CNN
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Vladimir Putin’s forces have made further gains in at least three locations along the eastern front in Ukraine – including for the first time in several months an advance in the northern Kharkiv region – highlighting again Kyiv’s need for ammunition and weapons from the United States and other allies.
Russia’s tactical advances are now daily and reflect the new tempo on the battlefield since the fall of the industrial town of Avdiivka in February.
The gains are generally modest -– from a few hundred meters of territory to perhaps a kilometer at most – but they are usually taking place in several locations at once.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s losses are being accompanied by criticism from influential military bloggers and analysts of the armed forces’ official battlefield updates.
One of Russia’s main efforts is in the Donetsk region. Ukraine’s DeepState monitoring group, which updates daily changes in frontline positions, shows Russian forces pushing forward in eight different locations along 20-25 kms of frontline in one 24-hour period.
Military bloggers on both sides have reported that Russian forces have crossed a water course and taken control of the settlements of Semenivka and Berdychi – which Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi confirmed in a post on Telegram on Sunday. Russia had deployed up to four brigades in offensive operations in the area, Syrskyi said.
A few kilometers to the north, Soloviove is now also reported to be in Russian hands, and the tiny settlement of Keramik at least partially so as well.
“The withdrawal in the Donetsk operational zone continues,” the Ukrainian military blogger Myroshnykov wrote.
Slightly further south, Russian forces are also making headway in the industrial town of Krasnohorivka, entering from the south and the east.
Fierce fighting has been reported around the town’s large brick factory. One Russian military blogger wrote of the battle’s importance: “The liberation (sic) of the refractory plant would actually mean the fall of the Krasnohorivka fortification, as the northern outskirts of the settlement are private buildings, which will be too difficult to defend if the plant is lost.”
Elsewhere, about 180kms (112 miles) to the north, Russia’s forces have also achieved their first successes in almost three months along that part of the frontline that cuts into Kharkiv region.
A Ukrainian army spokesman described Russian forces there as having become “significantly more active” over the past day, while DeepState assessed a Russian advance of between one and two kilometers into the village of Kyslivka.
Overall, the frontlines in this region have been among the most stable since Ukraine recaptured a large swath of territory in Kharkiv region in late summer of 2022.
Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images
Utility workers clean up the aftermath of an overnight Russian rocket attack in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on April 27.
With withdrawals and losses accumulating, military bloggers such as Myroshnykov and the DeepState site have both taken aim at official Ukrainian communications, accusing the armed forces of increasingly unrealistic updates…
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