Russia, Ukraine say situation difficult in Donetsk, both claim battlefield successes

Russia and Ukraine said on Tuesday that the situation on the battlefield in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk was difficult and claimed successes in repelling each other’s attacks. The so-called Donetsk People’s Republic is one of four regions in Ukraine which Moscow proclaimed as its own in September in an exercise Ukraine and its allies denounced as a “sham”, coercive referendum. Advancing in some areas the region was difficult, the top Moscow-installed official in the occupied parts of the territory in eastern Ukraine said, but added that more than half of Donetsk was under Russian control. “A little more than 50 per cent of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic has been liberated,” Denis Pushilin, Russian-installed administrator of the portion controlled by Moscow, told Russian state-owned news agency RIA. Reuters was unable to independently verify the report. Fierce fighting in the region in recent weeks has left unclear which parts of Donetsk are under Russian and Ukrainian control. Burning through ammo, Russia using 40-year-old rounds in Ukraine Ukraine’s top military command said in its daily battlefield update on Tuesday that its forces repelled Russian in 10 areas of the region. Russia has claimed to be gradually advancing its positions, with the defence ministry saying on Monday that its offensive there had killed 30 Ukrainian military personnel the day before. However, Pushilin said the situation was tough along the Lyman line of contact in the region’s north. Ukraine had liberated Lyman hours after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the annexation of Donetsk in September. “The situation remains difficult, the enemy is trying to counter-attack, but our units are now holding all positions,” RIA cited Pushilin as saying. “It is not always possible to move forward.” Russian units surrounded the town of Maryinka, with fierce fighting taking place in its streets, the Russian Tass state-owned agency said on Tuesday, citing another Mocow-installed official. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said its forces had repelled a Russian attack on the frontline town. Russia’s sustained shelling of the frontline in Donetsk has completely destroyed the city of Bakhmut and heavily damaged the city of Avdiivka, which lies in the region’s centre, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday. On Monday, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russia kept concentrating its efforts to advance and capture both cities. “Near Bakhmut, the occupiers rained mortar and artillery fire on nearly 20 settlements,” it said in a daily evening update. Nine settlements came under shelling near Avdiivka, the military said. Team in Ukraine investigates alleged sex crimes by Russian forces Britain’s defence ministry said Russia was still likely to be planning deeper advances within Donetsk, but cast doubts on its ability to do so. “It is highly unlikely that the Russian military is currently able to generate an effective striking force capable of retaking these areas,” it said. “Russian ground forces are unlikely to make operationally significant advances within the next several months.” Both Ukraine and Russia say the other side has sustained devastatingly high casualties in the war, now in its 10th month, though neither give clear data on their own losses. The United States’ top general estimated on November 9 that Russia and Ukraine had each seen more than 100,000 of their soldiers killed or wounded. The civilian death toll is unknown. Zelensky pressed Western leaders again on Monday to provide more advanced weapons, and he repeated his calls for Russian forces to withdraw from occupied areas of Ukraine, suggesting Christmas as a date to retreat. ‘Completely rotten’: Russian troops in Ukraine unhappy with top brass The Group of Seven (G7) economic powers said they would keep working together to bolster Ukraine’s military capabilities, with an immediate focus on air defence systems, according to a leaders’ statement released by Britain. The Kremlin has rejected all previous appeals to reverse its land grabs in Ukraine. It didn’t immediately respond to this latest one. The two countries haven’t engaged in any recent peace talks and there is no end in sight for the war. Zelensky has said his goal is to reclaim all occupied territory, while Putin insists on solidifying his forces’ control over the areas. Additional reporting by Associated Press