Open in full screen mode This Ukrainian soldier was digging trenches on Monday on the front line near Klishchiivka in the Donetsk region. Agence France-Presse< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">Russia claimed Tuesday the capture of a new village in eastern Ukraine, a new advance in the face of a Ukrainian army lacking men and ammunition due to the ;failure of Western aid. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, freshly re-elected, hammers home the unity of the Russians behind his assault on its neighbor, ordered its security services to punish anti-Kremlin fighters who have been increasing attacks on Russian territory for a week. These cross-border offensives aimed in particular to disrupt the Russian presidential election, which resulted in the re-election of the Russian president, while the opposition was eradicated by repression. In Ukraine, the Russian army is slowly advancing in the Donbass. Russian forces liberated the town of Orlivka, the Defense Ministry claimed on Tuesday, adding that they had also improved their positions in the area. It is located northwest of the town of Avdiïvka, conquered by Moscow in February, a victory at the cost of heavy destruction, but which highlighted Kiev's difficulties. Consult the complete file View full file FollowFollow At the end of February, by abandoning the neighboring village of Lastochkyné, the Ukrainian forces had nevertheless indicated that they were going to take refuge behind new defense lines in Orlivka in order to contain the Russian advance. Moscow's army, despite significant losses, gradually conquered territory, particularly in the area of Avdiïvka and, further north, of Tchasiv Yar, a key town where the army Ukraine retreated after the fall of Bakhmut in May 2023. Ukraine, whose army left very weakened by its failed counter-offensive in the summer of 2023, repeats its urgent need for weapons and ammunition in the face of multiple Russian assaults. She assures that with enough shells, she could contain them.
War in Ukraine
War in Ukraine
Ukrainian women learn how to use weapons of war.
But the American political class has been torn apart for months over the support to be given to kyiv, with Donald Trump's Republicans blocking the aid that Democratic President Joe Biden has been seeking to have approved for many months. Enough to fuel a certain exasperation in Ukraine.
What shocks us is that the decision has not yet been adopted . We are approaching the end of March and deliberations are still continuing, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday.
Ukraine does not rule out the idea, proposed by Donald Trump, of providing this American assistance in the form of loans rather than donations, but needs to have more details, a further underlined Mr. Kouleba.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky considered the rapid approval of these 60 to be of critical importance. billion US dollars in aid.
On Tuesday, he again called for anti-aircraft defenses to counter the hundreds of drones, missiles and aerial bombs that Russia drops on Ukraine every month.
The United States tried to reassure, through its Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, promising Tuesday that they will not let Ukraine fail.
At the same time, Europe has fallen behind in its own deliveries, its industrial capacities remaining limited.
Ukraine is also faced with problem of recruiting new soldiers in this difficult military context.
Passers must show identification documents to representatives of the armed forces responsible for recruitment.
The Kremlin has, on the contrary, moved to a war economy, dedicating a large part of its budget and its industry to military production.
Moscow also ensures that, every month, tens of thousands of men sign to join the army, replenishing its ranks after its heavy losses.
But Russia is far from a breakthrough and is facing an increase in attacks on its soil.
Units claiming to be composed of anti-Putin Russians have increased ground and air assaults in recent days, leaving 16 dead and nearly a hundred injured in a week in the Belgorod region, according to the authorities. They also announced on Tuesday the evacuation of around 9,000 children from the area.
A representative of these fighters, responding to alias Fortuna, indicated on Ukrainian television that one of [their] military objectives is to force the transfer of [Russian] troops from the front to the border to defend it.
Faced with officials from the powerful FSB, the Russian security services which also control the country's borders, Vladimir Putin ordered these attackers to be punished, calling them trash and of traitors.
We will punish them in an imprescriptible way, wherever they are, he said.