Russia is strengthening its positions on the front, Ukraine expects a new wave of attacks as the first anniversary of the start of the war approaches, which began with the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022. The Ukrainian General Staff observes enemy activity and especially emphasizes that Russian forces have concentrated their efforts on “offensive operations in the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut directions , Avdiivka and Shakhtarsk”. In particular, intense fighting continues around Bakhmut. And with reconnaissance aircraft, Moscow’s forces are trying to make their artillery strikes more accurate. Russian attacks were repulsed by the Ukrainians near Avdiivka and Shakhtarsk.
Kiev prepares for the crucial phase of the war and continues to wait for the breakthrough with the supply of fighters. “I do not exclude that Britain may become the first country to unblock the supply of combat aircraft to Ukraine,” the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said on Telegram. “There are still issues that need to be agreed. We are working,” Yermak added.
The military aid that Great Britain intends to provide to Ukraine was the focus of a new telephone conversation between President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The Ukrainian president on Twitter called Sunak “a true friend” of Ukraine and explained that he appreciates the British government’s understanding that the “success” of Kiev battlefield depends on the speed “of military aid supplies”. “Together we are approaching our common victory!” Zelensky added.
In the country, especially after the visit of US President Joe Biden, confidence in the final success remains high. 95% of Ukrainians believe in their country’s victory against Russia, as emerges from a survey conducted in early February by the Ukrainian Rating Group institute and released two days after the first anniversary of the invasion.
Also according to the same survey, 97% of Ukrainians polled say they trust their army (up from 65% in 2019) and 90% in their president, Volodymyr Zelensky (up from 36% in January 2022). While 17% of the population said they had lost a loved one in the war, more than half (58%) considered it “impossible” to re-establish friendly relations with Russians and Belarusians.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian prosecutor general announced that his office has identified 91 Russian soldiers responsible for war crimes in Bucha. “During the occupation the Russian army committed more than 9,000 war crimes in the Bucha district of the Kiev region, and more than 1,700 civilians were killed,” the prosecutor said, quoted by local media. “So far, 91 Russian soldiers implicated in these crimes have been identified”, he added, specifying that the goal is “to bring all the people involved to justice”.