Ukraine is waging a fierce struggle, trying to contain the onslaught of Russia, finding itself in the most dangerous position since the beginning of the war, writes the American edition of The New York Times .
The Russians want to return previously lost territories during the counteroffensives of the Armed Forces in 2022 and 2023.
On Saturday, they captured Avdiivka, which was their biggest military achievement since the capture of Bakhmut last May.
"On the entire 1,000 km long front, Ukraine is running out of ammunition without the restoration of American military aid, and it is also difficult to replenish its own depleted forces after two years of brutal fighting," the authors of the article point out.
Currently, the Russian offensive is divided into five main directions, covering cities and towns on most of the front in the east and south of Ukraine: Avdiivskyi, Marinskyi, Robotynskyi, Kreminskyi, and Bakhmutskyi.
Avdiyivka
Russia captured this Ukrainian fortress, which for many years undermined the most important Russian logistical arteries, writes the NYT. And he reminds that the destroyed city occupies an area of only about 19 square kilometers and is located a few kilometers from occupied Donetsk.
"It is unclear how far the Russians will be able to advance beyond Avdiyivka , or how well the Ukrainians have built their defense lines," the authors of the article think, "but the next large population centers, where tens of thousands of civilians live, are located only 50 km to the west."
The publication indicates that about 50,000 Russian soldiers took part in the battles for Avdiivka. Tens of thousands of Russians have been killed or wounded, but Russia is steadily replenishing its ranks, in particular with the help of convicts.
According to the publication, even if the front lines stabilize after the capture of Avdiyivka, its fall will allow the Russians to transfer troops and equipment more effectively.
Maryinka
PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES
Last month, Russian troops captured Maryinka, another Ukrainian front-line town. And now it serves as a base for Russian attacks, writes NYT.
"After two years of Russian bombing and fighting, not much remained of Maryinka. But the capture of this city allowed the Russians to switch their attention to the south and another vital stronghold of Ukraine - Vugledar," the authors of the article point out.
Last year, Russian forces repeatedly tried to attack Vugledar from the south and suffered catastrophic losses, including a crushing defeat in one of the largest tank battles of the war.
But since Maryinka is under the control of the Russian Federation, they attack Vugledar from the north. Now they are advancing through the village of Novomykhailivka, the journalists write.
Ukrainian officials have said that Russia is holding about 40,000 people in the nearby Mariupol region to release them for attacks from the south. Meanwhile, soldiers fighting in the Vugledar area say the fall of Avdiivka is likely to free up Russian forces to intensify attacks from the north, the NYT reports.
Robotine
The publication reminds that the Kremlin seeks to regain its position in the Robotyn region of the Zaporizhzhia region in order to return the areas that the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated during last year's counteroffensive. There, the Russian Federation gathered even more forces than in Avdiivka, the authors point out with reference to the spokesman of the "Tavria" military group, Dmytro Lykhovy.
"It seems that the Russians have set themselves the goal of achieving some kind of success there with an assault, as they tried to do in Avdiivka," the military officer informs.
PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES
Kreminna
According to the authors of the article, Russia is pressuring Kreminnaya to regain control over the territories they lost at the end of 2022.
"Last year, a small territory changed hands, despite intense fighting in the forest strips along the front in this direction. Now Russia is starting to move forward again, albeit slowly, despite the fierce resistance of Ukraine."
According to the publication, Russian troops are advancing in two directions from Kreminnaya: to the north towards Kupyansk and to Liman.
Ground Forces spokesman Ilya Yevlash said that Russia has been keeping about 110,000 troops in the area for several months.
Bakhmut
The Russians captured Bakhmut back in May of last year. Now, as the publication writes, they have renewed pressure in this direction, and the initiative is on their side.
General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the newly appointed commander of Ukrainian forces, recently said that the Russians plan to breach Ukrainian defenses around Chasovoy Yar, which would give them control of the commanding heights in the area and expose the city of Kramatorsk to increased artillery fire.
According to Ukraine's estimates, there are about 62,000 Russian troops in the Bakhmut direction.
According to Syrskyi, the situation there is tense and requires constant monitoring and prompt decision-making on the ground.
