Almost 20 months into an invasion conceived as a “special military operation” lasting days or weeks, the Kremlin is convinced that developments — especially the deepening conflict between Israel and Hamas that’s distracting Kyiv’s allies — are moving in Vladimir Putin’s favor. Moscow is more confident it can hold onto territories in southern and eastern Ukraine seized in 2022, said people with knowledge of the situation.
(Bloomberg) — Almost 20 months into an invasion conceived as a “special military operation” lasting days or weeks, the Kremlin is convinced that developments — especially the deepening conflict between Israel and Hamas that’s distracting Kyiv’s allies — are moving in Vladimir Putin’s favor. Moscow is more confident it can hold onto territories in southern and eastern Ukraine seized in 2022, said people with knowledge of the situation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia is incurring “staggering” losses in its bid to take Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. “Either Russian forces believe they can feasibly take Avdiivka, or Russian military command is poorly prioritizing offensive operations regardless of cost,” the US-based military analysts Institute for the Study of War said in an note. Russia overnight shelled the countryside and industrial targets around Kryvyhi Rih, Zelenskiy’s home town, killing one person, the region’s governor said. The Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Mykolayiv regions were also under attack.
Putin’s announcement this week that he’s ordered fighter jets armed with Kinzhal missiles to begin round-the-clock patrols over neutral waters in the Black Sea “is in line with typical Russian rhetoric aimed at its domestic audience, calling the West aggressors whilst framing Russian activity as necessary for protection of the state,” the UK defense ministry said. The performance of the hypersonic missiles in Ukraine has been “poor,” the UK said.
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