Russia has taken dozens of small towns in its attack on Donbass as Ukrainian authorities describe ongoing heavy fighting in Donetsk and Luhansk.
In recent weeks, Russia has shifted its military efforts from the north and center to the east after failing to invade the capital, Kyiv.
On Friday, Russia revealed for the first time that its goal is to take “full control” of southern Ukraine as well as the eastern region of Donbass.
Major General Rustam Minekayev, acting commander of Russia’s Central Military District, said Russian forces were fighting to create a land corridor across Ukrainian territory connecting Russia with Crimea, the peninsula it annexed in 2014, TASS reported. russian state news agency.
“Since the beginning of the second phase of the special operation, which began just two days ago, one of the tasks of the Russian army is to establish full control over Donbass and southern Ukraine. This will provide a land corridor to Crimea, “Minekayev told TASS.
Elena Simonenko, an adviser to the deputy head of the president’s office, said in a televised statement late Thursday that another 42 settlements had been under Russian control in the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours.
However, the UK Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that Russian forces had not made significant progress in the last 24 hours facing Ukrainian counterattacks.
Ukraine’s air and naval defenses have also managed to halt the progress of Russia’s air and naval forces, the ministry added in a post on social media.
Southern Ukraine: Russian forces currently have only partial control over southern Ukraine, with the Ukrainian government still controlling the key cities of Nikolaev and Odessa, and some Ukrainian forces being held at a steel plant in the besieged port of Mariupol.
“Despite the claimed conquest of Mariupol, heavy fighting continues to disappoint Russia’s attempts to take the city, thus further delaying the desired progress in Donbass,” the British ministry said.
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