Russian forces made no 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 that Moscow could take an “operational pause”, but said this would not entail “a complete cessation of active hostilities”. “Russian forces will likely be limited to relatively small-scale offensive actions as they try to set the stage for more significant offensive operations” and rebuild needed combat power, the institute said. Russia’s defense ministry appeared to confirm that assessment, saying in a statement Thursday that Russian soldiers had been given time to rest. “Units that carried out combat missions … are taking steps to regain their combat capabilities. Soldiers are given the opportunity to rest, receive letters and parcels from home,” said the statement, cited by the Russian state news agency Tass. Putin warned Kyiv that it would have to quickly accept Moscow’s terms to end the fighting or prepare for the worst. “Everyone should know that to a large extent, we have not even started anything seriously,” he said in a threatening note. Bombing continued in eastern Ukraine, with the mayor of a city in the Donetsk region saying it had been hit by the heaviest hit since the start of the war. Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Gorchenko said a Russian missile hit the area around 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 seized by Kremlin-backed separatists. Earlier Thursday, regional officials said at least one person was killed and six others wounded in the attack. Volodymyr, 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.” Asked if he felt safe staying in his apartment building, he replied: “Is it safe anywhere in Ukraine right now? It all happened in an instant, 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 have engulfed private homes, garages, cars and trucks as well as parts of an apartment in a nine-story apartment building. Earlier on Thursday, regional police said three people were killed and five injured after multiple rocket launchers hit Kharkiv’s Nemyshlyanskii neighborhood. The Kharkiv region, which lies along the border with Russia, is under daily bombardment. In Donetsk, 10 towns and villages were shelled and 35 buildings were destroyed, including a school, a vocational school and a hospital, officials said. Donetsk is part of the Donbass, a predominantly Russian-speaking industrial region 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 shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Putin on Monday declared victory in Luhansk, the other Donbas province, after Ukrainian forces withdrew from the last city they controlled there. Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai denied on Wednesday that the Russians had fully taken over the province. The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that Russian forces also carried out shelling and helicopter attacks in the Sumy region in the northeast. Although fighting continued, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said it believed the Russian military was “reorganizing” its forces. An intelligence ministry assessment issued Thursday said heavy shelling along the front line in Donetsk is likely to secure earlier Russian gains. Further hostilities were reported in the Black Sea. Ukraine’s military said Thursday that a national flag was raised again 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 southwest coast vital to securing sea lanes from Odessa, Ukraine’s largest port. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the operation to retake the island lasted two months and was carried out by a range of military and intelligence forces. “And now let every Russian captain, whether ship or plane, see the Ukrainian flag on Snake Island and know that our state cannot be broken,” he said in his nightly video speech. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that a Russian military aircraft launched a missile attack on the island as Ukrainian forces tried 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 verified. When Russian troops withdrew from Snake Island on June 30, the defense ministry described it as “a goodwill gesture” to ensure that Ukrainian exports of grain and other exports 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 hit the Millennial Spirit, which was carrying more than 500 tons of diesel fuel, while the other fell wide open. The ship has been without a crew, drifting at sea since the start of the war in February. Russia did not immediately acknowledge the strike on the boat. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the Turkish ambassador to Kyiv on Thursday over the theft of Ukrainian grain from a Russian ship. The Zhibek Zholy was allowed to leave Turkey’s Black Sea coast after Turkish authorities briefly detained it at Ukraine’s request. Ukraine summoned the ambassador to protest. Turkey, with the Bosphorus Strait, is the main transit route for shipping from the Black Sea. Ukraine has tried to pressure Ankara to stop its Russian grain shipments, a vital source of revenue. Also Thursday: Zelensky said he spoke to Boris Johnson just hours after the British prime minister announced he would resign. 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 has sent to Ukraine. “And although this reflects the position of British society, the leadership and charisma of the country’s leader always has a special meaning. … No wonder Ukrainians feel a personal gratitude to Boris,” Zelensky said in his nightly speech. He said Johnson and other British officials had assured him that this strong support would continue. The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
