According to a senior US defence official, Russia is learning from its failings in the north of Ukraine, where it lacked the necessary capabilities to maintain military operations, and transferring those lessons to their current emphasis in the east and south of the nation.
In a call with reporters on Monday, a senior military official said, “What we’ve seen over the last few days is them continue to attempt to establish the circumstances.” “It’s referred to as shaping operations.”
“It looks as though they’re attempting to learn from the north’s failed experiences, where they didn’t have the sustainment capabilities in the region they were about to operate,” the person added.
As part of the 11 additional battalion tactical units that have deployed into the east and south of Ukraine “over the last several days,” the US has observed Russia deploy “heavy artillery,” “command and control enablers,” and “aviation, notably rotary aviation assistance,” according to the official.
Russia is massing forces and looks to be on the verge of capturing Mariupol, Ukraine’s southern port city.
According to Petro Andriushchenko, a city adviser, heavy combat was still going on in the city on Monday. Later Monday, Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, declared that the “second phase of the conflict” had begun in the eastern Donbas area, amid evident indicators of a stepped-up Russian onslaught.
In a televised speech on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that the struggle for Donbas had begun.
“Russian troops have begun the struggle for Donbas for which they have been planning for a long time,” Zelensky added. “A significant portion of the Russian forces are concentrated and focused on that attack.” He emphasised that Ukrainian forces will continue to combat a Russian assault in the area. He emphasised that Ukrainian forces will continue to combat a Russian assault in the area.
“No matter how many Russian troops they send into the region, we will continue to fight and protect, and we will do it on a daily basis. We will not give up anything Ukrainian, but we do not require anything not belonging to us “According to Zelensky. “I’m grateful to all of our troops, soldiers, and courageous villages and towns in the region,” he stated.
Russia’s uneven — and at times chaotic — campaign in Ukraine’s north has been widely reported, and their early military blunders caught US and Western authorities off guard.
Since February 24, when Russia began its assault on Ukraine, it has bombed Ukrainian cities with missiles and artillery, damaging residences, hospitals, and schools and killing dozens of civilians.
But, despite heavy Ukrainian opposition and what top military officials have described as tactical blunders, Moscow’s ground assault has mostly stalled, and Moscow has failed to conquer major cities, including Kyiv.
