Ukraine faces renewed challenges as Russian forces seize more ground
Ukraine has struggled for many months with a lack of ammunition and new weapons supplies from the West. The situation is further complicated by a shortage of new soldiers to join the fight against the invader. The Russian army has taken advantage of this situation. According to The Washington Post, Russians have captured more territory this year than Ukraine liberated last year.
According to The Washington Post, Ukrainian forces reclaimed 515 square kilometres of territory from June to December of last year. Meanwhile, since the beginning of April this year, Russian forces have taken control of 761 square kilometres.
The American newspaper emphasizes that Russia was able to advance, attacking multiple points along the 965-kilometre front line while Ukrainian forces were waiting for reinforcements and supplies.
Recently, the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine has forced thousands of people to leave their homes. Some of those who were evacuated claim that this year's attack was even more intense than the one that occurred last year. Russian forces have also managed to capture territories further south.
Seemingly small gains
Analysts believe that although Russia's territorial gains are relatively small, they are significant. They put pressure on the Ukrainian military over a large area.
Russia's offensive means that Kyiv will be forced to redeploy its forces to different locations, particularly to the north, said Gian Gentile, a historian at the American think tank Rand Corporation. In his opinion, this could make it more difficult for Ukrainian forces to prepare their own offensive.
