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The U.K. Defense Ministry said on Dec. 3 that Russian forces had “highly likely” made small advances south of Bakhmut in recent days after five months of trying to capture the besieged town in Donetsk Oblast.
The ministry said that Russia likely plans to encircle Bakhmut with “tactical advances to the north and the south,” investing a significant portion of its military effort in capturing the town.
After Russia's battlefield defeats in Ukraine’s northeast and the south, “there is a realistic possibility that Bakhmut’s capture has become primarily a symbolic, political objective for Russia,” it added.
While seizing Bakhmut could allow Russia to launch more attacks on urban areas such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast, it would have “limited operational value," according to the U.K. Defense Ministry.
“The campaign has been disproportionately costly relative to these possible gains,” the report reads.
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Friday, July 17
(Updated: )Politics
The Kyiv Independent’s Kateryna Denisova and Kateryna Hodunova speak with military analyst Mykola Bielieskov and opposition lawmaker Inna Sovsun about the conflict between Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, why Zelensky sided with Syrskyi, and what the shake-up could mean for Ukraine’s military, domestic politics, and war against Russia.
Ukraine struck two tankers, including a gas carrier, as well as a tugboat in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov overnight on July 17.
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According to the report, Oleksiy Sukhachov’s brother Oleksandr has bought 143 apartments at a price far below their market value, with an apartment being valued at the price of a smartphone. The construction of the apartment buildings involved has been investigated by Oleksiy Sukhachov’s State Investigation Bureau, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest.
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"We are increasing the price Russia pays for its aggression against our country and our people," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.
Ihor Klymenko is expected to replace Rustem Umerov, who has served as secretary of the National Security and Defense Council for the past year.
The Kyiv Independent's biggest membership drive yet hit its goal, we launched a program to help other Ukrainian newsrooms diversify revenue, and our journalists appeared in The Bulwark, FAZ, RTVE, and more.
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