Russia is advancing towards two towns in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region | News of the war between Russia and Ukraine

[ad_1]

Russian state media reported that Russian forces are moving towards two towns in the Zaporizhia region of southern Ukraine, where fighting has intensified this week after several months of stagnation on the front.

Vladimir Rogov, the Russian official in the region, said offensive operations were centered around two towns: Orekiev, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the Ukrainian-held regional capital Zaporizhia, and Holypol, to the east.

“The front is mobile, especially in two directions: Orekhev and Hulyaipol,” Rogov was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

He added that battles took place in those areas, according to the agency.

“The initiative is in our hands.”

The Russian army later claimed, for the second day in a row, that it had taken “more advantageous lines and positions” after “offensive operations” in the Zaporizhia region.

It claimed to have struck Ukrainian positions in the village of Lezhyno, outside the regional capital Zaporizhia, which did not fall to Ukrainian forces.

Al Jazeera was unable to verify the reports.

The Ukrainian military said in its daily report on Sunday that “more than 15 settlements were damaged by artillery fire” in Zaporizhia.

Earlier this week, Rogov announced a “local offensive” around Orekiev and said the Russian army had captured the village of Lubkov near the Dnieper River.

He also said this week that fighting had “escalated sharply” in the southern region.

The front in southern Ukraine has been quieter of late than in the east, with Moscow withdrawing from the key city of Kherson in November.

Russia claims to have annexed Zaporizhia along with three other Ukrainian regions, but it does not control it entirely.

While Moscow controls large swathes of the southern part of the region, Kyiv controls its main city Zaporizhia and the northern part.

Russia warns the West

The reports come as a Russian official said that governments giving Ukraine more powerful weapons could cause “a global tragedy that would destroy their countries”.

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament, warned that the countries’ decision to supply Ukraine to Ukraine would lead to a “global catastrophe”.

He said: “If Washington and NATO supply weapons that can be used to strike peaceful cities and make attempts to seize our lands as they threaten to do, it will lead to retaliation with more powerful weapons.”

Germany is a major arms donor to Ukraine and has ordered a review of its Leopard 2 stockpiles in preparation for a possible green light.

Yet the government in Berlin has shown caution at every step to increase its commitments to Ukraine, a reluctance seen as rooted in its history and political culture.

Meanwhile, France and Germany committed to showing “unwavering support” for Ukraine during ceremonies and talks on Sunday to mark the 60th anniversary of the post-WWII treaty of friendship. In a joint declaration, the countries said they would “stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

They also pledged to “work together for a European Union that is more flexible, more sustainable and more able to act independently”. The treaty that forged the bond between old foes France and Germany 60 years ago underpins the European Union today.

Germany’s hesitant indecisiveness has drawn sharp criticism, particularly from Poland and the Baltic states, countries on NATO’s eastern flank that were once dominated by Moscow and feel particularly threatened by renewed Russian imperial ambitions.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that if Germany does not agree to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine, his country is ready to build a “smaller coalition” of countries that might send theirs anyway.

[ad_2]