Zelensky warns of increasing Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine

AMoscow’s troops have been trying for a month to surround this industrial city that has become one of the flashpoints in the conflict, a Russian effort that follows months of Ukrainian offensives that did not allow Kiev to liberate the occupied territories.

The eastern front line has been in the same place for practically a year, despite Zelensky, on the one hand, and the Kremlin (Russian Presidency), on the other, guaranteeing that the war is not at an impasse.

“The Army has reported an increase in the number of enemy attacks,” said the Ukrainian head of state on the digital platform Telegram, referring to the areas of Avdiïvka, Kupiansk and Donetsk, in the east of the country.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, indicated on Monday in its latest report that “Russian forces continued their offensive operations near Avdiïvka on 13 November and obtained confirmed progress.”

For his part, Volodymyr Zelensky assured that his soldiers “are maintaining their positions” and they are also carrying out “offensive operations”.

Ukraine recently recognized the failure of its counteroffensive launched last June, which came up against solid Russian defenses, but urgently needs to gain ground to avoid the effect of fatigue on its Western allies in the face of a conflict that has been dragging on for almost two years.

In the country, it is emphasized that the Kremlin has increased the number of soldiers recruited for the war and that, therefore, Western help is more necessary than ever to stop Russian ambitions.

“The number of Russian troops in Ukraine is three times higher than at the beginning of the aggression and, therefore, our country needs to maintain international support”, insisted today the head of the Ukrainian presidential government, Andriï Iermak, on Telegram, after a meeting in Washington.

Iermak met with Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor to US President Joe Biden, Timothy Barrow from the United Kingdom, and advisors to German and French leaders Jens Plötner and Emmanuel Bonn.

Ukraine has remained silent about its own offensives.

According to Russian military bloggers and experts who analyzed information from open sources, since the end of October, the Ukrainian Army has managed to establish forces on the occupied bank of the Dnieper River, in particular in the village of Krynky, in the southern region of Kherson.

“Against all expectations, the Ukrainian defense forces gained a foothold on the left bank of the Dnieper,” Andriï Iermak said today, without providing further details.

Such information has so far not been confirmed by the Ukrainian Army or by Moscow.

Zelensky also today accused the Russians of “taking revenge on the liberated city of Kherson”, which has just celebrated the first anniversary of the end of its occupation, by bombing it “without any military purpose”.

On Monday, Russian attacks there left three dead and 12 injured, including a two-month-old baby, according to local authorities.

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine that caused, according to UN data, the worst refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945) and in the last 20 months a high number of victims not only military but also civilian, impossible to count while the conflict continues.

The invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by most of the international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing it on Russia of political and economic sanctions.

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