“Ukrainian President Delays Counteroffensive Against Russian Occupation Forces to Prevent Loss of Lives”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country’s military needed more time to prepare an expected counteroffensive aimed at pushing back Russian occupation forces, the Associated Press reported, citing an interview he aired today with the BBC.

According to Zelensky, it would be “unacceptable” to launch the attack now because too many lives would be lost.

“With what (what we have – note ed.) we can move forward and achieve success,” Zelensky said in the interview. “But we will lose a lot of people. I think this is unacceptable,” he said. “That’s why we have to wait. We still need a little more time,” added Zelensky.

The Associated Press notes that Zelensky gave the interview in Kyiv to public Eurovision news media, including the BBC.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion more than 14 months ago has been expected for weeks. Kiev is receiving modern Western weapons, including tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as Western training for its troops as it prepares for the expected counterattack.

Kremlin forces are deeply entrenched in Ukraine’s eastern regions, with defense lines reportedly up to 20 kilometers deep. Kiev’s counteroffensive is likely to encounter minefields, anti-tank ditches and other obstacles, the Associated Press points out.

In his address last night, Zelensky vowed to regain every bit of territory occupied by Russia, at a time when his frontline fighters are said to have made territorial advances near the disputed town of Bakhmut, DPA reported.

“We will not leave a single piece of our land to the enemy – tyranny will not rule anywhere,” Zelensky said in his evening video address. “We must bring freedom, security and Europe back to all Ukrainian land,” he added.

His address came hours after Ukrainian forces, fighting fiercely for control of eastern Donetsk region, said they had pushed Russian forces to within 2 km in some places near Bakhmut.

Ukrainian forces advance around Bakhmut

“We are conducting effective counterattacks there,” Ukrainian ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrsky said on Telegram on Wednesday night.

Sirsky said units of the Russian Wagner mercenary force stationed at Bakhmut had been replaced in some sectors by regular Russian units. These less well-prepared combat units have now been routed, the commander said, adding that “the battle for Bakhmut continues”.

Andriy Biletsky, founder of the Ukrainian Azov Battalion, reported on Telegram that the territory was completely cleared of Russian soldiers and at least two Russian brigades were defeated and prisoners of war were taken.

“Reconnaissance of the (72nd) separate motorized rifle brigade was broken, a large number of its armored vehicles were destroyed and many prisoners of war were taken,” said the commander of the Ukrainian Azov battalion, Andriy Biletsky, who participated in many key battles of the war.

The Wall Street Journal commented that Bilecki’s statement comes at a time when Russia is trying to seize the westernmost areas of Bakhmut, facing fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces. It also comes amid an ongoing feud between Russia’s defense ministry and Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Russian private paramilitary company Wagner, which is spearheading the Russian offensive to capture Bakhmut.

“Wagner” in surroundings?

As the fighting continued, Wagner’s commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said he feared his unit could be surrounded in the Battle of Bakhmut. “In view of the lack of ammunition, the “meat grinder” is now threatening to turn in the opposite direction,” Prigozhin wrote in Telegram yesterday.

Due to the large losses in manpower, “Wagner” was forced to leave the protection of the flank to regular units of the Russian army, which were pushed back to a depth of up to 2 km. “There is now a serious danger of Wagner being encircled because of the collapse of the flanks. And the flanks are already showing cracks and disintegration,” wrote Prigogine.

Prigozhin reported that an entire military unit of the Russian ground forces had fled their positions around Bakhmut, leaving a large section of the Russian front line unprotected. He specifically named the 72nd Brigade.

“They just got up and ran away,” Prigozhin said in a video posted on Telegram, adding that the abandoned Russian positions were a key stretch for Wagner’s forces in the area.

Yevgeny Prigozhin last night again complained that his fighters were still not receiving enough ammunition from Russia’s official defense ministry to support what he said was their advance in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. In a statement, Prigozhin said the agency, which has promised to provide all combat units with the resources they need, had held long meetings on the projectile issue but had not been able to make much progress.

“We are not getting enough shells, we are only getting 10%,” Prigogine said in the statement, as quoted by Reuters.

Peskov: Russia is acting slowly because it is conducting a special military operation, not a war

Russia, which is conducting a “special military operation” in Ukraine, is trying to preserve cities and human life, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview broadcast on Republika Srpska’s ATV TV channel on Wednesday and quoted by TASS.

“Of course, comparing the military potential of Ukraine and Russia is very complicated. And you will say: why are the Russians acting so slowly? Because the Russians are not waging a war,” said Peskov.

“We’re not waging war. Waging war is completely different, it’s total destruction of infrastructure, it’s total destruction of cities. We’re not doing that. We’re trying to preserve infrastructure and we’re trying to preserve human life.” explained Peskov.

From the very first day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin described it as a “special military operation”. Peskov’s remarks contradict numerous reports of Russian strikes against residential buildings and infrastructure in Ukraine.

A Ukrainian drone attacked an oil warehouse in Russia’s Bryansk region

A Ukrainian drone attacked an oil warehouse in Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, Reuters reported, citing a Telegram post by the region’s governor, Alexander Bogomaz.

No one was injured after the attack on the facility, which is owned by the Russian oil company “Rosneft” and is located near the city of Klintsi.

According to the governor of the Bryansk region, a fuel storage tank was partially damaged.

Russia recruits prisoners and reservists

The Russian military department is recruiting prisoners for the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine, DPA reported, citing today’s information bulletin of the British Ministry of Defence.

The agency notes that according to British intelligence data, only in April 2023, about 10,000 convicted prisoners enrolled in the Russian army.

According to Britain’s Ministry of Defence, Moscow began this process at the beginning of the year.

Russia’s current campaign is part of an attempt to increase troop numbers while avoiding mandatory mobilization, which would be highly unpopular with the Russian public, London said.

Ukrainian intelligence and other military sources have already reported that the Russian Defense Ministry is recruiting prisoners.

Prisoners who are promised pardons in exchange for military service are basically “cannon fodder” to help regular units, military experts say.

Since the summer of 2022, prisoners have been the main reserve of recruits for the Russian private military company “Wagner”. But the company may have lost access to the Russian criminal justice system after its dispute with the Russian defense ministry escalated, DPA said.

Meanwhile, Russia has called up its reservists for annual exercises. A document to this effect, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was published yesterday in the State Gazette.

According to the decree, the Ministry of Defense can issue the relevant instructions to the military districts, which will then call up the reservists for the exercise, TASS reported. In view of the war in Ukraine, however, many reservists may question whether they have been called up for training or could be sent to the front.

According to foreign estimates, Russia has about 2 million reservists, of which up to 150,000 are said to have been sent to Ukraine. In the recent mobilization, many young men chose to flee abroad.