Russia Has 97 Percent of Its Troops In Ukraine But is Struggling to Advance; Russia Claims Minor Ukraine Progress; Kyiv Readies Offensive; UKR Repels RU Assaults Near Over 20 Settlements; Wagner Boss Says Russia Won’t Capture Bakhmut Soon, West Says No Planes For Now, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

By admin On Feb 17, 2023

NY POST: Russia has 97 percent of its troops in Ukraine but is struggling to advance: UK

Russia has deployed around 97% of its troops as it tries to step up its offensive in eastern Ukraine — but it still lacks the manpower to “punch through” Kyiv’s defenses. a top British military official said Wednesday.

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC that Russia had yet to make a breakthrough in the eastern region of Ukraine despite its advances.

“We haven’t actually seen this massing of a single force to punch through in a big offensive. We’ve just seen an effort to advance, and that has come at a huge cost to the Russian army,” he said.

“We now estimate 97% of the Russian army, the whole Russian army, is now in Ukraine.”

Ukraine has been looking to build up its forces in time for a Russian counteroffensive, which Western officials expect Moscow to launch sometime this spring.

Wallace noted helping Ukraine defeat Russia will strengthen the rest of Europe’s security —>READ MORE HERE

Russia claims minor Ukraine progress; Kyiv readies offensive:

Russian forces claimed some battlefield success Wednesday as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine labored to gain momentum almost a year after it began, while Ukraine said it needs another few months to stage its own offensive.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops broke through two Ukrainian defensive lines in the eastern Luhansk region and pushed back Ukrainian troops some three kilometers (two miles), forcing them to leave behind equipment and the bodies of those killed.

It was not possible to independently verify Moscow’s claim. Ukrainian official s made no immediate comment.

Russian artillery, drones and missiles have relentlessly pounded Ukrainian-held areas in the country’s east for months, indiscriminately hitting civilian targets and wreaking destruction, as the war largely slowed to a grinding stalemate in the winter. Moscow is hungry for some progress after months of setbacks.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said his country’s forces would need “a few months” to learn how to use new Western weapons before they can try and push the Russians out of Ukraine.

The Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which together make up the industrial Donbas region bordering Russia, continue to bear the brunt of Russia’s bombardments as Moscow reportedly moves more troops into the area. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++General Staff: Ukraine repels Russian assaults near over 20 settlements in 3 oblasts+++++

+++++Ukraine war latest: Wagner boss says Russia won’t capture Bakhmut soon, West says no planes for now+++++

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