On Saturday, the Russian-Ukraine war entered its 52nd day, with neither side showing any signs of de-escalation. Russian forces are said to be reorganizing in eastern Ukraine in preparation for a decisive conflict, while Ukraine has revealed for the first time that it has lost 3,000 soldiers in the seven-week conflict with Russia. Russian troops are now short of 20,000 soldiers, as per Ukrainian armed forces.
In a rare trip from the capital to the front lines, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the southern Mykolaiv region. Volodymyr Zelensky is seen awarding awards to servicemen and inspecting a local hospital in photos shared on his official Telegram profile on Saturday.
Street fighting in the eastern city of Severodonetsk continued Saturday, with Russian aircraft targeting locations near the city's bridges, while neighboring Lysychansk is also "under severe enemy fire," according to Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai. Russia could use the unilateral declaration of humanitarian corridors around Severodonetsk "as a technique to control the battlespace," according to the UK Defense Ministry.
A United State defense official confirmed that Ukraine has scored some gains in the south, including a successful strike on a Russian tugboat with at least one US-made Harpoon anti-ship missile. The US thinks that the West's planned escalation in military aid to Ukraine, along with Russia's growing isolation on the international stage, will sap President Vladimir Putin's will to fight.
Because the risk of Russia swallowing its neighbor and pursuing other revanchist aspirations is so significant, officials in the Biden administration have declared that they are willing to risk the global economic chaos that a long war would bring.
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