- Russia is strengthening defensive positions in the areas it occupies in southern Ukraine
- Damp basements, no work. Ukrainians must return to the cities on the front
Information about the situation on the battlefield given by both the Ukrainian and Russian sides cannot be independently verified.
In the south of the country, the Ukrainian military has been putting pressure on Russian lines for more than a month, and leading Ukrainian officials, among them President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, recently warned that the army is preparing offensive operations to push the Russians out of the places they currently control.
The strengthening of Russia’s defenses in this part of Ukraine can be seen as a response to the expected Ukrainian offensive and to the attacks that Ukraine is launching on command posts, logistics hubs and places where a large number of troops are gathering.
“The strengthening of defenses in the south at the time of the fighting for Donbass seems to show how seriously Russian commanders take the threat (of the Ukrainian offensive),” according to British military intelligence.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, during a visit by Russian troops to Donbass, ordered commanders to step up attacks on all parts of the front, the ministry he leads said on Saturday.
