Russia is mobilizing the bulk of its troops for the final offensive in Donbasin the meantime Ukraine and NATO are still suspicious of the announced regrouping of the Russian Armyespecially in the north and around the capital, kyiv.
The The objective of the Russian enemy would be to gain “full control of the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions”where separatist militias are fighting shoulder to shoulder with Russian forces, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army.
Russia claims to have blocked the main lines of communication and supply to Ukraine, which would prevent the arrival of reinforcements to the front line of combat in Donbas.
Furthermore, despite the reduction in Russian military activity around the capital and Chernigov, constant Russian pressure on both northern cities would tie kyiv hand and footwhich might not rescue the Ukrainian units in Donetsk and Lugansk.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the maneuvers of the enemy’s last days would be aimed at the formation “of a group of the Russian Armed Forces to launch a final offensive” in Donbas.
The Russian Army focused in the last hours on crushing with high-precision cruise missiles launched by their aviation tanks that supply fuel to the Ukrainian forces deployed in Donbasincluding those in the neighboring Dnipro region.
What’s more, they advanced another six kilometers following crossing the Kashlagach riverwhich is in the direction of the Zaporizhia region, under Russian control for weeks.
The objective of this advance is to link up with the Russian forces located in Zaporiyiato then turn north, where it is Kramatorskthe main Ukrainian military stronghold in the area since 2014.
According to the separatists, their militias control more than 90 percent of Lugansk and regarding two-thirds of Donetsk.
Within the framework of the regrouping announced by Moscow, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian troops would have withdrawn towards Belarusand then left that country by train for Russia.
In addition, according to the Ukrainian nuclear corporation Energoatom, the Russian troops that took control of the exclusion zone of the former Chernobyl nuclear plant in the first days of the war have abandoned it, with the exception of a small contingent. .
Independent sources too. detected a Russian convoy with almost a hundred vehiclesincluding multiple Grad missile launchers, leaving the Chernobyl zone in the direction of Belarus.
According Vadim Denisenkoadviser to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, a large number of Russian soldiers received radiation while digging trenches in the area known as the Red Forest.
Authorities also confirmed the Russian withdrawal in some sectors of the kyiv region, where the town of Vyshgorod was liberatedbut not yet Bucha and Hostomel, scenes of some of the bloodiest battles of the contest.
“If they want to achieve any success in the east, they must withdraw forces from somewhere. But they cannot relocate all their forces and leave the kyiv and Chernigov regions, since then we would begin to send our forces to the east. They must keep part of them to retain our forces in the defense of kyiv,” he acknowledged. Oleksiy Arestóvychpresidential adviser.
However, NATO does not lower its guard. Your General Secretary, Jens StoltenbergHe stated this Thursday that Russia is not withdrawing its troops, but “repositioning” them.
“Russia has repeatedly lied regarding its intentions, so we can only judge Russia by its actions, not by its words. According to our intelligence, the Russian units are not withdrawing, but repositioning,” he told a news conference.
Stoltenberg admitted that Moscow “is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region”.
“At the same time, Russia keeps pressure on kyiv and other cities, so we can expect additional offensive actions which will generate even more suffering. Russia must end this senseless war, withdraw all troops from it and engage in talks in good faith,” he said.
The NATO leader promised new arms supplies to kyivwhile the British defense minister, Ben Wallacespoke of an agreement with other countries to provide lethal weapons to the Ukrainian Army.
Meanwhile, humanitarian efforts continue to evacuate the besieged city of Mariupol, in the Azov Seawhere there would still be regarding 160,000 people.
The International Committee for Red Cross announced today preparations to open a humanitarian corridor between Mariupol and Zaporizhia on April 1although on the condition that both sides agree on the route and duration of the corresponding ceasefire.
“It is very important that the operation is carried out successfully. The lives of tens of thousands of people in Mariupol depend on it,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyestimated the magnitude of the destruction of buildings in the city of almost half a million inhabitants at more than 90 percent.
“To this day, Mariupol is the most hellish place in Europe”he said and criticized the West for its indecisiveness to stop the war.
The pro-Russian separatist leader Denis Pushilin ordered the creation of a new municipal administration in Mariupol within the framework of the Donetsk People’s Republic, whose independence was recognized by the Kremlin three days before the start of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
