New Ukraine Front – Wagner Group returns and captures village close to Sumi | EUROtoday

War in Ukraine
New entrance – Wagner Group is again in Ukraine and takes village close to Sumi

In the north of Ukraine, close to Sumi, the Russians have opened a brand new mini-front. Wagner fighters have taken over a small village. Once once more, Kiev has to deploy troops which can be urgently wanted within the east.

Now it has occurred. The Russians have crossed the border within the Sumi space and captured the village of Ryzhivka. Kiev is enjoying down the loss, saying the place is within the grey zone. Presumably solely territorial protection forces have been current there, who couldn’t stand up to the Russian commandos. And there was a shock. To show the seize, the Russians confirmed a video wherein they maintain the Wagner group's flag in entrance of the digital camera. Uniform patches of the group on particular person fighters have been seen earlier than. But the flag means that the operation was carried out by a closed Wagner group.

In March, Ukraine tried to advance into Russian territory from Ryzhivka, however the assault led to catastrophe. It seems that the hopes that the mercenaries would merely go dwelling after the failed coup and the loss of life of their chief Prigozhin have been in useless. In a technique or one other, the fighters have been built-in into Putin's warfare machine.

So far a really small group in Ukraine

The presence of those fighters exhibits that the operation is critical, regardless of its small dimensions. The thought behind it’s straightforward to see: Russia is opening a brand new energetic entrance within the north, because it did at Kharkiv. And right here too, Kiev should now use invaluable and scarce reserves to maintain the Russians at bay and even push them again. Doing nothing and never deploying troops just isn’t an possibility. If they aren’t blocked, the Russians will advance just a few kilometers and lower off an necessary railway line there.

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The preventing continues close to Kharkiv with out both facet having the ability to achieve decisive positions. In some locations, similar to Sumi, the Ukrainians have been in a position to push the invaders again a little bit, whereas in others the Russians superior. The scenario within the metropolis of Volchansk is unchanged. The Russians can not push the Ukrainians out of the northern half, nor can they bypass town on the flanks.

Kharkiv Front makes no progress

The preventing just isn’t solely raging within the small city, each side are additionally attempting to remove the enemy's depots, artillery and command facilities within the hinterland. This is the place the Ukrainians can now use the American HIMARS launchers. Pro-Ukrainian bloggers and specialists assume that the Russians are struggling better losses. There isn’t any proof for this. The Russians' firepower nonetheless appears to be far better, and they’re additionally utilizing glide bombs on a bigger scale than the Ukrainians.

In jap Ukraine the entrance begins to slip

From the Russian perspective, the advance at Sumi and the preventing at Kharkiv are primarily a distraction from the occasions within the Donbass; the fronts within the north are supposed to tie down Ukrainian troops. And in truth, the Russians are steadily making progress within the east. No main breakthroughs are being made, however each single day the Ukrainians are being pushed again in a handful of locations.

For instance, they have been in a position to take the small city of Novooleksandrivka unexpectedly in only a few hours. Apparently, the defenders of the 118th Battalion may now not stand up to the strain. They are mentioned to have retreated on their very own initiative and fled. This in flip precipitated difficulties for the neighboring Ukrainian positions. The city itself is barely a kilometer lengthy and never notably vital. But such eventualities are the aim of the continued, grueling preventing. The Russians hope that with fixed shelling they are going to weaken particular person Ukrainian models to the purpose that they provide up the combat.