Russia In Race To Make Gains Before Fresh US Arms Arrive

Analysts and officials say the Kremlin wants a military victory to tout before its artillery advantage over Ukraine diminishes

- TOM WATLING

Russian forces are pushing “at all costs” to try to “capture as much land as they can” in Ukraine before vital US military aid gets into the hands of Kyiv’s troops, officials and analysts have warned. While the first tranches of the $61bn (£48bn) US package, which includes everything from long-range missiles to armoured vehicles and vital artillery, started to arrive this week, it could take weeks or potentially months for significant portions of the aid to arrive.

Russian forces, meanwhile, are taking full advantage of an artillery and manpower edge on the front line, and they are hurrying to encircle swathes of Ukrainian-held territory in the eastern region of Donetsk. “The Kremlin is rushing,” says Pavel Luzin, who focuses on Russia’s armed forces for the US-based think tank the Jamestown Foundation. “They are trying to improve their combat positions at any cost in order to force Ukraine to negotiate a ceasefire.”

Having captured the city of Avdiivka in February, in the past few weeks Russian forces have taken 25 sq km (9.65 square miles) of territory in and around a town called Ocheretyne in Donetsk. Located roughly 12 miles north of Avdiivka, it is the latest victim of Russia’s concerted push in that direction, with Moscow’s troops having taken 11 settlements overall.

Footage of the area shows a countryside wrecked by artillery shelling, while reports from Western intelligence communities estimate that Russia has lost tens of thousands of soldiers during the push.