The Russian Invasion

Ukrainian soldier. Archive image. LIBKOS / AP  

 

The Russian Invasion|The Battles 

US intelligence: Ukraine will fail in counteroffensive objectives  

 

Intelligence from the United States claims that the Ukrainian counter-offensive will not achieve one of its main goals: to reach the strategically important city of Melitopol, the Washington Post writes, citing sources.  

 

If the assessment turns out to be correct, it means that Kyiv fails to cut off Russia's land bridge to Crimea.  

 

The reason for the, for Ukraine, gloomy prophecy is that it is judged that the skill of the Russian army to defend land with the help of mines and trenches will stop the Ukrainian advances.  

 

Melitopol is considered to be a very important city in the counteroffensive because it is considered a gateway to the occupied Crimean peninsula.  

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets soldiers. Archive image. AP 

 

Russian invasionUkraine's response  

112 corruption investigations within the Ukrainian military  

 

Ukraine has opened 112 corruption investigations against representatives of recruiting offices within the country's military, reports Deutsche Welle. So far, the investigations have resulted in 15 lawsuits.  

 

The review of recruitment within the military has shown, among other things, that the head of recruitment in the Zakarpattia region has used soldiers to renovate his private residence. Another commander allegedly paid salaries to soldiers he had close relations with, even though they never participated in combat.  

 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously announced that all recruitment chiefs will be replaced by "soldiers who have been at the front or who cannot lie in the trenches because they have lost their health".