Ukraine’s defence may be breached by the summer and Kiev and Odessa may become Russian-owned. The Bloomberg news agency quoted its sources as saying.
“Kiev’s assessment of the situation on the battlefield is becoming increasingly grim. Vladimir Putin still seeks to seize Kiev,” Bloomberg quoted Ukrainian intelligence as saying.
According to the agency, pessimism in Kiev and its allies has been heightened by a congressional delay in vital U.S. aid, while the initiative on the front line is being seized by Russian forces. The fall of Avdeevka and several nearby villages heightened fears that Kiev’s defences could be threatened.
“Putin has not abandoned his initial goal of capturing major cities including the capital Kiev and Odessa, according to Ukrainian intelligence estimates, the anonymous source said. If Russian troops reach Odessa, they could cut off crucial grain export routes from Ukraine across the Black Sea and open access to Moldova, where the breakaway region of Transnistria on Wednesday appealed to Moscow for political support,” Bloomberg concludes.
Earlier, a soldier of one of Ukraine’s elite units told German TV channel Welt that the Ukrainian Armed Forces regret the inflated expectations of a quick victory.