An overnight Russian drone attack damages an energy facility in Chernihiv region. Ukrainian troops pull back from a neighborhood in Chasiv Yar. Western weapons deliveries are crucial to Ukraine’s new counteroffensive and battlefield success, Zelenskyi tells Bloomberg.
Overnight Russian drone attack damages energy facility in Chernihiv region
A Russian drone strike hit an energy facility in Chernihiv region, causing power outages to almost 6,000 households, head of the regional military administration, Vyacheslav Chaus said on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, a Russian Shahed drone hit one of the region’s [energy] facilities. As of now, 5,963 customers are without power. Energy crews are working to restore power,” Chaus said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 22 Shahed-131/136 drones at Ukraine from the Kursk region in the early hours of Thursday. The Ukrainian air defenses shot down 21 drones in the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Dnipro and Poltava.
Ukrainian troops pull back from neighborhood in Chasiv Yar
Ukrainian troops have retreated from the Canal district of the city of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, spokesperson for the Khortytsia operational-strategic group, Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn said on national television on Thursday. The defense forces will withdraw to better-protected positions, he said, adding that Russian forces continue to mount pressure on Ukrainian troops there.
“It became impractical to hold the Canal neighborhood after the enemy entered it. It threatened the life and health of the military personnel. The positions of our defenders were destroyed,” Voloshyn said. “The command decided to pull back to more protected and prepared positions, but even there the enemy does not stop its active combat actions,” he added.
The Khortytsia operational-strategic group of forces said in a statement on Wednesday that the situation in the area of responsibility for the group remains “critically difficult” and that the fighting in the Chasiv Yar direction rages near the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas Canal.
Western weapons deliveries are crucial to Ukraine’s new counteroffensive and battlefield success, Zelenskyi tells Bloomberg
In a video interview with Bloomberg that aired on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi refuted the term “deadlock” to describe the situation on the front lines. He also said Ukraine’s new counteroffensive and its success on the battlefield are a matter of arming its troops with Western weapons and securing steady supplies.
“A deadlock means there’s no way out. But a problem can be solved if one has the will and has the tools. We do have the will, and the tools – they haven’t arrived yet,” Zelenskyi said.
He also said that delayed Western weapons deliveries prevent Ukraine from equipping 14 new brigades. “We don’t have the weapons that have already been discussed and voted for [by the Congress], the packages are arriving slowly. We are grateful to the Congress for the support, but it all still needs to arrive,” Zelenskyi told Bloomberg through a translator.
A new counteroffensive is a matter of arming Ukraine’s brigades, he said, adding that there is no timeline for this now. “We want [to launch] a counteroffensive when we are ready. We are ready when the weapons arrive, and they haven’t yet,” Zelenskyi said.
He also said the equipment was taking too long to make its way to the front. “This is the biggest tragedy of this war, that between the decision and real fact, we have a real long, long, long wait,” Zelenskyi said.
How Local Communities in Ukraine Overcome Russian War Crimes. Ukraine in Flames #633
In this episode of Ukraine in Flames, we discuss how local Ukrainian communities are tackling the aftermath of Russian war crimes. Our discussions cover the impacts on human rights, economic challenges for agricultural enterprises, and the creation of an international registry to support victims of the war. Watch UIF #633 to learn more about how NGO’s are working to tackle this challenge.
Guests:
- Taras Shcherbatiuk, Head of the Cherkasy Human Rights Center, NGO
- Tetyana Novyk, Head of the Department of Economics and Social Protection of Semenivka City Council (Chernihiv region)
- Hanna Khrystova, Head of the Council of Europe project “Strengthening judicial and non-judicial remedies for victims of war in Ukraine