Ukraine’s Armed Forces coordinated Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine – Military officer

The situation in eastern Ukraine is getting worse, but the local defenders are standing strong against a big push from Russia’s stronger and better-equipped forces, according to a top Ukrainian military official on Thursday.

Russia has gathered soldiers in Donetsk to try to break through Ukraine’s defenses, said Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s strategic command in the eastern part of the country.

“Voloshyn said on TV that the enemy is trying to take control and break through our defense. ”

He said the enemy is attacking in many places and they have made some progress. “The situation is constantly changing. ”

Russia has put Ukraine in a difficult position in the fighting because Kyiv doesn’t have enough soldiers and weapons. Ukrainian troops are hurrying to build more barriers and protection along the 1,000-kilometer front line.

Ukraine has been facing more and more problems because their military has been waiting for important new military help from the United States. The support got delayed in Washington for six months.

Ukrainian soldiers left Avdiivka, a city in Donetsk, in February because they were tired and their spirits were low from constant attacks by Russia. Since then, the Kremlin’s army has used its military power to capture many villages in the area, forcing them to surrender. They want to take control of the parts of Donetsk that they don’t already have.

Russian cities, like Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, are being destroyed by Moscow’s missiles, drones, and bombs.

The Donetsk and Luhansk regions, when combined, create the Donbas, a large industrial area next to Russia. President Vladimir Putin has targeted this area since the start of the war and Moscow-supported separatists have been fighting there since 2014.

Russia attacked Odesa again, using missiles and hurting 14 people.

The attack struck a place where Ukraine’s biggest private delivery company, Nova Poshta, sorts packages. The company said no workers got hurt, but the strike caused a big fire to start.

On Monday, six people died in a Russian missile attack on Odesa, and two days later three people were killed when the Russian forces attacked civilian buildings.

Long-range attacks have been a big part of Europe’s largest conflict since World War II, which has mostly been about wearing down the enemy. Kyiv leaders are asking for more air defense systems from Ukraine’s Western friends, but they haven’t received them quickly.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Russia has fired over 300 missiles, nearly 300 drones, and more than 3,200 guided bombs at Ukraine just in April.

Odesa is an important place for shipping lots of Ukrainian grain to other countries through the Black Sea. Russia has attacked Odesa many times. Thursday marked the 10th year since the fighting in the city between people who supported Russia and those who didn’t. 48 people died in the clashes.

Ukraine has sent more advanced drones far away to attack Russia. They are targeting important places in Russia like buildings and roads that help the Russian economy and military.

The leaders of three areas in Russia said that Ukrainian drones attacked energy plants and caused damage during the night. The Governor of Oryol region. Andrei Klychkov said the power lines and other energy equipment were damaged in two towns. The Smolensk and Kursk leaders said one building was damaged in each area.

The Russian Defense Ministry said they shot down Ukrainian drones in some areas of Russia. It said that most of the planes were stopped in Bryansk, and five of them were shot down.

In other news, Zelenskyy said there will be a meeting to make peace for Ukraine at a fancy resort by a lake in Switzerland on June 15 and 16.

Zelenskyy said he thinks leaders from all over the world will come to the meeting to talk about how to bring long-lasting peace to Ukraine in a fair way, following the rules of the UN and international law.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry said that over 160 groups of people are coming, including international organizations, but Russia hasn’t been asked to come yet.

Switzerland wants Russia to join in, but Russia keeps saying it doesn’t want to. However, Switzerland still thinks it’s important for Russia to be included.