Russo-Ukrainian War: kyiv launches an offensive in the northeast and sends a new convoy to rescue civilians from Azovstal

The intense fighting between Russia and Ukraine continues on the 72nd day of the fighting, with something new Ukrainian forces conducted an offensive in the northeast of the countrywith the aim of driving Russian troops into the cities of Kharkov and Izium, two major sites that have suffered some of the fiercest stages of the war.

For its part, the UN launched a new rescue operation on Friday in an attempt to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant, the last Ukrainian pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Two previous UN and Red Cross missions have been able to remove at least 500 civilians from the steel mill and other parts of the city.

Both episodes spread against the clock, mounted on fears that Russian president Vladimir Putin had ordered an intensification of attacks throughout the weekend in an attempt to achieve some kind of success that can be demonstrated on Monday’s march for Victory Day, a national holiday in Russia commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory against Nazi Germany.

A round trip

The offensive of Ukrainian troops in the northeast of the country seems to refer to the dynamics of the conflict at present, a struggle between two military forces which cannot end up securing a certain victory over another.

As Russian troops advanced into the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainians sought to drive the Russians to strategic positions outside Kharkov from where they bombed the city.

According to New York TimesUkrainian Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi informed U.S. General Mark A. Milley, a member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Ukraine “went on the offensive” in the Kharkov and Izium regions.

It’s hard assess the successes claimed by both sides. Moscow could claim it had captured several villages in a region, but lost as many as the 450-kilometer-long facade.

Moderate victories on each side provide the current dynamics in the battle: a slow grind that focuses on one village at a time and relies heavily on drones and concentrated artillery.

All this can be seen in what is happening in Ruska Lozova, a small town north of Kharkov that Russia claims took over in mid -March. From there, he dedicated himself to punishing Kharkov with artillery. In recent weeks, Ukraine has been able to regain the city, after a long artillery battle between the two forces.

But Ukraine’s declaration that it is beginning to carry out offensive actions in one part of the country came after that received more sophisticated weapons and long-range artillery provided by the Western allies, allowing it to take more aggressive action.

New rescue in Mariupol

A new UN convoy is scheduled to arrive in Mariupol this Friday at evacuate civilian refugees at Azovstal steelworks, the last pocket of resistance in this Donbas port, in southeastern Ukraine.

The mission in conjunction with Russia’s announcement of a three-day ceasefire from Thursday to allow the escape of civilians trapped in that industrial complex, although Ukrainian troops denounced that it was not observed.

Despite this uncertainty, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths announced on Thursday that the convoy would be sent to this city that has been besieged by Russian troops since almost the beginning of the invasion.

Local authorities claim that about 200 civilians remain trapped in the network of underground corridors of steelworks, where the last Ukrainian defense units were also resisting.

“The operation is already underway. We pray for its success,” Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, told AFP by telephone.

People fleeing Mariupol often have to go through disputed areas and multiple checkpoints, and sometimes takes days to reach relative safety in the city of Zaporizhzhiacontrolled by Ukraine, about 230 kilometers to the northwest, where many gathered.

Sources: AFP, AP and The New York Times