Russian forces are gradually advancing to capture the entire territory of Donetsk, with the main attacks directed at the regional capital, Bakhmut, writes Reuters.
Ukraine has finally got a promise to supply it with tanks, and now President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government is trying to persuade the West to supply it with fighter jets. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, while meeting with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov in Paris, said that the supply of fighter jets is not taboo. Great Britain and the United States have so far denied the possibility of sending fighter jets but indicated that they will continue to support Ukraine in other ways.
Western countries have so far refused to send weapons that could be used to carry out attacks inside Russia, fearing an escalation of the conflict, but Moscow has already said that the recent arms shipments are a provocation.
On the 31st of January, the Ukrainian armed forces informed that Russian forces were carrying out attacks in Bakhmut, as well as in nearby villages. Bakhmut has been under constant shelling and airstrikes for the past few months, and Russian forces there are trying to use the same annihilation tactics they used in the summer of 2022 to capture Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.
Also, the Russian army has repeatedly tried to occupy Adijivka and advance in the vicinity of Liman. The Ukrainian army managed to recapture Liman in October, but fighting continues to near it.
Oleh Zhdanov, a Ukrainian military expert and reserve colonel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, informed that the regrouping of the Russian army is taking place in Donetsk, and new recruits are arriving. Zhdanov called it a «conveyor of death»: «Conscripts cannot keep up the pace of previous assaults … Their physical abilities are not up to the task and their motivation is a lot weaker.»
Russia is trying to move west and has shelled Vuhledar and several other settlements. Vuhledar is located about 150 kilometers southeast of Bahmut. The British Defense Ministry has indicated that there is at least one brigade with Russian forces in Vuhledar. A brigade usually consists of several thousand soldiers. Meanwhile, in Luhansk, the advance of the Ukrainian army is hampered by bad weather conditions.
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