Britain: Russia in dilemma about where to focus in Ukraine

The British Ministry of Defense announced today that Russia appears to be unclear as to which regions in Ukraine pose a greater threat to its troops. Meanwhile, fighting continued over the weekend despite a 36-hour ceasefire announced by Moscow. The area where the most intense fighting is taking place is the city of Bakhmut.

In a post on the social network "Twitter", referring to the intelligence data, the British Ministry of Defense said: "The way Russia has worked to improve defenses shows that Russian commanders are concerned about the risk of Ukrainian attacks in two areas : in the northern region of Luhansk, or in Zaporizhia".

"Deciding which of these threats needs priority," the report says, "is one of the central dilemmas for Russian operational planners." This, according to the British discovery, is an indication of the dilemmas that the Russian troops are facing.

Artillery attacks rocked the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Saturday, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's declaration of a 36-hour ceasefire to observe Orthodox Christmas.

"Our city used to be so beautiful. Everywhere there were roses, flowers... It was clean, everything was in order," said 75-year-old Olha, a resident of Bakhmut, who could not finish thinking about the causes of the explosions that began while she was giving an interview to the Reuters agency.

This city, which once had a population of 70,000, is now a largely abandoned place. The few people who remain are under the care of humanitarian volunteers, mostly in tents set up to provide heat, water and medicine.

"When the Russian president says there is a ceasefire, in fact it is the opposite: there is no ceasefire. They have carried out numerous bombings. One day there is shelling, the next day it is calmer. We don't even waste time anymore, to calculate when there are and when the attacks with grenades stop", says the Ukrainian volunteer, Vasyl Liesin.

One of the few residents in the town of Bakhmut, Olha, also does not believe Moscow's pledge of a temporary ceasefire.

"It is very clear to me that the Russians are deceiving us with the ceasefire. What else can I say?! If someone makes a promise, he must fulfill it," said Olha, who said that Moscow's deception with the ceasefire is being done to take control of Donbass.

Rusia bombardoi dhjetëra vende përgjatë vijës së frontit gjatë armëpushimit, tha shtabi i përgjithshëm i forcave të armatosura ukrainase. Rusia tha se ata po i përgjigjen sulmeve që u nisën nga forcat ukrainase.

“Ju po i dëgjoni shpërthimet. Teksa ndodheshim tek një pikë tjetër, brenda 15 minutave na goditi një raketë. Përpos dëmeve, sulmi vrau një person dhe plagosi katër. Një vullnetar lokal humbi një gjymtyrë dhe u evakuua. Po kështu edhe disa të tjerë janë plagosur rëndë”, tha vullnetari ukrainas, Vasyl Liesin.

Rusia filloi sulmin kundër Ukrainës më 24 shkurt 2022, duke nisur një luftë që ka vrarë dhjetëra mijëra njerëz dhe ka zhvendosur miliona ukrainas, si brenda ashtu edhe jashtë territorit të vendit.

With weapons and financial support from its allies, Kiev has managed to push Russia back from part of its territory, but fierce battles are taking place in the east and south of Ukraine./ VOA