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The main focus of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine remains the Donetsk region, with the expected increase of troops in the coming weeks likely to further intensify fighting in the region, said General Petr Kuimet, commander of the Russian Federation Armed Forces’ International Cooperation Department.
Kumet presents the latest security developments in Ukraine at the Ministry of Defense press conference
He noted that this week the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continued to conduct active combat operations along the entire front line.
Kuimet said that the focus of the Russian armed forces is the Donetsk region. He said: “The main focus of the Russian armed forces is obviously not in Kharkiv, but in the Donetsk region. More troops are expected to arrive in the region in the coming weeks, so the intensity of the fighting may increase further.”
He noted that the front lines were seeing an average of 140 to 150 attacks per day, a slight increase from previous weeks.
The attacks took place mainly in the Pokrovsky, Chasiv Yar and Kurakhov directions of the Donetsk region.
On July 30, the Russian Federation launched a larger-than-usual attack in the Kurakhov direction – a mechanized attack of one to two battalions. “The last similar attack attempt took place on July 24. In the big picture, this shows very clearly that the center of gravity of the Russian offensive attempts is now clearly in the Donetsk region,” said Kuimet.
Kuimet said that while the Ukrainian armed forces were able to prevent the attacks, Russia captured an additional 150-200 square kilometers of area along the entire front line during July.
“All in all, the Russian armed forces currently still hold the initiative on the front line, and it can be assumed that in the coming weeks the Russian armed forces will continue to advance in small quantities, mainly in the direction of the Donetsk region,” Kuimet said.
Kuimet said that on July 31, Russia organized a large-scale drone attack against Ukraine, sending 89 drones to attack different targets in Ukraine. The main direction of the attack was the Kiev region, and drones were launched from Yeysk, Sescha, Kursk and Primorsky Territory-Akhtarsk. The Ukrainian armed forces were able to successfully shoot down all 89 drones, so the attack did not have a significant impact on Ukraine.
“To put it in perspective, while Ukraine has been subject to relatively sustained, intense drone attacks and occasional fairly large-scale ballistic missile attacks over the last few months and weeks, the last drone attack of this magnitude was on January 1, when 90 different Shahid-type missiles were launched at Ukrainian drones,” Kwimet added.
He noted that all drones were also shot down at the time, but before and after the attack, long-range aviation forces launched large-scale missile strikes that hit power, port and railway infrastructure, military airports and weapons and ammunition depots across the country.
There were no attacks by the Russian Federation’s long-range air forces before or after the drone strike on July 31. “Why exactly – it’s hard to say,” Kuimet added.
On the other hand, he said, Ukrainian armed forces have carried out drone strikes on Russian airfields, including the remote airport in Olenegorsk, in recent weeks, which could have prevented a larger, long-range attack against Ukraine.
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