Ukrainian forces are preparing for a major offensive by Russia in the eastern part of the country.
Ukrainian officials have warned for days that Russian troops are amassing and resupplying to launch a major assault against the Donbas region and say that attack could come any day now.
When Russia withdrew its troops from the area around Kyiv last week, it said it would shift its focus to Donbas in the east. Half of Donbas has been under Russian control since the 2014 invasion, and now Russia is preparing to try and take the rest of it.
Analysts say Vladimir Putin is trying to take that area so he can claim some sort of victory by May 9th, the day Russia celebrates its victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Ukrainian lawmaker Inna Sovsun says her nation’s troops in Donbas are equal in number to the Russian troops on the ground, and better prepared than they thought they would be as they continue to receive more arms from the west. “We are receiving some weapons right now as we speak, the question is whether they will be delivered to Donbas in due time”
Ukrainian President Zelensky says more is needed and faster. The U.S. and EU have pledged a combined 1.3 billion dollars in additional military aid, and Canada is promising another 500-million.
Even with more weapons, Sovsun says Russia has two advantages, air superiority and the presence of Ukrainian civilians. Sovsun says Russia is using the civilians there as hostages.
Sovsun says evacuation efforts are being hampered by Russian bombing. She expects civilian casualties to be high and says there is already evidence of Russia committing atrocities there. “We do know of over 2000 children being abducted from Donbas and they’re taken to Russia. We do have reports of rape taking place in those territories. They shoot indiscriminately into the living areas destroying people’s houses.”
Sovsun attended an emergency session of parliament on Thursday, where members adopted a resolution that recognizes Russian atrocities in Ukraine, like the mass killing of civilians in Bucha, as genocide and asked the world to call it genocide too.
Vahif Markov is a web developer from Mykolaiv, a town just thirty kilometres from the fighting in the east, where he says resources are low and people continue to leave because they are scared they could be killed by Russian shelling.
Markov worries the big offensive in Donbas could make the fighting near him worse. “Russians are trying to push more tanks into Kherson and so nobody knows their plans and maybe they will try to push forward to Mykolaiv also, so right now it’s not safe”
