Serhiy Haidai told Ukraine’s United News that he disagreed with recent Western assessments that Russia had halted its offensive and was resting to regroup. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based thinktank, and British military intelligence have said in recent days that Russian forces are resting and need time to reposition themselves for the next attack. “There was no kind of operational pause or reduction in bombing,” Heidai said. “Their efforts to move forward are ongoing. They are putting in new units, including tank units.” He said the assessment was predictions likely based on Ukraine’s successful destruction of ammunition depots in Russian-held areas last week that could cause real problems for Moscow. Ukraine’s general staff said on Friday that Russian forces had advanced east towards the Ukrainian-held town of Bakhmut, in the northeastern region of Donetsk. Meanwhile, over the past week, Russian forces have repeatedly struck large urban areas in the Ukrainian-controlled areas of Donetsk. At least eight people were killed and 27 wounded in raids in Sloviansk last week, according to city authorities. Particularly painful was the strike on July 5 in the market of the city of Sloviansk, where people worked and shopped. The video shows Ukrainian soldiers and civilians pulling people out of a fire, while other bystanders try to put it out. Russian forces hit a market and a residential area in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk on July 5. Ukrainian officials said at least two people were killed and seven others were wounded. (WARNING: Viewers may find the content of this video disturbing.) pic.twitter.com/9AN4DatrxX — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (@RFERL) July 5, 2022 Russian forces also struck the city of Kramatorsk, the regional capital of Donetsk controlled by Ukraine since 2014, twice last week, killing one person and wounding seven. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled Ukrainian-held Donetsk in anticipation of the type of shelling unleashed on neighboring Luhansk Oblast. The mayor of Sloviansk is encouraging the population to leave, but about 23,000 residents remain. To reach the main cities under Ukrainian control, the Russians must push into areas in the northern and eastern parts of the Donetsk region where Ukrainian forces had dug into their positions, Haidai said. “In these 100 square meters, if Russian soldiers are killed and their equipment is destroyed, we can say that Luhansk region still holds,” Haidai said, referring to the slippage of Luhansk region still controlled by Ukraine. “They are trying to put all their reserve forces to reach the administrative border [of Luhansk oblast] but so far they have not succeeded.” The UK Ministry of Defense said on Friday that Russian forces were halting to replenish and redeploy their equipment to launch an offensive on Shiversk, a small town north of Ukraine-held Donetsk, in order to push towards urban areas under Ukrainian control. Earlier this week, the Institute for the Study of War said Russian forces were pausing to rest and regain combat capabilities – a statement confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry. Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of parliamentary leaders on Thursday that Russia had not “started anything serious” in Ukraine and that it would be harder to negotiate the longer the conflict continued. Putin warns Russia is just getting started in Ukraine – video Russia’s reported strategy was to systematically destroy buildings in order to deprive Ukrainian forces of covering their positions, forcing them to retreat. But that tactic requires a constant stream of artillery ammunition, experts say, which the Ukrainians target. Ukraine hit 20 Russian ammunition depots in the Russian-held regions of Ukraine, Ukrainian military expert Ivan Kyrychevsky told Ukraine’s Radio NV. Ukraine’s general staff claimed on Friday that it had successfully hit an ammunition depot in Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region, killing 44 Russian soldiers and destroying air defense systems in the process. Military experts told the Guardian that longer-range missile systems recently supplied by the West, notably the US Himars, have allowed Ukrainian forces to target storage facilities behind enemy lines, slowing Russia’s operational strategy and forcing them to more careful with their ammo. The Himars missile systems allow the Ukrainian forces to hit their target precisely, unlike the systems they used before. Military expert Oleg Zhdanov told FeganLive, a popular YouTube analysis program, that there were nine Himars operating in Ukraine. The most a Himar missile would deviate from its target was one to three meters if it was targeting an object 75 kilometers away, Zhdanov said. Whereas a Smerch, Zhdanov said, could deviate by 1 kilometer when attempting to hit a target 70 kilometers away. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST US Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, during their visit to Kyiv on Thursday, said the US should quickly supply Ukraine with more weapons, including ammunition for Kheimari, Reuters reported. “We have an opportunity here in the next 60 days … the decisions we make can turn the tide of this war in favor of Ukraine,” Graham said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his advisers have said they believe UK support for Ukraine will remain unchanged despite Boris Johnson’s resignation on Thursday. Johnson became popular in Ukraine because of his vocal support for Kyiv on the international stage and the UK’s arms supply to Ukraine. “We have no doubt that Great Britain’s support will be maintained, but your personal leadership and charisma have made it special,” Zelensky said. The British army chief visited his Ukrainian counterpart in Ukraine on Thursday and reiterated the UK’s support.
