- Ukrainian forces have suffered this Saturday more than 40 casualties between dead and wounded.
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| A Ukrainian soldier leans out of the hatch of a tank in Donetsk. |
Russia launches a powerful offensive in Donetsk, but runs into fierce resistance from Ukraine
Russian troops continued their attacks on the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on Saturday with little progress due to the fierce resistance presented by Ukrainian forces, which are trying to counterattack in some sectors of the front.
"The enemy tried to launch counterattacks near the towns of Sladkoe, Shevchenko, and Novomaiorke of the Donetsk people's republic, south of the city of Donetsk," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov said.
In his usual daily report, the military man stressed that the Ukrainian attacks were repulsed with artillery fire and assault aircraft.
In that sector alone, Konashenkov added, the Ukrainian forces suffered more than 40 casualties between the dead and wounded.
Bakhmut, in the crosshairs of the Russian army
According to British military intelligence (DI), Russian troops are concentrating their efforts on the capture of Bakhmut, an important communication hub north of Donestk, which would allow them to advance towards Kramatorsk and Slovianks, the main strongholds of the Army. Ukrainian in the Donetsk region.
"However, the campaign has been disproportionately expensive in relation to the possible gains," the DI said in a tweet on Saturday, in which it pointed out the possibility that the capture of Bakhmut is a "political, symbolic objective" for Russia.
In any case, in the opinion of British analysts, the logistical problems and the shortage of supplies are a brake on the offensive plans of the Russian Army.
Russia tries to strengthen its military alliance with Belarus
With the situation relatively stabilized on the battlefronts, the Russian Defense Minister, Serguei Shoigu, met this Saturday in Minsk with his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin, with whom he signed a protocol of amendments to the bilateral agreement to guarantee regional military security signed in December 1997.
"Belarus has been and is a reliable partner. This is extremely important today when the collective West exerts unprecedented pressure and wages an undeclared war against our country," Shoigu was quoted as saying at the meeting by the Interfax agency.
Neither Moscow nor Minsk reported the scope of the protocol, while Kyiv declared that it is prepared to react adequately to the increase in Russian troops in Belarus, from whose territory they entered Ukraine at the beginning of the military campaign launched by the Kremlin more than nine months ago.
"The situation in the northern operational zone (the border with Belarus) is under control," the commander of the Ukrainian Joint Forces, Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev, said on Saturday.
The Ukrainian military indicated that although the Russian-Belarusian joint military grouping continues to strengthen itself in the territory of the neighboring country, it "does not yet represent a threat."
The Kyiv government, which has accused the regime of Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko of being complicit in the Russian aggression, has repeatedly warned that if Belarusian soldiers break into the country, the Ukrainian army will use against them all his firepower.
The Russians want negotiations
Although support for the war campaign in Ukraine remains high among Russians — in one way or another 75% of the participants in a survey published this Saturday by the Levada Center support it — those who advocate negotiations have increased considerably. of peace.
According to the Levada Center survey, 52% of those surveyed last November -44% in August- spoke in favor of the start of peace negotiations with Ukraine, with the particularity that more than half of them indicated that they should start as soon as possible.
Among Russians between the ages of 18 and 24 who participated in the poll, 68% were in favor of starting peace talks with Ukraine.
In contrast, those over 55 years of age are more in favor of continuing military actions than of negotiating peace. 48% of those surveyed in that age range favored the first option and 44% favored the second.
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