the bridgehead near Krynki in recent days and also brought light tank technology there. Russian military bloggers complain that Russian troops have come under fire there and that the initiative lies with the Ukrainians.
8000 Ukrainian soldiers trained in Germany
The Bundeswehr and its partners have so far trained around 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers. "My expectation is that we will have trained around 10,000 by the end of the year in around 200 training modules," said Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow, commander of the multinational Special Training Command. It is based in Strausberg near Berlin and manages the work of the EU training mission (EUMAM) for Ukraine, which was launched a year ago.
The training covers various levels, from basic training to specializations - such as medics, snipers or tank crews - through to the training of military command personnel. Some accents have changed. Marlow cited a shift from defensive to offensive operations.
Eastern Europeans call for more commitment to ammunition plan
There are calls from Eastern Europe for determined attempts to rescue the EU ammunition plan for Ukraine, which is threatened with failure. In an interview with the German Press Agency, Estonia's Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said that if sufficient ammunition could not be organized from the country's own warehouses and new orders from industry, it should be prepared to buy from third countries. This is one of the possible solutions.
The Estonian politician was responding to the slow progress of the EU plan to deliver one million artillery shells to Ukraine by spring 2024. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius had therefore stated on the sidelines of EU consultations that he expected the plan to fail. Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds had already expressed similar views to Pevkur before the EU consultations.
This will be important on Wednesday
The Ukrainian military continues to expect heavy Russian attacks near Avdiivka and Maryinka.
- The escalation of conflicts in the Donetsk region is suspected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to be a tactic by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to secure a military success before the Russian presidential elections in 2024.
- German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius expressed concerns that the EU's ammunition plan for Ukraine may fail, as the delivery of one million artillery shells by spring 2024 is progressing slowly.
Source: www.dpa.com
