Ukrainian fighters driving Kyiv’s counteroffensive operations are making “small advances” in a number of areas, together with the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk areas and round Bakhmut, Britain’s Protection Ministry mentioned Sunday, noting that either side are experiencing excessive casualties.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing Sunday for 2 days of high-stakes conferences. Throughout his go to, Blinken will proceed to reiterate the U.S. expectation that China not present deadly support to Russia, officers talking on background to debate delicate diplomatic planning mentioned Sunday. Beijing secretly authorized such support to Moscow earlier this yr and deliberate to disguise navy tools as civilian gadgets, in accordance with a U.S. intercept of Russian intelligence revealed in leaked secret paperwork.
Right here’s the newest on the struggle and its ripple results throughout the globe.
Russia goals to defeat counteroffensive with mines, artillery and aviation: The preliminary days of Ukraine’s counteroffensive might have yielded minor features, however Russia has used the previous seven months, Mary Ilyushina studies, to shore up its reserves and ammunition and collect extra drones. Its forces have fortified the 900-mile entrance line, stretching from Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine’s southeast to Russia’s Belgorod area, simply over the border.
Whereas Russia’s protection has weaknesses, navy consultants mentioned, it’s more likely to decelerate and impede Ukraine’s plans. “They’ve had months to create a defensive plan, they’ve dug in and used the terrain, they’ve been sitting there for six months laying little traps and mines,” mentioned Dara Massicot, an skilled on the Russian navy at Rand Corp. “They really feel as assured as they’re in all probability going to really feel that they perceive their defensive strains.”