Russia’s Kyiv offensive halts, Ukrainians counterattack in south

“The main goals of the first stage of the operation in general have been achieved,” said Sergey Rudskoy, First Deputy of the Russian General Staff.

It is not clear what those goals are, but he added that they “make it possible to focus our basic efforts on achieving the main goal, which is the liberation of Donbass.”

With the fighting in the north stalled, reframing the war as a conflict primarily over the Donbass region — much of which had already been under the control of Russian-backed separatists since they first invaded Moscow in 2014 — is a major recalibration from World War II. Extreme regime change goals of President Vladimir Putin in the early days of the conflict.

“We think they’re trying to cut through the Donbass region, they’re putting their priorities and efforts into eastern Ukraine, and here there’s still a lot of heavy fighting,” a senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday.

Fighting in the Donbass in the east and south of the country was fierce, with tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops withstood attacks from multiple fronts. These forces, known as Operation Combined Forces, are slowly being encircled by Russian forces who have made small but steady gains during the days of fierce fighting.

But the stalled Russian offensive in the north and west of Kyiv was a major concern to the Kremlin, and resulted in Russian forces digging into defensive positions while sitting back and waiting for resupply and support, a possible sign of a longer campaign than they otherwise would. It is possible that the Kremlin conceived it.

On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry indicated that 1,351 soldiers were killed in Ukraine, along with 3,825 wounded.

Some of that support may come from Russian forces stationed in Georgia, which Russia also invaded in 2008 and maintains a military presence in two breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The US official confirmed reports of the movement of Russian forces in Georgia.

It would be the first time Russia has deployed more troops in Ukraine beyond the 150,000 troops it amassed around the country’s borders before its February 24 invasion, and it’s another indication that the Kremlin is rethinking how to fight it and bolster the war effort.

As Russian commanders look for ways to bolster their forces on the ground, focus on Donbass and remove resistance in the besieged port city of Mariupol, reports indicate that the Ukrainians have launched a new counterattack in the southern port city of Kherson. An urban area surrounded by Russian forces in the early days of the war.

The scale of the attack is not clear, but it could create a new problem for Russian forces already stretched out on the ground, which are struggling to consolidate their gains.