RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian military reports gains against Ukrainian troops

The Russian military is making advances at multiple locations along the frontline in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), according to a daily press briefing of the country’s Defense Ministry released on Friday.

Over the past 24 hours, Moscow’s troops have inflicted heavy casualties on the adversary, amounting to up to 795 servicemen. The DPR saw intense combat at multiple locations, with the troops “taking up better positions”near the village of Klescheevka, located to the southwest of the town of Artyomovsk (known in Ukraine as Bakhmut). The small village has been experiencing heavy combat for months, following the liberation of Artyomovsk early last year.

The Russian military reported destroying multiple pieces of military hardware, including assorted armored and soft vehicles, as well as several artillery pieces, including two US-made M777 towed howitzers. The military said it conducted multiple long-range attacks on Ukrainian ammunition stockpiles, troops, and hardware assembly points in more than 100 locations.

On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported making advances and “taking up better positions,” including in the vicinity of the DPR town of Liman. Liberated early into the ongoing conflict, the town fell back under Ukrainian control in late 2022.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu revealed fresh estimates on the casualties sustained by  Ukrainian forces over the past month. All in all, Ukraine lost more than 23,000 troops in January, the minister claimed during a meeting with top Russian military commanders on Friday, stating his forces now “hold the strategic initiative along the entire line of contact.”

Over the past month, the Ukrainian military has also suffered heavy equipment losses, with over 3,000 heavy hardware pieces destroyed. The losses include multiple US-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems, German-supplied Leopard main battle tanks and other hardware provided to Kiev by its Western sponsors, according to Shoigu.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's Zelenskiy hails arrival of new air defence systems

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the arrival on Friday of two new air defence systems that he said could "shoot down anything".

Zelenskiy also said that he and his top commanders had discussed conditions along the 1000-km (600-mile) frontline of the war against Russia, singling out the situation in the beleaguered town of Avdiivka as "extraordinarily difficult".

In his nightly video address, the president pointedly said he could give no details of the newly arrived air defence systems but described them as the culmination of "working tirelessly at various levels for months".

"But these are systems that can shoot down anything," he said. "We will be protecting the regions. And while the systems are not yet sufficient for the complete defence of Ukraine, we are working towards that goal every day."

Beefing up air defence has been one of the key priorities for defending cities, towns and infrastructure against Russian missile and drone attacks.

Zelenskiy has previously lauded the U.S.-made Patriot air defence system as critical to safeguarding Ukrainian skies and able to down all types of Russian missiles.

And U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said in Kyiv this week that a new "small-diameter" bomb able to hit targets at greater distances would soon arrive in the country.

Zelenskiy's account of Friday's command meeting said one of the reports was presented by Armed Forces Commander in Chief Valery Zaluzhnyi. Unconfirmed news reports have suggested this week that the president intended to fire the commander.

The two men have had differences for months about the conduct of the war after last year's Ukrainian counter-offensive produced only limited results.

Zelenskiy said "special attention" had been given at the meeting to the situation in Avdiivka, which has been under sustained Russian attack for more than three months. Officials say not a single building in the town remains intact.

The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces, in its evening report, said its forces had repelled 19 attacks around the town in eastern Donetsk region and a further 10 in nearby areas.

The town was briefly captured in 2014 by pro-Russian forces who seized large chunks of territory but later retaken by Ukraine. It is seen as a gateway to the regional centre of the Russian-held city of Donetsk, about 20 km to the east.

A former Ukrainian commander, Yevhen Dykiy, told the Espreso TV media outlet that Russian forces would be unable to seize Avdiivka through frontal attacks but they were getting closer to the sole road bringing in supplies.

"There is a risk that the Ukrainian armed forces may have to withdraw from Avdiivka," Dykiy said.

RT/Reuters