Russia’s war in Ukraine
Russia is likely building new defences in southern Ukraine amid “growing concern” among Vladimir Putin’s forces about Kyiv’s success in breaching its first defensive line, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said.
Moscow’s troops are believed to be “deploying additional checkpoints, ‘hedgehog’ anti-tank defences and digging new trenches” near the Zaporizhzhia village of Tokmak, which is situated just 16km from Ukraine’s forces, and is set to become a “lynchpin” of Russia’s second defensive line, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have thwarted a coordinated Ukrainian attack on Crimea, as regional authorities reported drone attacks in Moscow and multiple other Russian regions, including at an oil depot. It comes after a Ukrainian minister vowed that “there will be more drones, more attacks, and fewer Russian ships”.
In Donetsk, Ukraine’s armed forces celebrated the recapture of Andriivka, a village near Bakhmut, after a battle in which they claimed Russia had suffered “significant losses” – a liberation the military said was “key to success in all further directions”.
