“What is the goal of the Russian troops? They want to capture Donbas and the south of Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Saturday.
He said that Ukrainian forces too were shifting their attention eastward: “We are aware that the enemy has reserves to increase pressure in the east.”
On Sunday morning, explosions were reported in the strategic southern port city of Odesa on the Black Sea coast. We’re still awaiting confirmation of what happened.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has published its morning update on the conflict.
According to its military intelligence, the UK has observed a concentration of Russian air activity on Ukraine’s south-east – which it suggests is part of a strategic refocusing by Moscow on the region.
While Russian forces may still be capable of an amphibious landing on Ukrainian territory, the UK believes this would be an increasingly risky operation given the time Ukrainian forces have now had to prepare.