According to a senior general in Kyiv, Ukrainian troops, who have been on the defensive for months, will soon counterattack as Russia’s offensive around Bakhmut slows, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyi says that without faster delivery of weapons to Western countries, the war could drag on for months, Reuters writes.

Ukraine’s armed forces said early Friday that 1,020 Russian servicemen had been killed in the past 24 hours after the military command in Moscow ordered unsuccessful strikes on the cities of Lyman, Avdiivka, Maryinka and Shakhtarsk.

But the main efforts were still concentrated around the mining town of Bakhmut.

“The enemy has not stopped the attack on Bakhmut”, – says the latest message of the General Staff of Ukraine.

Russian forces have been trying to capture the city since early August to extend their control over eastern Ukraine in what has become the bloodiest infantry battle since the end of World War II.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine claim that they have repelled more than 80 attacks on Bakhmut and the aforementioned cities in recent days.

PHOTO: Juan BARRETO / AFP / Profimedia

The Ukrainian army is increasingly talking about a counteroffensive

Earlier, the commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that his troops would launch a counteroffensive after repelling Russia’s winter campaign.

He said on Thursday that despite reports that the regular Russian army had taken over the offensive around Bakhmut, Wagner Group mercenaries remained a major component of Russian attacks there.

“They are significantly losing strength and oxygen,” the Ukrainian general said about the Wagner PMC mercenaries, adding that Ukrainian troops “will very soon take advantage of this opportunity, as they have already done in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Balaklia and Kupyansk,” referring to territories previously besieged and occupied by Russia, which were liberated by Ukraine.

The military command in Moscow had so far given no public signal that the Bakhmut offensive was about to fail, but Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner’s mercenaries, sent several worried messages, including a warning that a Ukrainian offensive was imminent.

Reuters reporters near the northern Bakhmut front reported seeing signs that the Russian offensive was indeed losing steam.

A week ago it was really “hot” here, but the last 3 days it has become quieter,” says a Ukrainian military man nicknamed “Kamin”.

“We can see this from the airstrikes of the enemy. If earlier there were 5-6 raids per day, today we had only one helicopter attack,” he adds.

PHOTO: President.gov.ua

Ukraine wants weapons faster

Instead, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again called on Europe and Kyiv’s other partners to speed up arms deliveries, again calling for long-range missiles, ammunition, modern aircraft and the introduction of new sanctions against Russia.

“If Europe waits, evil may have time to regroup and prepare for years of war. It is within your power to prevent this,” he said during talks between EU leaders and UN chief António Guterres.

Zelenskyi also noted that “if our joint efforts are resolutely aimed at the victory of Ukraine, then the victory will be achieved already this year.”

“No one knows for sure how long the war will last and which battles will bring us success faster and which will require more effort. But it is clear that if there are no delays or stagnation in our cooperation, if our joint efforts are resolutely aimed at the victory of Ukraine, then the victory will be achieved already this year,” he emphasized at the meeting of the European Council.

Kyiv received the first fighter jets since the beginning of the war

EU leaders at the summit approved a plan agreed on Monday by the bloc’s foreign ministers to send one million artillery shells to Ukraine this year.

They also discussed global food security and new sanctions against Russia.

Britain has previously announced that the Challenger tanks it will send to Kyiv will be equipped with armor-piercing shells with depleted uranium for an even greater destructive effect on Russian military combat equipment. The statement prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to announce that Russia would be forced to respond because the weapon had a “nuclear component.”

Later, the British Ministry of Defense explained that these munitions had nothing to do with nuclear weapons.

On Thursday, Slovakia announced that it had delivered the first 4 promised MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, with the rest planned to be delivered in the coming weeks.

PHOTO: Evgeny Paulin / TASS / Profimedia Images

Is the Russian military changing its strategy?

Slowing down the Russian offensive in the Bakhmut direction may also mean Russia shifting its troops and resources to other areas.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in an assessment on Tuesday that Russian forces had advanced further north this month, partially regaining control of areas leading to the town of Creminna.

Intense fighting also took place further south of Bakhmut.

Ukrainian military analyst Oleg Zhdanov agrees with this assessment, saying that Russia is turning its attention to the town of Avdiyivka in southern Donetsk Oblast as attacks on Bakhmut decrease.

Zhdanov also says that Russian troops have stepped up in areas in the north of Kharkiv and Luhansk regions, as well as in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Bakhmut Front, where he was informed “about the operational situation and the progress of hostilities on the front line,” his office reports.

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