he Ukrainian army has repelled assaults in the Donbas and is inflicting “significant cost” on Putin’s forces, the UK has said.
In an intelligence update on Sunday morning, the Ministry of Defence said low morale, as well as “limited time to reconstitute, re-equip and reorganise forces” were “likely hindering Russian combat effectiveness”.
It added that Ukrainian forces had successfully repelled “numerous” assaults along the line of contact in the Donbas this week – the new focus in the war.
It comes amid reports Russian forces tried to storm a steel plant housing soldiers and civilians in the southern city of Mariupol on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet US secretary of state Antony Blinken and secretary of defence Lloyd Austin in Kyiv on Sunday.
Speaking at a news conference, Mr Zelensky gave little detail about logistics of the encounter but said he expected concrete results — “not just presents or some kind of cakes, we are expecting specific things and specific weapons.”
It would be the first high-level US trip to Kyiv since the war began on February 24.