NATO Secretary-Common Jens Stoltenberg has mentioned {that a} main new Russian offensive in Ukraine has already begun.
Talking to reporters on February 13 in Brussels, Stoltenberg mentioned the Western navy alliance noticed “no signal in any way” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is getting ready for peace.
“What we see is President Putin and Russia nonetheless wanting to manage Ukraine,” Stoltenberg mentioned. “We see how they’re sending extra troops, extra weapons, extra capabilities.”
Kyiv has been anticipating a wider offensive that would not solely goal the Donbas areas of Donetsk and Luhansk within the east, but in addition the Kharkiv area within the northeast and Zaporizhzhya within the southeast.
“The truth is we’ve seen the beginning [of a Russian offensive] already as a result of we see now what Russia is doing now — President Putin is doing now — is to ship hundreds and hundreds extra troops, accepting a really excessive diploma of casualty,” Stoltenberg mentioned.
Russian forces have been engaged in an offensive in jap Ukraine for months as they attempt to seize strategic cities and cities, together with the battered metropolis of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk area, which endured heavy artillery fireplace on February 13.
british intelligence said on February 13 that regardless of the present operational deal with central Donbas, Russia stays involved about guarding the “extremities of its prolonged entrance line,” which it says is about 1,288 kilometers lengthy.
It mentioned Russian forces had “continued development of defensive fortifications” within the Zaporizhzhya and Luhansk areas, together with the deployment of personnel.
British intelligence additionally estimated that previously week Russia suffered the lack of a whole lot of troops per day. It mentioned on February 13 that the Ukrainian forces killed 824 Russian invaders per day final week, which is 4 occasions greater than in June and July.
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British analysts primarily based the determine on the each day experiences of the Ukrainian Common Workers, however the intelligence report burdened that it couldn’t confirm the calculation methodology used to make the estimate. Nevertheless, they famous that the numbers mirror developments on the entrance.
The UN human rights workplace mentioned on February 13 that it had recorded 7,199 civilian deaths and 11,756 wounded since Russia’s invasion started almost a yr in the past. A lot of the deaths and accidents have been from shelling and missile and air strikes on Ukrainian cities and cities.
On February 11, Russia mentioned it carried out a “large strike” with missiles and drones on Ukraine’s vitality infrastructure and that it had blocked rail and land routes used to ship Western weaponry to Ukrainian forces.
The strikes got here after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy returned following a shock tour of European capitals, the place he lobbied for extra heavy weaponry, together with longer-range missiles and fighter jets, to assist defend Ukraine and to retake misplaced territory.
Stoltenberg mentioned on February 13 that Ukraine was utilizing much more ammunition than NATO international locations have been offering, and referred to as on them to “ramp up manufacturing.”
“The present price of Ukraine’s ammunition expenditure is many occasions increased than our present price of manufacturing. This places our protection business below pressure,” he mentioned.
Stoltenberg additionally mentioned that the contentious challenge of offering trendy fight plane to Ukraine can be mentioned at a gathering of Kyiv’s Western backers in Brussels on February 14.
Valeriy Zaluzhniy, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, mentioned he held a telephone name on the eve of the assembly with NATO Supreme Commander in Europe Christopher Cavoli.
“We mentioned the problem of supplying worldwide navy assist to Ukraine and coaching our models on the territory of accomplice international locations. He shared assessments of the operational state of affairs on the entrance of the Russian-Ukrainian battle and plans for additional actions,” the Ukrainian Protection Ministry mentioned in a press release.
Zaluzhniy expressed his gratitude for Cavoli’s “deep understanding of the state of affairs and important efforts to deliver our victory nearer,” the assertion added.
Western international locations have already agreed to provide restricted numbers of contemporary essential battle tanks, together with German-made Leopard 2s, at Ukraine’s request, and have continued to provide artillery, fight automobiles, and different weapons and ammunition.
Germany has began coaching the Ukrainian navy on its Leopard 2 tanks, a authorities spokesman in Berlin introduced. The coaching is scheduled to finish by the tip of March, when Germany is at hand over the tanks to Ukraine, the spokesman mentioned.
Coaching of Ukrainians on German-made Leopard 2 tanks has additionally begun in Poland.
Polish President Andrzej Duda mentioned skilled troopers who’re decided to defend Ukraine are participating within the coaching, in keeping with a Protection Ministry assertion.