Assessment of Great Britain: Russians move troops to the South West

According to British intelligence, Russia is shifting its troops from eastern Ukraine to the south-west – whether for attack or defense is unclear. London speaks of a new phase in the war.

According to British military intelligence, the war in Ukraine is about to enter a new phase. Most of the fighting therefore shifted from the Donbass to an almost 350-kilometer-long front that stretches parallel to the Dnieper River in the south-west. The line of battle would then run from the area around Zaporizhia to Cherson. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense in London on Twitter, citing the latest intelligence report.

Troop Movements to the Southwest

According to the findings, Russian forces gathered in southern Ukraine. There they expected a Ukrainian counter-offensive or were preparing a possible attack of their own. Long Russian convoys of military trucks, tanks and artillery are still moving southwest from Donbass in eastern Ukraine, the intelligence report said.

Tactical battalions numbering 800 to 1,000 soldiers have been stationed on the Crimean peninsula and are likely to support Russian troops in Kherson. The region lies across from Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, on mainland Ukraine.

Ukrainians destroy infrastructure

According to British information, the Ukrainian armed forces are concentrating their attacks on bridges, ammunition depots and railway connections in the south. Among them is the strategically important railway connection that connects Cherson with Crimea. The Ukrainian attacks are coming at ever shorter intervals.

Russians attack defense line to the east

Ukraine, meanwhile, said Russian troops used tanks and artillery to attack the village of Bakhmut, a cornerstone of the defense system around the last Ukrainian-held conurbation in Donbass.

The headquarters of the Ukrainian troops in the east is in the area between Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, where a good half a million people lived before the war. This area is secured from the east by the Siwersk – Soledar – Bakhmut line of fortifications. This is now faltering in several places.

Ukraine attacks in the south

In the south of the country, on the other hand, Ukrainian troops are apparently advancing. There, the Russian units concentrated on defending their positions in the occupied territories, according to the situation report. The Southern Command of the Ukrainian military previously reported that it had destroyed at least six Russian arms and ammunition depots and two command posts in the Kherson region. The information cannot be verified independently.

Assignments of blame after nuclear bombardment

There is also fighting over the largest European nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia. The facility, which is occupied by Russian troops, was shelled by artillery yesterday. Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of being responsible. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensykj said Russia had attacked the nuclear power plant site itself. He spoke of an “act of terrorism” and called for further sanctions against Russia.

Only a few days ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency had shown concern. An inspection to check the technical safety of the nuclear power plant is urgently needed, said IAEA boss Rafael Grossi.