Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that Russia bombarded 118 Ukrainian towns and villages in 24 hours, which is the highest number this year. The attacks caused deaths and injuries, and 10 of Ukraine’s 27 regions were under fire. Many of the communities hit were near the front lines in the east and south. Russia has trained much of its military firepower on Avdiivka, a strategically significant town in the eastern region of Donetsk. Local leader Vitaliy Barabash said Avdiivka was being erased and shattered. Ukraine says Russia has been pouring reinforcements into the area to encircle and capture the town.
Counteroffensive and Western Fatigue
Ukraine’s counteroffensive has so far made little headway in recapturing land occupied by Russian forces in the south and east, prompting fears of Western fatigue with the war. US President Joe Biden’s administration has asked Congress to approve a $106bn package for both Ukraine and Israel. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned this week that without US support, Russia’s Vladimir Putin would be successful. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukrainians in an overnight address on Tuesday that “we live in a world that gets used to success too quickly.”
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that Ukraine was losing the war despite supplies of new weapons from NATO. He claimed that Ukraine was taking heavy losses as it tried to push into Russian-held areas of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Donetsk, and “demoralisation of personnel is growing”. He also claimed Russian units were advancing.
Attacks Away from Front Lines
There were also attacks away from the front lines, on a block of flats, shops, and a pharmacy in the southern city of Nikopol on the bank of the Dnipro river, and in Kremenchuk, where a disused oil refinery was set on fire by a Russian drone. The Kremenchuk refinery was the biggest in Ukraine until Russian attacks put it out of action a few weeks into the full-scale invasion.
Export Corridor Safe for Civilian Vessels
Kyiv has tried to create an export corridor safe for civilian vessels to carry grain along Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, via Romanian waters and on to the Turkish coast. Although at least 700,000 metric tonnes of grain have evaded Russian bombardment in recent months, Ukrainian officials said.
SOURCE: Ref Image from Times
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