A Ukrainian official confirmed today, Friday, that fierce battles are taking place around another city in the Donbass region that Russian forces are trying to control, while "promising" statements were issued by Washington and European capitals regarding the arrival of modern tanks that Western countries promised to provide to Kiev.
The spokesman for the Eastern Front of the Ukrainian forces, Serhiy Cherivati, said that the Russian army is trying to storm the city of Ogledar, southwest of the city of Donetsk - the regional capital of the province that forms with Luhansk the Donbass region - without making any real progress so far.
Cherevani added that fierce battles are taking place around the city, and described the Russian statements that the field situation there is exaggerated, stressing that the Russian forces face fierce resistance and withdraw after suffering heavy losses every time they try to control the city, as he put it.
Ukrainian soldiers firing mortars at Russian positions in the Donbass region (Anatolia)
Conflicting statements
The pro-Russian Donetsk authorities said that the Russian forces entered Ogledar and strengthened their positions in its suburbs, but the Ukrainian army confirmed that the city was under its control.
The Russian agency "ANNA News" said that fierce battles were taking place between Russian and Ukrainian forces to control the city of Ogledar, which was inhabited by 15,000 people before the war.
The agency indicated that the Russian forces use "TOS-1" launchers, which are capable of firing missiles loaded with highly penetrating fuel.
A few days ago, after bloody battles that lasted for weeks, Russian forces took control of the city of Solidar near the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk.
Ukraine had announced earlier that the Russian army, backed by the Wagner military group, is mobilizing additional forces and intensifying its attacks in the east, amid Ukrainian expectations of a massive Russian offensive in the spring.
In other field developments, the Ukrainian General Staff said today, Friday, that the Russian forces had suffered heavy losses in battles in the provinces of Kherson and Zaporizhia (south).
At the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, IAEA experts reported strong explosions outside the facility yesterday, Thursday, and the agency's director general, Rafael Grossi, said that this indicates the approach of military activities to the plant, but an official in the administration of the pro-Russian Zaporizhia province denied any explosions near the station.
Russian strikes
Also on the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry said today, Friday, that its forces had carried out massive missile strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the past 24 hours.
The ministry added that these strikes hit targets of the Ukrainian defense sector, and that one of them disrupted a shipment of Western-made weapons.
The Ukrainian General Staff stated that during the new wave of bombing, the Russian aviation carried out 37 raids, 17 of them by Iranian drones, confirming that all the drones were shot down, in addition to 47 out of a total of 59 Russian missiles.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal said today, Friday, that the Russian strikes damaged five power stations in the center and south of the country, noting that his country needs $17 billion to repair damaged energy facilities.
military support
In the course of military support for Ukraine, US National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said today, Friday, that his country expects German and European tanks to arrive in a relatively short time to help the Ukrainians.
Kirby added that the arrival of the American "Abrams" tanks in Ukraine will take a long time, but he made it clear that Washington will start training the Ukrainians soon.
Washington and Berlin announced two days ago that they would send dozens of Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to help it confront Russian attacks.
For his part, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed today, Friday, that his country will send to Ukraine 60 modern tanks, including 30 of the "BT-91" type, and 14 tanks of the "Leopard 2" type.
Moravitsky added in a televised interview that Russia's weapon in this war is intimidation, and stressed the importance of solidarity among Western countries in confronting it, stressing that his country was finally able to persuade its allies and partners in Western Europe to be more effective in their support for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country urgently needed new weapons, and warned that it would be too late if the Abrams tanks did not arrive until August.
In the context, France and Romania announced in a joint statement today, Friday, that they will increase their support for the people of Ukraine to help them defend themselves.
Russian accusations against NATO
On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Ministry considered today, Friday, that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is directly participating in the Ukrainian conflict.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that providing the West with tanks to Kiev would raise the confrontation between Russia and the West to a new level, adding that any Western weapon that ends up in Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian forces.
Also in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow does not see US President Joe Biden's intention to resolve, but rather a determination to continue pumping weapons into Ukraine.
Peskov added that Biden could, if he wanted, put an end to the conflict quickly by trying to influence Kyiv, considering that the "key" to the Ukrainian authorities is in Washington's hands, as he put it.