Foreign analysts say Russia may temporarily wind down its offensive in eastern Ukraine as the Russian military tries to regroup for what it hopes could be another decisive assault on its neighbor. Russian President Vladimir Putin ominously warned on Thursday that his forces “haven’t even started” to fight.
Russian forces made no claimed or estimated territorial gains in Ukraine on Wednesday “for the first time in 133 days of war,” according to the Institute for the Study of War. The Washington-based think tank suggested Moscow could take an “operational pause” but said it did not lead to a “complete cessation of active hostilities”.
“Russian forces are likely to limit themselves to relatively small offensive actions while they try to create the conditions for more significant offensive operations” and restore the necessary combat power, the institute said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry appeared to confirm that assessment, saying in a statement on Thursday that Russian soldiers had been given time off.
“Units that have completed combat missions … are taking measures to restore their combat capabilities. Servicemen are given the opportunity to rest, receive letters and parcels from home,” said the announcement, quoted by the Russian state news agency TASS.
Putin has warned Kyiv that it must quickly accept Moscow’s terms for an end to the fighting or prepare for the worst.
“Everybody should know that basically we haven’t even started anything serious yet,” he said in an ominous note.
Shelling continued in eastern Ukraine, with the mayor of a town in the Donetsk region saying he had been hit by the most powerful strike since the start of the war.
Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Gorchenko said a Russian missile struck near local government buildings shortly after noon. The city has been the center of the Donetsk regional government since 2014, when the city of Donetsk was captured by Kremlin-backed separatists.
Earlier on Thursday, regional authorities said at least one person was killed and six others were injured in the strike.
Vladimir, 66, a resident who declined to give his full name, sat in his upturned apartment covered in blood.
“I was just sitting there drinking tea and then there was an explosion,” he told The Associated Press. “You can see the result of that.”
Asked if he felt safe staying in his block, he replied: “Is it safe anywhere in Ukraine right now? It all happened at one point and that was it.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, firefighters managed to put out multiple fires caused by Russian shelling of a residential area, regional emergency services said. It said the fires engulfed private homes, garages, cars and trucks, as well as parts of an apartment in a nine-story block of flats.
Earlier on Thursday, regional police said three people were killed and five wounded after Kharkiv’s Nemyshlyansky district was blasted by multiple-launch rocket systems. Kharkiv region, which is located along the border with Russia, is under daily shelling.
In Donetsk, 10 towns and villages were shelled and 35 buildings were destroyed, including a school, a vocational college and a hospital, officials said.
Donetsk is part of Donbass, a predominantly Russian-speaking industrial zone where Ukraine’s most experienced soldiers are concentrated. Pro-Russian separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces and have controlled much of Donbas for eight years. Putin recognized the independence of two self-proclaimed republics there just before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
On Monday, Putin declared victory in Luhansk, the other Donbas province, after Ukrainian forces withdrew from the last city they controlled there. Luhansk Governor Sergei Haidai denied on Wednesday that the Russians had fully taken over the province.
The Ukrainian military said Thursday that Russian forces also carried out shelling and helicopter strikes in the Sumy region in the northeast.
Although fighting continued, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said it believed the Russian army was “rebuilding” its forces. A ministry intelligence assessment released on Thursday said the heavy shelling on the front line in Donetsk was likely aimed at securing previous Russian gains.
New military actions are reported in the Black Sea. Ukraine’s military said on Thursday that a national flag had been re-raised on a strategic island from which Russian troops withdrew last month.
Ukraine’s Southern Military Command said Ukrainian military units had cleared Snake Island, an outpost off Ukraine’s southwestern coast vital to securing sea routes from Odessa, Ukraine’s largest port.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the operation to retake the island took two months and was carried out by a combination of military and intelligence forces.
“And now let every Russian captain, whether on a ship or plane, see the Ukrainian flag on Snake Island and know that our country cannot be broken,” he said in his nightly video address.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that a Russian warplane had launched a missile strike on the island as Ukrainian forces attempted to plant the flag. “As a result, part of the Ukrainian military personnel was destroyed, the rest fled,” the ministry said. The claim could not be immediately confirmed.
When Russian troops withdrew from Snake Island on June 30, the Ministry of Defense described it as a “goodwill gesture” to ensure that Ukrainian exports of grain and other goods could resume.
Ukraine said Russia also fired two missiles at a Moldovan-flagged oil tanker in the Black Sea, setting it on fire. Ukrainian officials said one crashed into the Millennial Spirit, which was carrying more than 500 tons of diesel fuel, while the other went over the side.
The ship has been without a crew and has been at sea since the start of the war in February. Russia did not immediately acknowledge the strike on the ship.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it summoned Turkey’s ambassador to Kyiv on Thursday over what it described as the theft of Ukrainian grain from a Russian ship.
Zhibek Zholy was allowed to leave Turkey’s Black Sea coast after Turkish authorities briefly detained him at Ukraine’s request. Ukraine summoned the ambassador to complain.
Turkey, with its Bosphorus, is a key transit route for shipping from the Black Sea. Ukraine tried to pressure Ankara to cut off Russian grain supplies, a vital source of revenue.
Also Thursday:
Zelensky said he spoke to Boris Johnson just hours after the British prime minister announced he would step down. Zelensky said he thanked Johnson, who has visited Kyiv twice since the start of the war, for his support and especially for the weapons and money Britain sent to Ukraine.
“And although this reflects the position of British society, the leadership and charisma of the country’s leader always have a special meaning. … It is not surprising that Ukrainians feel personal gratitude to Boris,” Zelensky said in his evening address. He said Johnson and other British officials had assured him that this strong support would continue.
Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a quick summary of the day’s top headlines. Sign up today.
Add Comment