Russia's "large scale offensive": Is it already underway? | DW News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for allies to make a swift decision to send further military support to Ukraine as NATO defense ministers met and Russia attacked the country's eastern front line. Russia's artillery fire was focused on Bakhmut, a ravaged city in Donetsk province and a main target for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Its capture could provide Russia with a stepping stone to further cities in the region and potentially give momentum to its offensive.

Ukraine is going to receive fewer battle tanks than previously envisaged by Berlin, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said after a meeting of NATO defense ministers. No new pledges for Leopard 2A6 tanks were made at a meeting of the so-called tank coalition of interested nations at the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Brussels. As only Germany and Portugal are ready to supply the Leopard 2A6 tanks, the supply of this model is currently below battalion strength, Pistorius said. Germany pledged 14 such tanks and Portugal three. Sweden is still assessing if it can supply Leopard 2A6 models to Ukraine, where a battalion is usually equipped with 31 tanks.

However, Leopard 2A4 models have been pledged in greater numbers so far with the toll standing currently at almost 30, Pistorius said. In January, the German government said it wants to gather two Leopard 2 tank battalions for Ukraine. NATO's defense ministers were meeting in Brussels for a two-day gathering to discuss the war and ammunition stocks. Zelenskyy said Russia was rushing to advance as far as it could before Ukraine could muster strength. "That is why speed is of the essence," Zelenskyy said in an evening video address. "Speed in everything — adopting decisions, carrying out decisions, shipping supplies, training. Speed saves people's lives, speed brings back security, and I thank all our partners who realize that speed is important," he added.

Russia claims success in offensive in eastern Ukraine

Russia reported a breakthrough through Ukrainian defense lines in part of the Luhansk region. "During the offensive... the Ukrainian troops randomly retreated to a distance of up to three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the previously occupied lines," the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app. "Even the more fortified second line of defense of the enemy could not hold the breakthrough of the Russian military," the ministry added. The ministry did not say in which part of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk the offensive took place.

Ukraine has recently reported increasingly heavy Russian shelling along the frontline in the east of the country and describes the situation as difficult, even if many Russian attacks could have been repelled. Russia now holds areas of the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, including its nuclear plant, nearly all of Luhansk and over half of Donetsk, including its regional capital. We talk to Marina Miron, a defense expert at King's College London.

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