Ukrainian troops in Donbas will be ‘difficult nut for the Russians to crack'

UKRAINIAN forces can “see off ” Vladimir Putin’s troops launching key battles in the Donbas, Britain’s armed forces minister said today.

- Nicholas Cecil and Rachael Burford

James Heappey said that defeating the Ukrainian military units in the east of the country would be an “extraordinarily difficult nut for the Russians to crack” given that they were so well dug-in, well-trained and well-equipped.

He predicted a battle between two forces that are “much more evenly balanced” than when Russian troops made a lightning advance towards Kyiv after the invasion started on February 24.

“With all of the support that the Ukrainians are getting from around the world, there is every chance that the Ukrainians can see them off,” he said.

Mr Heappey praised Ukrainian fighters in besieged Mariupol for “soaking up a huge amount of Russian combat power” by refusing to surrender.

He said “nobody should rejoice” in the estimated 15,000 Russian military fatalities as these all meant “families who have not got their son or husband or brother coming home”. However, he said: “People in Russia should be clear that that is because the Russian plan has been defined by incredible hubris.”