Russia is struggling to adequately man its frontline with well-trained forces due to Ukraine’s counteroffensive, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
According to the ministry, due to the counteroffensive around Kherson in the east, the frontline has been moved forwards by 20km.
Russian military officials are now concerned over the ability of the army to withstand an attack on the Nova Kakhovka area, east of Kherson, the MoD’s latest update adds.
The statement says: “Russia faces a dilemma: withdrawal of combat forces across the Dnipro makes defence of the rest of Kherson Oblast more tenable; but the political imperative will be to remain and defend.
“Russia has committed the majority of its severely undermanned airborne forces, the VDV, to the defence of Kherson.
“Therefore, Russia currently has few additional, high quality rapidly deployable forces available to stabilise the front: it likely aims to deploy mobilised reservists to the sector.”
In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have made large territorial gains and reclaimed the strategically important city of Lyman last Friday.
The city had been a major transport and logistic hub for the Russian army until enemy troops were forced to withdraw amid the threat of being encircled.
Speaking on Tuesday Volodymyr Zelensky said the Ukrainian army was now making “powerful progress”.
He added: “Our soldiers do not stop. And it’s only a matter of time before we expel the occupier from all of our land.”
In order to try and halt the progress of the Ukrainian army, Vladimir Putin ordered the conscription of civilians in order to bolster the war effort last month.
