Ukraine’s troops withdrew from several areas of the country’s north-east amid mounting pressure from a new Russian offensive, as the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, postponed all foreign trips underscoring the seriousness of the threat.
The moves came as the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said Moscow’s latest operation was “going to plan” and Russian forces were improving their positions daily even as the US rushed to resupply arms and ammunition to Kyiv.
Ukraine’s chief of general staff said late on Tuesday that troops fell back from areas in Lukyantsi and Vovchansk near Kharkiv “to save the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses”.
Moscow launched a surprise major ground assault on the Kharkiv region last week as it sought to advance while Kyiv is struggling for arms and manpower.
So what’s the problem? Lack of arms? Has the new aid had time to make its way to the front yet? Or is it lack of soldiers? That would be harder to solve.