The Russian military operation in Ukraine continues today, Saturday, as the Russian army tries to take full control of the Ukrainian regions, while Kyiv forces continue to resist with military and logistical support from the West. Since the start of the operation, on February 24, 2022, Moscow has set itself the goal of protecting the population of Donbass, eliminating threats to Russia’s security, and forcing Ukraine into military neutrality.
In recent developments, Bloomberg, citing Western officials, reported Russia’s readiness for a new mobilization process involving 400,000 recruits to join the fighting in Ukraine. And Bloomberg added that Moscow will rely on Russian pensioners and volunteers in the new mobilization process, and the publication indicated that military mobilization in Russia will be contractual, not mandatory.
The chief of staff of the Ukrainian army said that the battle near Bakhmut began to subside, and the commander of the motorized rifle troops said that the Russian forces near Bakhmut were “exhausted”. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Kyiv is currently unable to launch a counterattack due to a lack of weapons.
“We cannot launch a counterattack yet,” Zelensky said in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. We cannot send our brave soldiers to the front line without American tanks, artillery and rocket launchers.
The Japanese newspaper notes that the interview with Zelensky took place on the train when he was traveling to Kyiv after visiting the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Kherson region.
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on Friday that, after listening to Zelensky via video link, EU leaders assured the Ukrainian president that they would help Kiev win the conflict with Russia, which launched its own military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The day before, EU leaders supported a plan to accelerate the supply of ammunition to Ukraine, joint purchases of artillery shells and the development of Europe’s own military production potential.
On the ground, Russian troops attacked the northern and southern parts of the front in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on Friday, continuing their attacks despite Kiev’s assurances that Moscow’s pressure near the city of Bakhmut was easing.
The Ukrainian military is reporting intense fighting along the northern frontline from Liman to Kobyansk, as well as south near Avdiivka on the outskirts of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk.
These two regions are among the main targets of Russia’s offensives launched in the winter to take full control of Ukraine’s industrial Donbas. The Russian offensive has so far made only marginal gains, despite the deaths of thousands of soldiers on both sides in the bloodiest battle of the war.
It comes after the United Nations on Friday accused Ukrainian and Russian forces of carrying out dozens of extrajudicial executions of prisoners of war during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The head of the UN Monitoring Mission for Human Rights in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, expressed great concern about the execution of “25 Russian prisoners of war” at the hands of the Ukrainian armed forces, as well as the “execution of 15 Ukrainian prisoners of war” at the hands of the Russians.
A UN report documented executions of prisoners on both sides after being captured on the battlefield.
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