A UK-based think tank earlier this year said Russia was rebuilding its capacity to destabilise European countries, posing a strategic threat to NATO as its members focus on the war in Ukraine.
And Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesperson for Ukrainian strategic command in the east of the country, said Russia has amassed troops in the Donetsk region to punch through the Ukrainian defensive line.
“The enemy is actively attacking along the entire front line, and in several directions, they have achieved certain tactical advances,” he said on national television. “The situation is changing dynamically.”
Russia has pushed Ukraine onto the back foot on the battlefield as Kyiv grapples with shortages of troops and ammunition. Ukrainian forces are now racing to build more defensive fortifications at places along the around 1,000-kilometre front line.
