New Russian offensive underway in Ukraine, according to NATO

By Pavel Polityuk

KIEV, Feb 14 (Reuters) – The Ukrainian town of Bakhmut faced heavy artillery fire as the NATO chief backed reports from local sources that Russia had launched a major new offensive days before the first anniversary of its invasion.

The eastern city’s Ukrainian defenders, who held out for months, repelled further ground attacks under heavy shelling, Ukrainian military officials said.

Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian attacks on one settlement in Kharkiv region, some five settlements in Luhansk region and six in Donetsk region, including Bakhmut, in the past 24 hours, the army said Ukrainian early on Tuesday morning.

Positions in Bakhmut have been fortified and only those in military roles have been allowed to enter, while civilians wishing to leave are expected to face enemy fire, a deputy battalion commander said on Monday.

“There is not a single square meter in Bakhmut that is safe or out of range of enemy fire or drones,” Pavlo Kirilenko, governor of the Donetsk region, told Ukrainian national television on Monday evening. .

Bakhmut is a prime target for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his capture would give Russia a new foothold in the Donetsk region and a rare victory after months of setbacks.

“We see how they are sending more troops, more weapons, more capabilities,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, saying it was the start of a new offensive. .

The Russian assault on Bakhmut was led by Wagner Group mercenaries, who have made small inroads into the northern outskirts of Bakhmut over the past three days, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.

The Russian tactical advance south of Bakhmut has probably made little progress, the ministry said in a regular bulletin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russian forces were trying to surround Bakhmut.

“Thank you to each of our soldiers who prevent the occupiers from surrounding Bakhmut…and who hold our key positions at the front,” Zelensky said in a late-night speech.

The regions of Donetsk and Luhansk constitute the Donbass, the industrial heart of Ukraine, today partly occupied by Russia, which wants total control.

Russian forces intended to seize the entire Luhansk region and reach its administrative boundaries, its governor, Serhi Haidai, said.

“They have already brought in a lot of manpower and equipment and we are already seeing an increase in shelling, both from artillery and from the air,” he told the media.

Reuters could not independently verify these battlefield reports.

VOLTAGE IN MOLDOVA

The UN human rights office said on Monday it had recorded 7,199 civilian deaths and 11,756 injuries since the February 24 Russian invasion, mostly from shelling, airstrikes and of missiles. However, he believed the actual number to be much higher.

Russia has launched what it calls its “special military operation” to “denazify” Ukraine and protect Russian speakers. Western leaders say it was nothing more than a land grab.

The Moldovan president on Monday accused Russia of wanting to use foreign saboteurs to overthrow its leaders and use them in the war against Ukraine. Russia rejected it.

“Such claims are completely unfounded and baseless,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Zelensky claimed last week that his country had uncovered a Russian intelligence plan “for the destruction of Moldova”. A few days later, the Prime Minister of the country, a neighbor of Ukraine and Romania, resigned.

Last year, Russia denied wanting to intervene in Moldova after authorities in Transnistria, a separatist region that has survived for three decades with Moscow’s support, said it had been the target of a series of bombings. bomb.

White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said Monday that the conspiracy information had not been independently confirmed but was “deeply concerning” and “certainly not outside the bounds of the Russian behavior”.

Ukraine desperately needs more weapons, which is why defense ministers from several NATO allies will meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of increasing military aid.

On the eve of the meeting, the General-in-Chief of Ukraine and the Commander-in-Chief of the US Army in Europe discussed military aid and training in a telephone conversation. Ukraine says it needs fighter jets and long-range missiles.

Stoltenberg said he expected the plane issue to be discussed, but Ukraine needed support on the ground now.

A NATO source said this would increase ammunition stockpiling as Ukraine was consuming shells much faster than Western countries could produce.

In several European countries, including Poland, the United Kingdom and Germany, Ukrainian forces are being trained in the use of Leopard 2 and other modern main battle tanks to bolster their defences.

(Reporting by Max Hunder, Olena Harmash, Tim Heritage, Pavel Polityuk, Bart H. Meijer, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Ron Popeski and Elaine Monaghan; writing by Costas Pitas and Lincoln Feast; editing by Michael Perry and Robert Birsel, Spanish editing by José Muñoz in the Gdańsk newsroom)