Axis widened

Direction of attack shifted from Moscow to the south

Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian army posts in the Pokrovsk region.(Bild: APA/AFP )

According to the Ukrainian military, heavy fighting is continuing in the east of the country. There have been 115 battles, the General Staff in Kiev announced in its evening situation report on Friday. As little ground could be gained in the main direction of attack, Russia's axis of attack had been shifted to the south. 

"The hottest situation today was in the direction of Kurakhove, but the enemy was also active in the direction of Lyman and Pokrovsk," it said. In the Kurakhove area, the Ukrainian defenders have so far repelled 30 attacks, five more are still ongoing.

Attack axis widened south of Pokrovsk
Kurakhove is a small town south of Pokrovsk. For a long time, Pokrovsk was considered the main direction of attack for the Russian troops. Recently, however, the Russians were only able to make few territorial gains in the area. Instead, they widened their axis of attack to the south.

Moscow to make greater progress
They are now attempting to capture the mining town of Hirnyk near Kurakhove in order to either encircle Ukrainian forces or force them to abandon their positions. The Russian military blog Dwa Majora wrote of major advances in the region for the Moscow military.

Drone splinters on Kiev
Meanwhile, Kiev's mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on the messaging app Telegram that drone fragments had hit the Ukrainian capital. The shrapnel fell on a municipal building in the Obolon district of Kiev, north of the city center, on Saturday night. Klitschko wrote that emergency services were on their way to the scene. The mayor had previously stated that air defense units had been deployed in the capital.

Decision on use of Western weapons postponed
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer postponed a decision on the use of far-reaching Western weapons against targets in Russia. After a meeting with Biden on Friday evening (local time) in Washington, Starmer said they had had a "wide-ranging discussion about strategy", but not about "specific capabilities".

Starmer made it clear after the meeting that he and Biden would discuss the issue "with a larger group of people" at the UN General Assembly in New York the week after next. Prior to the meeting in Washington, it was expected that Starmer would seek support from Biden to deploy British Storm Shadow missiles for Ukraine deeper in Russian territory.