Ukraine is facing increasing pressure along its roughly 1,000-kilometer front line, analysts say.
ADVERTISEMENTIn its latest report, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank said on Saturday that Russian forces had recently advanced near Kupyansk, in Toretsk, and near Pokrovsk and Velika Novosilka, key logistics routes for the Ukrainian military.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force announced on Saturday that there had been ten Russian drone strikes, eight of which were downed over the regions of Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovograd, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson. One drone returned to Russian-occupied territory, while the last drone disappeared from radar, often a sign of the use of electronic defenses.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that 11 Ukrainian drones were shot down by the country’s air defense system. Both the mayor of Sochi, Andrei Proshunin, and the head of Russia’s Dagestan region, Sergei Melikov, both in southwestern Russia, said the drones were destroyed in their regions overnight. No casualties reported.
Earlier this week, new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance “needs to go further” to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion. Military aid to Kiev and steps towards ending the war are expected to be high on the agenda when NATO foreign ministers meet in Brussels for a two-day meeting starting on December 3.
The Trump factor
There is also uncertainty regarding the foreign policy stance of President-elect Donald Trump. While Trump promised on the campaign trail to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine within a day, he has not publicly discussed how that might happen. Trump also announced Wednesday that Keith Kellogg, an 80-year-old, highly decorated retired three-star general, would serve as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
Kellogg wrote in April that “ending the Russia-Ukraine war will require strong leadership from America First to reach a peace agreement and immediately end hostilities between the two warring parties.”
Meanwhile, during his only campaign debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump twice refused to directly answer a question about whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war — raising concerns that Kiev could be forced to accept unfavorable terms in any negotiations.
The new head of the Ukrainian ground forces
Ukraine’s president announced a series of changes to military leadership on Friday, saying changes in personnel management were needed to improve the situation on the battlefield.
General Mykhailo Drapatyi, who led the defense of Kharkiv during a new Russian offensive on Ukraine’s second-largest city this year, has been named the new head of Ukraine’s ground forces. Oleh Apostol was appointed as the new Deputy Commander-in-Chief in charge of improving military training.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi also announced on Friday that he would reinforce units in Donetsk, Pokrovsk and Kurakhovo with additional reserves, ammunition, weapons and military equipment.
