Russia, the aggressor nation, has begun actively spreading the narrative that the situation on the front lines is favorable for it, against the backdrop of Ukraine’s successful strikes on targets deep within russian territory. The American news network CNN reported this, citing independent experts and Ukrainian military personnel.
According to them, russia’s claims of advances are exaggerated and likely represent an attempt by the kremlin to project an image of success in order to downplay the impact of recent Ukrainian strikes.
Last Monday, June 22, the russian propaganda agency TASS reported that the russian army had allegedly taken full control of the eastern part of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk Region and had advanced to the northeastern outskirts of the city.
According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), certain areas of the city have become a contested “gray zone” over which neither side has control.
"These are infiltrations, these are not advances. These are groups of maybe one to two guys, Russian servicemen, entering some positions in the city… it’s not a consolidated position,” said Kateryna Stepanenko, head of the russian group at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
She described russian tactics as slow and exhausting. According to her, the russians need a considerable amount of time and resources to actually turn these positions into fortified ones.
Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines told CNN that the situation in the area of Kostiantynivka is deteriorating, but it remains under control, and the russian army’s actions are still extremely slow.
Kostiantyn Melnykov, a press officer for the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, told CNN that the situation in the Kostiantynivka sector has noticeably worsened in recent weeks, and that the enemy is increasing the number of airstrikes in this sector.
At the same time, Melnykov added that Ukrainian units in the area are killing russian soldiers, destroying equipment, and holding back enemy forces that significantly outnumber them.
The russian army’s strategy in Kostiantynivka involves sending very small infantry groups into the city. In some cases, Ukrainian troops have spotted a single russian soldier advancing alone. The russians used this tactic to capture Pokrovsk in the west of the Donetsk Region. Fighting for that city continued for several months after russian troops first entered the city.
CNN reports that russian claims of success on the front lines are likely an attempt by the kremlin to create an image of success, which russian officials apparently believe can offset the reputational damage russia has suffered from successful Ukrainian attacks.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on June 23, Bulgarian economic commentator and analyst Stanimir Dobrev wrote that russia, by all accounts, has no plan to resolve the fuel crisis caused by Ukraine’s strikes on facilities in the fuel and energy sector.
As a reminder, last week The Bell reported that more than 50 regions in russia had restricted fuel sales to the public. Fuel shortages were also reported in eleven other regions.
And on June 23, russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak stated that the government is considering a ban on diesel fuel exports.
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