Ukraine forces have reversed the battlefield momentum against invading Russians in some areas to reclaim ground in recent days, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
The Ukrainians are “in places and at times going on an offensive,” particularly in the south of the country, US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told CNN.
“They are going after Russians and pushing them out of places where the Russians have been in the past,” he said, particularly in Mykolaiv.
“We have seen this now increase over the last few days.”
Kirby said he could not confirm reports from Ukrainian officials that they had retaken at least one town and expect to take more in coming days.
But it would be “consistent with the kind of fighting and the kinds of capabilities we have seen the Ukrainians use,” he said.
As for the Russians, he echoed Western analysts who have said the invading forces have become bogged down.
“They are running out of fuel. They’re running out of food. They are not integrating their operations in a joint manner the way you would think a modern military would,” Kirby said.
He said Russian commanders “aren’t necessarily talking to one another,” and that there were communication problems between air and ground forces.
In some cases the Russian fighters have had to resort to using cellphones to communicate with each other.
The Russians are “frustrated” and “stalled,” he said, citing the fact Moscow’s forces have failed to take control of population centers beyond two areas around Kherson and Melitopol in the south.
“They are slowed. And some of that… is due to their own ineptitude.”
Separately a senior Pentagon official, speaking on grounds of anonymity, said Tuesday that the Ukrainian army had launched a counterattack on Russian forces in Izyum, a small city southeast of Kharkiv.
Izyum is on a key route to the Donbas region that would potentially allow Russian forces in the northeast and southeast to link up.
“What we’re seeing today is some significant fighting there by the Ukrainians, and an effort to take it back,” the official said of Izyum.
The official said that due to losses and other problems the Russia force inside Ukraine is now below 90 percent of its available combat power.
In addition to problems getting food and fuel to its units, the Russian military has had to take soldiers out of the fight due to frostbite, the official said.
“They lack the appropriate cold weather gear for the environment that they are in,” the official said.
Battleground Ukraine: Day 27 of Russia’s invasion
Paris (AFP) March 22, 2022 –
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was largely stalled on the 27th day of the assault Tuesday, with no major advances in the north and east and minimal progress in the south.
Western sources said Russian forces were consolidating their positions but Ukrainian forces were showing no sign of stopping resistance and were hitting back with counterattacks.
Here is a summary of the situation on the ground, based on statements from both sides, Western defence and intelligence sources, and international organisations.
– The east –
Although there was little movement around the mostly encircled city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s military general staff said heavy artillery was being moved up through a neighbouring region of Russia.
That city would be a key link in the chain if Russia aims — as many analysts believe — to encircle Ukrainian forces in the country’s east.
The city of Sumy further to the north and close to the Russian border is also encircled.
– Kyiv and the north –
Russians have been reinforcing their positions around the capital, which has not yet been fully surrounded. Ukraine has said the attackers were laying mines around their lines for the first time in the conflict.
In Chernihiv meanwhile, which is encircled by Russian troops, the Ukrainian army accused the Russians of shelling civilian areas.
– The south –
Russia continued its siege of the port city of Mariupol, a key Russian target to link up the annexed Crimea and separatist-controlled Donbas regions.
Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants are believed to remain in Mariupol, which has no running water or heating and where food is running short.
But the British Defence Ministry said Ukrainian forces were continuing to repel Russian attempts to occupy the city.
Russian forces earlier in the campaign took the city of Kherson just north of Crimea, the only major city they have captured so far.
Although Russian troops are trying to push west along Ukraine’s Black Sea coast towards Odessa, they have so far failed to encircle the city of Mykolayiv that stands in the way.
There is Russian naval activity in the Black Sea off Odessa but this does not mean that an amphibious assault on the city is imminent, according to the US Defense Department.
– The west and centre –
After deadly airstrikes in Ukraine’s west last week, there have been no reports of significant military action in the region or around Dnipro.
The west of Ukraine, including the region’s main city of Lviv, is still far from the ground offensive but has been the target of air strikes.
Russia has claimed to have used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in a strike in the Ivano-Frankivsk region on March 18 but Western officials are dubious.
– Casualties –
According to the office for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 925 civilians have been confirmed killed in Ukraine, including 75 children. It warns this is likely an underestimate.
Moscow has given no toll for casualties among its armed forces since announcing on March 2 that 498 troops had been killed.
Ukraine says around 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. Western sources generally give a lower figure but still numbering several thousand.
Kyiv has also not given an update on the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed since President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a week ago that around 1,300 were dead.
– Refugees –
The UN says almost 3.6 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, with more than two million of them heading to neighbouring Poland.
A total of 10 million are believed to have fled their homes, according to the world body, representing over a quarter of the population in regions under government control.
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Eisenhower, Powell, Tubman among possible names for US Army bases
Washington (AFP) March 18, 2022
Former president Dwight D. Eisenhower, general Colin Powell and abolitionist Harriet Tubman are among the names under consideration as the US Army moves to rename nine bases honoring military figures of the pro-slavery Civil War South.
The Naming Commission set up by Congress to come up with new names said on its website that it had received more than 34,000 submissions for new names.
All of the bases being renamed are located in Southern states that were part of the Confederacy during the 1861- … read more
