KYIV, Ukraine — In a sign that Russian forces are ending what they call a halt in operations during the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, on Saturday ordered the Its forces stepped up attacks “in all operational areas” of the war.
As the Ukrainian government revealed new ground strikes by Russian forces, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Shoigu had instructed that fighting be intensified to prevent Ukraine from shelling the areas. civil sector in the territory occupied by Russia.
After deadly Russian missile attacks across Ukraine in recent days that left civilians dead, this statement is a fresh signal from Moscow that its invasion may be entering a decisive phase. more paralysis.
Shoigu’s statement appeared to be a response to Ukraine’s new ability to strike Russian targets in occupied areas thanks to more advanced, longer-range Western weapons, such as of America. HIMARS . precision guided missile system and the French Caesar cannon. Ukraine claims to have hit at least 30 Russian logistics and ammunition storage facilities with new long-range weapons in the past two weeks.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin suggested to lawmakers that Russia would escalate the war. “People should know that, in general, we have not started anything seriously yet,” Putin said.
There have been signs of renewed ground fighting in the hotly contested Donbas region, where Russian forces have taken one of their provinces, Luhansk, and are also trying to capture the rest of the other. is Donetsk. Ukrainian military and regional officials reported five exploratory attacks along the crescent-shaped front line in the Donbas.
The Ukrainian army repelled a new ground offensive overnight to capture the main route between the cities of Lysychansk and Bakhmut, said Serhii Haidai, the military governor of Luhansk, said Serhii Haidai, military governor of Luhansk. , the assertion was made in a report on Saturday by the General Staff of Ukraine. The road has been bitterly contested for months.
Latest analysis of the Institute for the Study of War said Russian forces “may be emerging from the pause,” citing a limited series of ground attacks northwest of Sloviansk, southeast of Siversk, along along the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway and southwest of the city of Donetsk. “These attacks may indicate that Russian forces are attempting to resume their offensive operations in the Donbas,” the analysis said, while noting that “attacks remain on a large scale.” small and largely unsuccessful.”
Some soldiers serving at frontline positions in the Donetsk region questioned whether the Russians really paused, saying they were under constant attack, on the ground and with artillery bombardments. artillery and in the air.
Better understanding of the Russo-Ukrainian War
The sound of heavy explosions can often be heard from the frontline cities of Sloviansk and Bakhmut. Smoke from the fires covered the southern and eastern horizons of Bakhmut, where Russian forces were trying to advance.
A rocket hit a small fruit and vegetable market in Bakhmut on Friday afternoon, injuring several people. Early Saturday, three other rockets hit a factory and a house in Kostiantynivka, but caused no casualties. Vitaliy, 40, said: ‘My coffee shop is broken, factories are smashed, everything is closed. “No children. What will people buy?”
In the early hours of Saturday, at least three civilians were killed and three others injured in a Russian missile attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Chuhuiv, about a block from the border, regional police said. The Russian border is about 75 km.
In the vicinity of Sumy, one civilian was killed and at least seven others injured after the Russians opened fire with mortars and artillery fire at three towns and villages not far from the Russian border, the regional governor said today. Saturday.
In Donetsk, seven civilians were killed and 14 others injured, the regional governor said.
The major attack came on Thursday, when a Russian submarine fired a cruise missile into the heart of Vinnytsia, a city of 370,000 people about 125 miles southwest of the capital Kyiv.
The strike, which left at least 23 people dead, including a 4-year-old girl with Down syndrome, caused outrage in Ukraine and the West, Ukrainian officials said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack on Vinnytsia targeted a building where top officials of the Ukrainian armed forces were meeting with foreign arms suppliers. Ukrainian officials denied reports that the building contained military targets.
Kristalina Georgieva, executive director of the International Monetary Fund, said the war was causing significant economic stress in the rest of the world, slowing global growth both this year and next. .
“The war in Ukraine is intensifying, putting more pressure on commodity and food prices,” she said. in a statement on Saturday. “Global financial conditions are tightening more than previously thought. And continued pandemic-related disruptions and new bottlenecks in global supply chains are weighing on economic activity.”
Adding to the tension in Germany, which is dependent on Russian energy, is a new statement by Russia’s gas monopoly, Gazprom, calling on German company Siemens to return a turbine it repaired in Canada to secure the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for gas supply. to Europe can resume operations after a 10-day maintenance period starting on Monday.
Despite Western sanctions against Russia, Canada has agreed to issue a term and revocable license to Siemens Canada to allow the return of the turbines. But Gazprom claims it received no guarantee that the equipment would be returned.
Germany has faced a 60% cut in gas supplies through that pipeline, amid concerns that Russia will not resume deliveries after maintenance. Conservative politicians have rekindled debate about extending the life of the country’s three remaining nuclear power plants, which produce about 6% of Germany’s electricity, a sensitive topic for Greens. , is now in government. The plants are expected to be shut down by the end of the year.
The European Union has banned Russian coal imports, but its ban on oil imports is gradual and partial. And there is no agreement to ban natural gas imports. Brussels also compromised on allowing Gazprom to be effectively paid in rubles, as Russia had requested, with euro deposits into Gazprom’s own bank immediately converted to rubles.
The European Union has also supported the implementation of full sanctions on goods transported from the Russian mainland to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. The land is separated from the rest of Russia by Poland and Lithuania; Lithuania has created tension with Moscow by announcing that it will impose European Union sanctions on Russian goods traveling by train to Russia’s Kaliningrad via Lithuania.
After harsh Russian complaints, Brussels “updated” its guidelines and said that Russia would be allowed to transport sanctioned civil goods through Lithuania by rail – although not by road. sets – in the same quantity as pre-invasion deliveries over the past three years.
There could be targeted checks, Brussels said, to ensure that sanctioned military and dual-use goods and related technologies are not part of rail shipments.
As Russia searches for more answers to counter NATO’s newer mobile artillery systems, it has turned to Iran looking to buy that country’s sophisticated armed drones, the security adviser said. US national security, Jake Sullivan, said last week. On Saturday, a senior US official said that satellite images showed a Russian delegation visiting Iran to see weapons-capable drones that could be purchased for use in the conflict. war in Ukraine and it could be used to better target NATO’s new artillery against-battery strikes.
Andrew E. Kramer reported from Kyiv, Ukraine, and Steven Erlanger from Brussels. Reporting was contributed by Carlotta Gall and Kamila Hrabchuk from Bakhmut, Ukraine, and Anton Troianovski from Berlin.
