According to British sources, Russia’s efforts to establish stronger military control over eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region have failed. Since the Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov took over the command in mid-January, his tenure has been marked by an attempt at a general winter offensive, the British Ministry of Defense wrote in its intelligence update today.
The aim of this offensive was to extend Russian control over the entire Donbas region. “After 80 days, it is becoming increasingly clear that this project has failed,” it said from London.
Russian forces on the front lines in the region could have recorded minimal gains with heavy casualties. In doing so, they would have largely gambled away the temporary advantage in personnel gained from the Russian “partial mobilization” last autumn.
Ukraine: Attacks on Bakhmut repelled
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said it was repelling further attacks on the city of Bakhmut, which had been fought over for months. “In the past 24 hours, our defenders repelled enemy attacks in the area of Bohdanivka and Ivanivske,” the Ukrainian General Staff said. Both villages are located on important access roads to Bachmut.
