Ukraine invasion crumbling fast as Russia is forced to defend supply lines and loses air control despite heavy Lviv bombing
Russia is being forced to divert “large numbers” of troops to defend its supply lines rather than continuing its attacks in Ukraine, British defence intelligence analysts believe.
The latest intelligence assessment published by the Ministry of Defence said: “Logistical problems continue to beset Russia’s faltering invasion of Ukraine.”
“Reluctance to manoeuvre cross-country, lack of control of the air and limited bridging capabilities are preventing Russia from effectively resupplying their forward troops with even basic essentials such as food and fuel.
“Incessant Ukrainian counterattacks are forcing Russia to divert large number of troops to defend their own supply lines. This is severely limiting Russia’s offensive potential.”
‘Minimal progress this week’
The UK Ministry of Defence further said in its latest update on Ukraine that Russian forces “have made minimal progress this week”.
“Russian forces have made minimal progress this week,” the MoD tweeted.
“Ukrainian forces around Kyiv and Mykolaiv continue to frustrate Russian attempts to encircle the cities. The cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol remain encircled and subject to heavy Russian shelling.
“The UN now states that the number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Ukraine has already surpassed 3.2 million. This number will continue to rise as a result of ongoing Russian aggression.”
In other developments, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced a group of Ukrainian orphans can come to the UK after authorities in Ukraine granted permission.
Scottish charity Dnipro Kids, established by fans of Hibernian Football Club, have evacuated 48 children from orphanages in Ukraine and are trying to bring them to Scotland.
Patel said: “It is deeply troubling that children from the charity Dnipro Kids have been caught up in Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. I have been working directly with the Ukrainian government and asked for their permission to bring these children to the UK.
“I am extremely grateful to the authorities in Ukraine, who have now confirmed to me that the children can come here.
“We are working urgently with Poland to ensure the children’s swift arrival to the UK.”
Imposter calls UK minister
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace blamed Russian “dirty tricks” after being called by an impostor posing as the Ukrainian prime minister.
“Today an attempt was made by an imposter claiming to be Ukrainian PM to speak with me. He posed several misleading questions and after becoming suspicious I terminated the call,” Mr Wallace tweeted.
“No amount of Russian disinformation, distortion and dirty tricks can distract from Russia’s human rights abuses and illegal invasion of Ukraine. A desperate attempt.”
Despite the reports of setbacks for the Russian army, the country’s forces pressed their assault on Ukrainian cities early this morning, hitting a building near a western city’s airport with missiles.
Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Telegram that several missiles hit a facility used to repair military aircraft and damaged a bus repair facility, though no casualties were immediately reported.
The aircraft repair facility had suspended work ahead of the attack, the mayor said.
The missiles that hit Lviv were launched from the Black Sea, but two of the six that were launched were shot down, Ukrainian air force’s western command said on Facebook.
Lviv under attack
Not far from the Polish border and well behind the front lines, Lviv and the surrounding area has not been spared Russia’s attacks, the worst of which killed nearly three dozen people last weekend at a training facility near the city.
Meanwhile, the city’s population has swelled by some 200,000 as people from elsewhere in Ukraine have sought shelter there.
Smoke could be seen rising from the western part of the capital Kyiv after an early morning barrage on Friday. There were no immediate reports of casualties or what had been damaged.
Rescue workers searched for survivors in the ruins of a theatre that served as a shelter when it was blown apart by a Russian air strike in the besieged southern city of Mariupol.
And in Merefa, near the north-east city of Kharkiv, at least 21 people were killed when Russian artillery destroyed a school and a community centre, a local official said.
War crime accusations
In other developments, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that American officials were evaluating potential war crimes and that if the intentional targeting of civilians by Russia is confirmed, there will be “massive consequences”.
The United Nations political chief, Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo, also called for an investigation into civilian casualties, reminding the UN Security Council that international humanitarian law bans direct attacks on civilians.
She said many of the daily attacks battering Ukrainian cities “are reportedly indiscriminate” and involve the use of “explosive weapons with a wide impact area”.
Ms DiCarlo said the devastation in Mariupol and Kharkiv ”raises grave fears about the fate of millions of residents of Kyiv and other cities facing intensifying attacks”.
In Mariupol, hundreds of civilians were said to have taken shelter in a grand, columned theatre in the city’s centre when it was hit on Wednesday by a Russian airstrike.
More than a day later, there were no reports of deaths and conflicting reports on whether anyone had emerged from the rubble.
Communications are disrupted across the city and movement is difficult because of shelling and other fighting.
Satellite imagery on Monday from Maxar Technologies showed huge white letters on the pavement outside the theatre spelling out “CHILDREN” in Russian — “DETI” — to alert warplanes to the vulnerable people hiding inside.
“We hope and we think that some people who stayed in the shelter under the theatre could survive,” Petro Andrushchenko, an official with the mayor’s office, told The Associated Press.
He said the building had a relatively modern basement bomb shelter designed to withstand airstrikes. Other officials said earlier that some people had got out.
Video and photos provided by the Ukrainian military showed that the at least three-storey building had been reduced to a roofless shell, with some exterior walls collapsed.